Weekly Update

Due to a long break between now and the next class, I'll update today!

Kindergarten: We worked with an interactive story of The Gingerbread Boy.  Then we read Redbird at Rockefeller Center by Peter Maloney.  We watched a video about the REAL tree in Rockefeller Center and watched this year's annual tree lighting.

First Grade: The Reindeer Christmas by Mo Price was our read aloud story.  We worked on predicting and brainstormed what kind of animal we would choose to pull Santa's sleigh.

Second Grade: We are still working on our Nonfiction Lap Books.  We're getting closer to getting them completed!

Third Grade: We read The Fright Before Christmas by James Howe and worked on summarizing.

Fourth Grade: We began a library quest called Locked in the Library.

Fifth Grade: We looked at a websites about DHMO and discussed the validity of them.  Then we were introduced to the Pomegranate Phone!

Sixth Grade: We are continuing work on our AEA presentations.  Today was our first full work day and our projects are due at the end of the next class period.

All grade levels are invited to participate in a reading challenge over Winter Break.  Click here for more details!

Winter Break to Read

I am holding a “winter break to read” contest this year.  Each student is getting a blue bookmark on Friday (or sooner) to take home for Winter Break.  If they read 5 books and have it signed by a parent or guardian, they are entered into a drawing for a prize.  Some of the prizes include lunch in the library, an extra book checkout, a free pizza, reading time with Mrs. Loder or Mrs. Newgard, and lots of other great prizes.  I have introduced this to your students in library (or I will be this week) and I hope you’ll support this contest.  Each student may only turn in one bookmark but they can read ANY book! The bookmarks must be returned by Friday, January 5 to qualify.  Let me know if you or your students have questions.
Thank you!

If you lose your bookmark, you may print and return a new one.

© Mrs.Newgard, 2012

Weekly Update

Kindergarten: We read There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell by Lucille Collandro, then we used the Interactive Mimio Board to retell the story.  We also read Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh.

First Grade: Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas by Elise Primavera was our read aloud story.  We discussed what we thought might happen in the story (Prediction) and talked about whether or not we were correct.

Second Grade: We continued our work with our Nonfiction Lap Books.  We're hoping to have these completed by the end of the semester.  They're really helping us remember which text features are which.

Third Grade: Dewey Book Body helped us learn more about the different nonfiction sections in the library.  We use our body to help us remember which books go where.

Fourth Grade: Do You Know Dewey?: Exploring the Dewey Decimal System by Brian Cleary was our first read aloud of the year.  It's a simple book that helps us figure out what books are in which section of the nonfiction.  Next time we will begin a library quest called Locked in the Library.

Fifth Grade: We discussed our search engines and chose the ones we thought would be best for different scenarios.  We  found Kidsclick to be the best for research.  Best for searching is Kidsclick , Cybersleuth-kids, Kids.net.  Kids Yahoo, AOL Kids, Kids.net and Ask Kids were best for at home.  We enjoyed looking at each website!

Sixth Grade: We started a new project using the Iowa AEA Online Resources.  These subscription sites are provided to us free from the Iowa Area Education Agencies.  Our job is to create something (a presentation, a video, a website, etc.) to share with teachers about our site.  We want to share with teachers what the website offers, why it's useful for a teacher, and give an example of how it could be used in the classroom.  We hope to finish these by the end of the semester.

All grade levels are invited to participate in a reading challenge over Winter Break.  Click here for more details!

Weekly Update

Kindergarten: We read The Great Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens.  The Mystery Box also returned with a dog, prairie dog, and a tennis ball inside.  We tried to see how those objects would fit into our story!  We had great predictions and the book was really funny!

First Grade: How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky was the book we enjoyed.  We talked about what job we want to have when we are an adult and what characteristics we already hold to be a good fit for that job.  We discussed the book and what characteristics Santa had before he got his job.  We also continued to work to find the right shelf when given a spine label.

Second Grade: We started a nonfiction text features project. We are making a lapbook using all of the different nonfiction text features we have learned about.  We are taking a nonfiction holiday book and using that as our guide.  We hope to finish it by January!

Third Grade: We're continuing to work on search and locate in the library.  We finished our scavenger hunts and maps of the library.  We discussed them, talked about different sections of the library and even practiced putting ourselves in alphabetical order.

Fourth Grade: The nonfiction section of the library is our current focus.  We're talking about the different sections and how the books are organized by categories.  We got to watch our favorite library video, the Dewey Rap!

Fifth Grade: There are a lot of different search engines out on the web.  We each evaluated one during class and we began discussing what each search engine is good at.  We're hoping to find one to recommend to students at Orchard Hill.

Sixth Grade: We chose a question and had to find the answer in two different websites.  We also looked through the website and gave it a score based on what information it provided for us. 

Weekly Update

With Conferences and Thanksgiving it's been awhile since our last update!

Kindergarten: Thanksgiving was our focus and we read a few different Thanksgiving books.  We worked a lot on predicting and summarizing.

First Grade: We read The Jolly Postman by Janet Ahlberg and discussed how books are organized in the library.  Then we were given a spine label sticky note and had to find the shelf or section that book would be in.  It was fun to travel around the Everybody books!

Second Grade:  We read Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet.  This is a biography about Tony Sarg, the man who created the balloons for the Macy's parade.  We created our own balloon designs for the parade!

Third Grade: We continued searching and locating books in the library.  Specifically, we used a blank library map to find the different sections.  We're hoping the map helps us find books faster!

Fourth Grade: We worked on a library scavenger hunt, using the computers, but also searching the library shelves.  In art, we're creating self-portraits of ourselves reading a book, so we also talked about book parts.

Fifth Grade: We discussed what we found for explorers and talked about the importance of verifying information we find online.  We should be able to find each fact in at least two different locations to make sure it is correct!

Sixth Grade: We continued to discuss websites and how to tell if they are good sites to use.  We discussed different ways to search too!

Overall, it was another successful week in the library!

Genre Challenge - November

Congratulations to Ms. Rindels' class for reading the most Nonfiction books in November!  It was a VERY close one this month, with ONE point being the deciding factor (yes, there was a recount :).  Her class will receive a popcorn party in library sometime in December!

December's genre is Realistic Fiction books.

All results (and whether the class increased or decreased between  October & November):

3M - 33 (-)

3R - 34 (+)

3S - 19 (-)

4C - 20 (-)

4H - 27 (+)

5G - 0 (-)

5P - 0 (=)

6H - 0 (=)

6S - 0 (=)