October Top Ten

Here are the top ten books for October.  No surprise that most of them are Iowa Children's Choice books!

1. Smile by Raina Telgemeier

2. Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks

3. Umbrella Summer by Lisa Graff

4. Powerless by Matthew Cody

5. 100 Cupboards by Nathan Wilson

6. Baseball Great by Tim Green

7. Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis

8. Everything for a Dog by Ann M. Martin

9. The Invention of Hugo Cabret: a novel in words and pictures

10. Tentacles by Roland Smith

Library Update

We are having a lot of fun in the library!

Kindergarten - Grade 2 are working on finding a "just right" book.  We've practiced the 5 Finger Method (ask Grade 1 & 2 students to teach you our song!).  We also are learning the I PICK rap (http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=194724&title=I_Pick_Just_Right_Books_&vpkey=) this week!  It's a fun way to review how to choose a "good fit" book.  We'll be working on this for a while, so make sure you're asking your students why they chose the library book they did!

Kindergarten has been learning about "just right" books most recently by going on a Book Hunt.  We had a lot of fun going on a bear hunt and going on a ghost hunt too!

First grade has been reading a lot of books by Margie Palatini. She writes humorous books but they are ones that are best shared with an older reader.

Second Grade read a few funny books about a witch.  We worked on making comparisons between books and finding the rhyming words.

Third grade has graduated from Netbook 101!  They learned how to use the netbooks and how to access the information they need.  We worked on search techniques and how to find books that interest them.

Fourth grade has been working very hard on their Wax Museum projects.  If you haven't seen them, come to the school on Monday, October 31 from 1-2 and view them!  We created Kidspiration webs and also timelines in the library.  We're finishing up our biography unit and will be moving on soon!  Third grade has the opportunity to participate in the genre challenge too!  November's genre is Historical Fiction.

Fifth grade has also finished Netbook 101!  We're moving to Internet Safety in November.  Iowa Children's Choice and Genre Challenge are two reading promotions fifth grade can participate in.

Sixth grade is finishing up a short unit on copyright and they are planning the rest of their year.  As top dogs, they are able to come and help shelve books in the library on all odd days (1, 3, 5) so I hope to see them at 8:30 on those days!

We're having a great year so far!  I will be available at conferences if you have questions or concerns about your child and the library.  I'm also available to show you our space or talk with you about curriculum!  Come see me in the library!

Library Update

Wow!  This month is really flying by!
Kindergarten is working toward checking out books from the shelves.  We moved from using the tables to using a cart.  Once we show that we can choose just right books from the cart and put them back correctly, we'll be ready for the shelves.  Also, we started using the computers in their classrooms!  Ask them about the netbooks!

First grade just finished some fairy tale comparisons.  Learning about old fairy tales and reading modern fairy tales has been pretty funny.  This week we're reading a story and working on a story map.  They also have been using computers in their classrooms!

Second grade has been working on finding a good fit book and putting books away correctly.  This week we started working with non-fiction and note taking.  We learned a lot about pumpkins!  Computers are also being used in their classrooms for math and reading.

Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth graders have all been working on netbooks during their library time.  Third graders are learning about using Microsoft Word and saving to their server space.  Fourth graders worked on research for their wax museum project.  Fifth and Sixth graders are gaining access to their Google Accounts to use at school and home.  We're practicing being good student leaders.

Lots of things going on in the library so far this month!  Don't forget, Iowa Children's Choice is going on and October is half way over if your child is participating in the genre challenge!

Iowa Children's Choice 2011-2012

Iowa Children's Choice starts TODAY!  Students are invited to read a variety of the twenty-two books between today (Oct. 1) and April 2.  If students would like to qualify for the Iowa Children's Choice party they must read:
4th graders - 8 books (~1 book every 3 weeks)
5th graders - 10 books (1.5+ books every month)
6th graders - 12 books (2 books a month)
Students must also fill out a form (either in paper or online) with complete sentences, correct punctuation, and correct capitalization.
If you have any questions, please let me know!