News From The Library--March 9, 2008

A Prescient Voice

In honor of Dr. Seuss' Birthday, I read The Lorax to the sixth graders this week. I'm always surprised at how much these "older" students still love to be read to. Parents, don't forget that. Even though they are trying so hard to be sophisticated at this age, they are still children and benefit greatly for hearing someone read and even better spending a little special time with you.
Before I read the story, I explained that this book was published in 1971 and Dr. Seuss was sending a message not only to children but to adults as well. I challenged the students to find out later what the word "prescient" meant and how it related to Dr. Seuss and the Lorax. They enjoyed finding the definition and talking with me about the relation.

Also in the Library this week..

Kindergarten--In the fall we read Karma Wilson's Bear Snores On and talked about hibernation. This week in anticipation of spring, we read Bear Wants More, her charming sequel. That hungry bear eats so much when he wakes up that he can't fit into his cave anymore!

First Grade--First graders heard their fourth California Young Reader Medal nominee, Bats at the Beach by Brian Lies.

Second Grade--Mrs. Seeple's class heard Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson and Mrs. Campbell's class heard The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend.

Third Grade--Mrs. Villa's class heard Hilda Must Be Dancing and Mrs. Lewis' class heard Uncle Peter's Amazing Chinese Wedding by Lenore Look.

Fourth Grade--We worked with our atlases this week and compared facts about California with facts about two other states of their choice. This is a great lesson in which students have to research, locate specific information, record it, and then synthesize what they have learned in order to compare.

Fifth Grade--We started our two part lesson on Posting Comments on a Blog. This week they saw a Keynote presentation that explained blogs and then talked about what it means to have an ethical online presence. Next week they will actually post a comment on our Skills Blog in which they have to write about what that means.

Sixth Grade--see opening post.