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DECEMBER DAYS IN THE LIBRARY...

Communicating
Actively participating
Collaborating
Working with partners
Following directions
Second Grade Researchers

Since grade 2 is learning about all seven continents, they had a research lesson using the World Book for Kids online. Working with partners they had to find the answers to questions about Antarctica. They also have passports and they can earn a stamp for every continent they study as they travel around the world.

African penquins were the topic for students in grade 1. They are participating in the Florida Reading Association's book contest and one of the books on this year's list is Pierre the Penquin - a true story by Jean Marzollo. When Pierre, an African penquin living at the California Academy of Sciences, begins to go bald the staff is worried. The lack of feathers causes Pierre to lose warmth, making him afraid to swim in the aquarium pool. A tiny neoprene wetsuit is designed especially for Pierre. But will it work? You can read the book to find out....just like the second graders did.

 Go to http://www.calacademy.org/ to see the live webcam of the penquin display.

Jr. K students had fun describing the activies that were illustrated  by the New York Times Bestselling author Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld's book entitled The OK Book. The world is just full of things to do and it's fun to give them all a go. But what if you're not good at everything you try? What if you're just OK? What then?


K students learned about the "Marley" series of books and the "Chester" series.They laughed out loud and enjoyed learning about their many adventures.



 Author Melanie Watt is not only creative, but clever as she writes her stories involving Chester, A.K. the rude and self-centered furball that always has to have the last word.
Author John Grogan is an award-winning newspaper columnist and his #1 international bestseller Marley & Me:Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog has been adapted into the #1 bestselling picture book Bad Dog Marley and the bestselling middle-grade memoir Marley: A Dog Like No Other. 
So, which one did the children like best?? Why not ask them....

In Alpha class the students made predictions as they listened to Amy Krouse Rosenthal's books entitled Litttle Hoot and Little Pea. All Little Hoot wants is to go to bed at a reasonable hour, like his friends do. But no....Mama and Papa say little owls have to stay up late and play....?????
If Little Pea doesn't eat all of his sweets, there will be no vegetables for dessert! What's a young pea to do?

Students in Grade 3 were discussing biographies and the author Jon Scieszka. Some of his famous books include The Stinky Cheese Man, The Frog Prince Continued, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, and Science Verse. In his biography, entitled Knucklehead, readers will laugh out loud as they discover some tall tales and mostly true stories about his life as he was growing up.


 

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule of  Andi Mullins. I am very thankful for the new "winter holiday look" in the library thanks to all the wonderful other volunteers who decorated and pulled the new author books. Please be sure to stop by the library before winter break and get a little thank you gift ....you are so appreciated for ALL YOU DO!


BE THANKFUL......



FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS THAT HELPED MAKE OUR BOOK FAIR SO SUCCESSFUL....THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!


 Another BIG THANK YOU goes out to Jackie Spoto Bircher and the fantastic work she has done to make the annual Book Fair happen this year. She worked on Sunday to unpack the fair, stayed late on Friday to re-pack the fair, and  scheduled all the classes and all the volunteers. They are all such an important part of our program and very much appreciated. Pirate hats off to all of our  very, very valuable volunteers !! Thank you all so much for making a commitment to help out this year.


I also wanted to thank Shorecrest for allowing me to attend the FAME conference this year from November 1-3. FAME is the Florida Association for Media Educators and it was held in Orlando. I was so excited to attend the sessions and I also met several popular authors including Sherri Winston (President of the Whole Fifth Grade - a current 2012 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award book, award winner Sharon M. Draper (Out of my Mind-winner of 2011 Sunshine Young Reader's Award and Double Dutch) and Andrea Beaty (Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies - a current 2012 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award book, Cicada Summer, Iggy Peck Architect.

Students in Alpha learned all about Veteran's Day after reading What is Veterans Day? by Elaine Landau. We also discussed Thanksgiving traditions and read Thanksgiving is Here! by Diane Goode in which a family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving at Grandma's house.

In Jr. K students discussed Thanksgiving after hearing the National Geographic book entitled Celebrate Thanksgiving by Deborah Heiligman.

Since K students make quilts as part of their community service activity, they enjoyed listening to Mooshka by Julie Paschkis. This is the summary of the book.
Karla's quilt Mooshka tells her stories about the pieces of fabric that Mooshka is made from, but when Karla's baby sister is born, Mooshka falls silent until Karla overcomes her jealousy and shares Mooshka with the baby. Students shared predictions about the book and explained the ending of the story to each other.

3rd grade students used their research skills to locate books using the book's call number. They worked in partners, went to the computer and searched their library book by call number. They then checked their answers from their DEWEY DECIMAL  lesson and found the book on the shelf. It was great to see them smile when they located the book. Great job third grade!

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule that Andi Mullins has provided for training. I am very thankful for the new "Thanksgiving look" in the library thanks to Andi and the wonderful other volunteers who decorated and pulled the new author books.

NOVEMBER NEWS...

          BOOK  FAIR IS HERE!!!!!!.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THESE DATES..                NOVEMBER  5TH - 8TH

     EVERYONE LOVES OUR BOOKS!




 AUTUMN BIRD SONG

Over the housetops,
Over the trees,
Winging their way
In a stiff fall breeze,
A flock of birds
Is flying along
Southward, for winter,
Singing a song.
Singing a song
They all like to sing, 
"We'll see you again
When it's spring, spring, spring."
 - Author unknown

Where do you shop for food? Well, the students in graded 2 found out about another store and lots of different foods while reading The Witches' Supermarket by Susan Meddaugh. This is no ordinary, everyday supermarket. And when Helen and her dog, Martha, find themselves caught inside, they'll need luck and lots of Halloween magic to begin trick-or-treating on time.
Students also read some spooktacular poems out loud from a collection of 21 spooktacular poems entitled Halloween Night by Charles Ghigna.

Brave 1st graders listened to the New York Times bestseller entitled Tell Me a Scary Story..But Not Too Scary by Carl Reiner. Everyone loves scary stories, and comedy legend Carl Reiner invites readers to huddle close as he tells a young boy's tale of the mysterious house next door.

In Alpha and K students learned about three mischievous ghosts who love scaring little children, until the children decide to take matters into their own hands. Children made predictions while listening to Three Little Ghosties by Pippa Goodhart. 
In another book entitled Beautiful OOps! by Barney Saltzberg,  K children learned how to take a mistake and turn it into an opportunity to make something beautiful! This book is the best gift to give anyone, any age, anywhere, anytime.

In 3rd grade students had fun as they try to spot the plot in the book entitled Spot the Plot (a riddle book of book riddles) by J. Patrick Lewis. They used the clues to figure out the title and author of some famous children's books. At the end of the lesson, they worked on library analogies...it was fun to watch the students think through these questions.

In Alpha, students enjoyed the book by Dolly Parton entitled I Am A Rainbow in which words and music describe different emotions in terms of color, as then everything is rosy when one feels joyful.  It reminded the reader and the listeners that everyone experiences this same rainbow of emotions.

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule that Andi Mullins has provided for training. I am very thankful for the new "Thanksgiving look" in the library thanks to Andi and the wonderful other volunteers who decorated and pulled the new author books.
 Another BIG THANK YOU goes out to Jackie Spoto Bircher and the fantastic work she has done to make the annual Book Fair happen this year. She worked on Sunday to unpack the fair and has scheduled the classes and the volunteers. They are all such an important part of our program and very much appreciated. Pirate hats off to all of our  very, very valuable volunteers !! Thank you all so much for making a commitment to help out this year.

"BOOO".......KS TO "HOWL" ABOUT......



     BOOKS ARE THE BEST TREATS !!!!!




 BOOOOOOO...........K  FAIR IS COMING .

        SAVE THESE DATES

               NOVEMBER  5TH - 8TH


Bones, bones, bones....where are my bones? That was the topic students in grade 1 were discussing during library class. After hearing the famous book entitled Dem Bones by Bob Barner, students picked a bone from Mr. Potato Head and worked with their partners. In this collaborative lesson, students had to identify their bone and match it with the chart they each used. Then they showed their partner where it was located. In conclusion, each student became a "teacher" and went to the front of the class to show off their bone's location. Everyone learned from each other and everyone got to be in the spotlight.

African penquins were the topic for students in grade 2. They are participating in the Florida Reading Association's book contest and one of the books on this year's list is Pierre the Penquin - a true story by Jean Marzollo. When Pierre, an African penquin living at the California Academy of Sciences, begins to go bald the staff is worried. The lack of feathers causes Pierre to lose warmth,
making him afraid to swim in the aquarium pool. A tiny neoprene wetsuit is designed especially for Pierre. But will it work? You can read the book to find out....just like the second graders did.
 Go to http://www.calacademy.org/ to see the live webcam of the penquin display.
Click on the blue button on the right hand corner to enlarge this glogster poster.


Did you ever read about a frog that turned into a prince? Well, the Jr. K students casts some spells themselves while reading the book Spells by Emiy Gravett. As a child Emily Gravett was desperate to become a witch. She spent her time trying to fly, and attempting to cast spells on people who called her sweet. After many years and a particularly nasty incident involving a broomstick and some stairs, she decided to become an illustrator instead. In this book, she is both the author and illustrator and yu can visit her at emilygravett.com.  Be prepared for a surprise ending!

In Alpha class we discussed being a scaredy cat before read the book entitled Scaredy Cat by Patsy Becvar and illustrated by Gwen Connelly. They followed the life of Brian as he was afraid of swinging high, snakes, the dark, and most of all Halloween.

Do you believe in Ghosts? Well, that was the question asked to K students before they read The Bake Shop Ghost by Jacqueline K. Ogburn and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. Miss Cora Lee Merriweather haunts her bake shop after her death until the new shop owner makes a deal with her. In this story the secrets of the perfect recipe and a lonely heart are unlocked.
Students also discussed Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling  author and illustrator of the award-winning Elephant & Piggie series and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. Mo began his career on Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards. He lives with his family in Massachusetts. His latest book is entitled The Duckling Gets a Cookie?  The Duckling asks for a cookie-and gets one! Do you think the Pigeon is happy about that? Just ask any K student...

Third graders were very busy working with their partners finding books  located in all 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System. They looked in the non-fiction shelves to find books from each category, wrote down the call number from the spine title, author and subject. They needed to collaborate and share jobs to get the assignment completed.


Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule that Andi Mullins has provided for training. This month the library looks "extra spooky" thanks to Andi and the wonderful other volunteers. They are all such an important part of our program and very much appreciated. Pirate hats off to all of our  very, very valuable volunteers !! Thank you all so much for making a commitment to help out this year.




OCTOBER HOWLS!!!!!

Rain of Leaves

It's raining big,
It's raining small,
It's raining autumn leaves
In fall. 
It's raining gold
And red and brown
As autumn leaves
Come raining down.
It's raining everywhere
I look
It's raining bookmarks
On my book.
          Aileen Fisher

Students in grade 2 learned all about American tall tales this month as they continue to study North America. Tall tales existed long before the first pioneers came to America, but it was in America that the  tall tale found its natural home. They were introduced to Davy Crockett, Old Stormalong, Paul Bunyan and his Big Blue Ox,  John Henry and Pecos Bill.

In celebrating Johnny Appleseed Day, on September 26,  students in grade 1 read stories about the man named John Chapman who lived from 1774 to 1845. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts to Nathaniel and Elizabeth Chapman. During his life, he planted many apple trees from Massachusetts to northwest Pennsylvania, Oho,  and Fort Wayne, Indiana. He worked as a scout warning Ohio settlers of Indian attacks. He died near Fort Wayne, Indiana and on his gravestone are the words, "He lived for others."

Students in K learned all about the Little Miss Spider series by David Kirk and interacted with the book Little Miss Spider's Tea Party on the I-Pad. They played a memory matching game with all the characters as well as interacted with the characters during the story time. They discussed with partners and predicted what would happen next as the lonely Miss Spider tried to host a tea party but the other bugs refused to come for fear of being eaten.


Alpha children learned all about the Berenstain Bears while listening to Bears in the Night and Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree. They saw hand puppets of these delightful characters who always seem to have an adventure. These beloved authors celebrated September birthdays.

Third graders were the first to experience augmented reality books by seeing and hearing The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore  by William Joyce and Joe Bluhm. This picture book for ages 4-8 was a short film and now has two apps and it uses the sweep of the virtual camera and computer animation. It is an excellent example to show children how startling a story on the page can be.

   http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fantastic-flying-books-mr./id438052647?mt=8http:
  




Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule that Andi Mullins has provided for training. This month the library looks "extra spooky" thanks to Andi and the wonderful other volunteers. They are all such an important part of our program and very much appreciated. Pirate hats off to all of our  very, very valuable volunteers !! Thank you all so much for making a commitment to help out this year.




STEP INTO SEPTEMBER.....

Students in grade 1 were introduced to Amelia Bedelia and learned all about her books and how they have been written.
They also read the introduction of The Shelf Elf by Jackie Mims Hopkins to learn how the easy books are shelved.

In grade 2 students read the sequel entitled The Shelf Elf Helps Out by Jackie Mims Hopkins to learn all about the Dewey Decimal System. They found related pictures in each of the sections of the Dewey Decimal system and had fun along the way watching the Shelf Elf and his companion Bookerpillow.
Since the second grade curriculum includes studying all the continents and since September 21 is the International Day of  Peace the students also learned how to say peace in 10 different languages by reading Can You Say Peace? by Karen Katz.

In honor of Tomie de Paola's September 15 birthday, the students in Alpha heard the famous Caldecott Honor tale entitled Strega Nona. When Strega Nona leaves Big Anthony alone with her magic pasta pot, he is determined to show the townspeople how it works. Unfortunately, this decision and the fact that he is not a good listener has disastrous results.

Jr. K students celebrated Robert McCloskey's September 15 birthday by listening to his  Caldecott Honor book entitled Blueberries for Sal. In this story the bear family and the human family have a mix up involving pails, blueberries and a little girl. The students learned the vocabulary words author and hibernation as well as making predictions of what would happen in the book.

To celebrate Tomie de Paola's September birthday in K, students shared a feast with Strega Nona by reading Strega Nona's Harvest. After helping Strega Nona plant her vegetable garden just so, Big Anthony takes some extra seeds and sows another garden willy-nilly, then must find a way to deal with the consequences. Students learned about the value of using manure and rotating crops and pretended to be corn stalks themselves.



Students in grade 3 were very excited to see the slide show and book trailers for the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award. Students in grades 3-5 are invited to participate in this state reading contest. To vote in April, one needs to have read at least 3 of the 15 books on this year's list. Each student in grade 3 & 4 received a list of the books and there is a poster in the library for all to see. 
Happy reading and I invite all to participate. 
Go to this link for book trailers of this year's entries
http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/SSYRA+Nomination+Award+Book+Trailers+YouTube

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule that Andi Mullins has provided for training. She is such an important part of our program and very much appreciated. Pirate hats off to all of our valuable volunteers !! Thank you all so much for making a commitment to help out this year.



HO, HO, HO, HO A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME..........
STEP INTO SEPTEMBER WITH LOTS OF ADVENTURE!

The library is in full swing and the students in all the grades from Alpha - Grade 4 have been checking out books. For their library classes we have reviewed the orientation and procedures for using the media center. We have reviewed all the Safety rules for fire drills, bad weather and lock downs.

Students always enjoy seeing Mr. Dirty Hand and Mr. Clean Hand. So they watched them on their I-Movie this year as they reviewed the five rules for taking care of books.

Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers the past two weeks who have come for training. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule that Andi Mullins has provided for training. She is such an important part of our program and very much appreciated. Pirate hats off to all of our valuable volunteers !! Thank you all so much for making a commitment to help out this year.

Just a reminder to everyone that you can access the library catalog from any computer or mobile device from your home or classroom. Go to the Shorecrest Home Page and under Academics scroll down to the library. Click on the first hyperlink entitled Shorecrest's Library Catalog.

You can also use smart phones to search the library. A special web application has been designed with smart phones and tablets in mind. You can access the site at:
http://ipac.libraryworld.com

Mobile Apps!
LibraryWorld Search for Apple and Android lets you search your library from anywhere and anytime you have access to your smart mobile devices.
Available from Apple's App Store and Android Market for free today!

 LibraryWorld Search for iPhone LibraryWorld Search for iPad
 LibraryWorld Search for Android

If you download the app type in Shorecrest as your library and no password is necessary.
Go to the search button and start searching.

WELCOME BACK -2012

I hope you all had a great, fun filled and relaxing summer. I really missed the children and am amazed how much they have grown.

This year our library theme is, "Find Your Treasure in Books" and the library is decorated with lots of pirate props, including a hugh treasure chest decorated with gold coins.

 Our library hours are from 7:30-5:00 Monday-Thursday and 
7:30-3:15 on Friday.

Hope to see you soon!


Thank you again this year to Andi Mullins who is in charge of training and scheduling all of our very valuable library volunteers. She did an excellent job last year and I am very happy that she is willing to continue this important position this year.

Celebrate August by reading a biography about some of these people who were born in this month.

Matthew Henson - August 8, 1866 - Black explorer, who with Robert Peary, participated in the expedition of the North Pole, proudly representing the African-American people.

Francis Scott Key -August 1, 1779 - Author of The Star-Spangled Banner, which was adopted as the U.S. National Anthem.

Alex Haley -August 11, 1921- Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winning author of Roots, The Saga of an American Family.

Louis Armstrong - August 4, 1900 - Great jazz trumpet player.

Annie Oakley - August 13, 1860- Sharp shooter who was part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

Orville Wright - August 19, 1871 - Aviator, who with his brother Wilbur, invented and flew the first airplane.

Neil Armstrong-August 5, 1930 - First astronaut to walk on the moon.

Mother Teresa - August 27, 1910 - Catholic nun, advocate for India's poor, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Roberto Clemente - August 18, 1934 - Baseball Hall of Famer.

Lyndon B. Johnson - August 27, 1908 -36th President of the U.S.

We will be participating in both state reading programs again this year.  The Florida Reading Association Children's Award Program for Alpha - Grade 2 and the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Program for grades 3-6. I am looking forward to an adventurous year in the media

"MAY " IS ON THE WAY AT THE MEDIA CENTER!

"In the night she watched the moon grow from a thin new moon to a ful moon, then back again to a thin old moon, and when there was no moon she watched the stars."

from The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton


 VOTERS! VOTERS! VOTERS!
Thank you to the 140 teachers and students who took time to vote for their favorite Sunshine State book. 

Our results were:
             GRADES 3-5
1st place - Out of MY Mind
2nd   "     - Nerds
3rd    "     - Dying To Meet You
                      GRADES 6-8
1st place  - The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
2nd & 3rd place tie - Out of My Mind & Sent


*****When the state results are in they will be posted.*****




2nd Graders were busy doing a scavenger hunt research with partners on Africa. They used computers and logged into www.worldatlas.com to answer questions. They are studying Africa in the classroom so they also saw a display of African folktales in the media center and heard all about the famous African character named Anansi.

1st Graders took a journey to the bottom of the sea in Down, Down, Down by author Steve Jenkins.
Half the earth lies beneath water more than a mile deep, but most of this watery world is a mystery to us. In fact, more people have walked on the moon than have visited the deepest spot in the ocean. As the students traveled from the surface to he bottom of the sea they saw jellyfish that flash lie a neon sign, creatures with teeth so big that they can't close their mouths, even a squid as long as a bus that battles to the death with a sperm whale, the largest predator on earth. It was a journey they won't soon forget.

3rd grade students continued their research skills by comparing almanacs to atlases and encyclopedias. They reviewed several editions of almanacs with their partners to make comparisons and had discussions about when to use these different research tools.

Alpha students enjoyed the new Caldecott Medal winning book for 2012 entitled A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka. This is the story of a dog and her ball, a tender and beautiful wordless picture book about what it's like to lose something special-and find a friend.

Jr. K students used their imaginations as they listened to the New York Times Bestseller entitled Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld. There's an adorable duck in this book. No, there isn't. It's a cute little rabbit. What? Just look at the cover! That's a duck! No, it's a rabbit! Duck! Rabbit! Duck! Rabbit! Decide for yourself in this playful take on a classic visual puzzle, which proves that when it comes to ducks and rabbits (and a few other things), it all depends on how you look at it.

K students met Epossumondas and all the books about this character written by Coleen Salley and illustrated by Janet Stevens.  Students listened to one of his stories on www.onemorestory.com .Epossumondas is a type of tale called a noodlehead story and comes from southern United States.  Mishaps occur, but are not caused deliberately. The humor is gentle and silly at the same time. The plot may be highly improbable, but not impossibe-it COULD happen. Throughout the ages, storytellers have embellished, adapted, deleted, and added to the tales they tell. The details change, but the heart of the story remains. We recognize old favorites in a new rendition. Thus Epossumondas-a new nae for a classic character-has moved from the human world into the world of animals.


A big thank you goes out to Andi Mullins for chairing the library volunteers this year. Her hard work and precious time has paid off for all of us. She has been giving hands on training sessions since school started. We have many parents who are helping us in the media center this month and they are so appreciated. They are checking out books, helping students locate books and explore the many treasures found in our beautiful media center. Some are also helping with the book displays and decorations. Thank you so much to all of our wonderful parent volunteers who are helping the students "Go Wild for Books" this year.


AWESOME APRIL!


NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK - APRIL 8-14 !!!!

This year's theme is "You belong@ your library"

APRIL 9 is MULTICULTRAL COMMUNICATION MONTH...Check out Mam Lisa's World at www.mamalisa.com, a wedsite with kids' songs and nursery rhymes from across the globe in English and te original languages.

APRIL 12 is Beverly Cleary's Birthday and It's National Humor Month....Did you know Ramona Quimby is the official spokesperson for D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read. Visit www.dropeverythingandread.com/NationalDEAR
day.html
for more information.

APRIL 13 is Lee Bennett Hopkin's Birthday
"We spend too much time teaching children to read and not enough time teaching them to love to read"-Lee Bennett Hopkins

*****VOTING DAYS FOR SUNSHINE STATE YOUNG READER'S AWARD....******
7:30-2:45

THURSDAY - APRIL 19
FRIDAY - " 20
TUESDAY - " 24
WEDNESDAY - " 25
ALL STUDENTS IN GRADES 3-6 WHO HAVE READ 3 BOOKS FROM THIS YEAR'S LIST CAN VOTE!


Students in Grade 2 are studying Africa, so in the library they practiced following directions and using their map skills to locate different countries in that continent. They labeledl and colored the countries as their "student" teachers located them on a huge map using the Elmo projector. They worked with a partner and will continue this research on the computer using World Book Online for their next lesson.

Florida is the main topic for Grade 1 so for their lesson included hearing books about their state. Florida by Ann Heinrichs, Let's Explore America- Florida by Valerie Bodden, and Florida-Facts and Symbols by Emily McAuliffe were read to the students. It is amazing how much they already knew and how much they learned!

Students in grade 3 spent their library time doing research with partners using www.worldatlas.com They are comparing using an online research tool to a "book" atlas. One thing they found in common is that research takes time and you must" dig" into your search and "read" to find answers. They also are learning how to work cooperatively and make decisions by collaborating.

Jr. K. and Alpha students heard one of the books from this year's Florida Reading Association's Children Book Contest entitled Christian, the Hugging Lion by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. This is the true story of two men, Ace and John, who found a lion cub for sale at Harrods department store. They bought him and named him Christian and the three lived happily for a year in a London apartment. But eventually, Christian grew to big and they decided to let him go to live the life of a wild cat in Kenya, Africa. They had a reunion a year after saying good-bye and it is now a famous video that appeared on the Internet in 2008. (YouTube) Look it up for yourselves on www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGKWoJi5qM
The students were very surprised to see it and we discussed how remarkable it was since lions are very dangerous animals and should never be approached closely since they are "wild" animals. Christian was the exception, for sure.
Students will receive a ballot with the 8 books from this year's contest and they will vote for their favorite. Each student will also receive a book bag and 4 other prizes for voting. We do have Fun in our Library and we Learn a lot!

K students listened to this year's Caldecott Honor book entitled Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell. This award-winning picture book author tells the inspiring story of the young girl who would grow up to be Dr. Jane Goodall-primatologist, environmentalist, humanitarian, and United Nations Messenger of Peace. Holding her stuffed toy chimpanzee, young Jane Goodall observes nature, reads Tarzan books, and dreams of living in Africa and helping animals.

They also enjoyed listening to Mommy Mine by Tim Warnes, and illustrated by Jane Chapman who also illustrated Bear Snores On.
Who says K students are too young for ZOO-OLOGY?? Well, they proved they are ready for this subject after finding the hidden little chameleon in the pictures and figuring out the classification of animals. Are they horned or feathered? Are they covered with spots or with stripes? Do they live under the water or under the ground? Do they live in hot weather or cold? More than 300 animals are arranged in thought-provoking thematic groupings in the pages of Zoo-olgy by Joelle Jolivet.

A big thank you goes out to Andi Mullins for chairing the library volunteers this year. Her hard work and precious time has paid off for all of us. She has been giving hands on training sessions since school started. We have many parents who are helping us in the media center this month and they are so appreciated. They are checking out books, helping students locate books and explore the many treasures found in our beautiful media center. Some are also helping with the book displays and decorations. Thank you so much to all of our wonderful parent volunteers who are helping the students "Go Wild for Books" this year.

SRING HAS SPRUNG IN OUR MEDIA CENTER.....





A small green frog On a big brown log, A black and yellow bee In a little green tree, A red and yellow snake By a blue-green lake, All sat and listened To red bird sing, "Wake up, everybody, It's spring! It's spring!"

2nd grade students were very creative as they role played and acted out their favorite "Asian" folktale. Students wore hats and used props to recreate their version of The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop and Kurt Wiese or Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong. Both folktales had some very interesting lessons to be learned for all ages.

1st grade students did an excellent job with the reader's theater of Emma's Poem- the voice of the Statue of Liberty by Linda Glaser. She first visited the Statue of Liberty as a child growing up in New York. The huge statue had welcomed her own immigrant grandparents-Jews from Eastern Europe-when they arrived seeking a better life in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The author of the immigrant novel Bridge to America, Ms. Glaser lives in Duluth, Minnesota, with her family. Visit her at www.LindaGlaserAuthor.com

Students in grade 3 are continuing their research skills and used various altases during their library lesson. They worked with partners and did research. They have been working with encyclopedias both in book form (2012 new edition) and World Book on line. This lesson was another way for them to understand what research tool to use as well as to compare and contrast them.

Jr. K students used their imagination while listening to Piggy Bunny by Rachel Vail.
Liam is a piglet who wants to be the Easter Bunny when he grows up, but no one believes he can do it until, with a lot of practice and some help from his grandparents, he shows them all.

Since Alpha students have been studying about Eric Carle, they listened to his newest book entitled The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse. This book was written to give all children confidence in their own creativity and imagination.

In honor of Relay for Life K students listened to the book entitled Champ's Story: Dogs Get Cancer Too! by Sherry North. A story of a young boy whose dog is diagnosed with cancer. The boy becomes a loving caretaker to his dog, who undergoes the same types of treatments as a human under similar circumstances.

A big thank you goes out to Andi Mullins for chairing the library volunteers this year. Her hard work and precious time has paid off for all of us. She has been giving hands on training sessions since school started. We have many parents who are helping us in the media center this month and they are so appreciated. They are checking out books, helping students locate books and explore the many treasures found in our beautiful media center. Some are also helping with the book displays and decorations. Thank you so much to all of our wonderful parent volunteers who are helping the students "Go Wild for Books" this year.

HOW "MARCH" IS" MARCHING IN" AT THE MEDIA CENTER





"A mouse in her room woke Miss Dowd.
She was frightened, it must be allowed.
Then a happy thought hit her -
To scare off the critter,
She climbed down from her chair and meowed."
- Author Unknown

2nd Grade students are studying the continent of Asia so they read the book entitled Spotlight on Asia by A.R. Schaefer. They also watched a video clip from Brain Pop Jr. on Ancient China to learn many interesting facts about what came from that country, how the Great Wall got built and who was Confucius. They then read The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop and Kurt Wiese and Two of Everything by Lily Toy Hong. Both folktales had some very interesting lessons and twists in the plots. Their task for the next lesson is to decide which story they want to "act out" without using any written script. They will be using their creativity to retell the story.

Since students in grade 1 are studying our national symbols, we discussed the bald eagle, the great seal and the statue of liberty. Students were surprised to find out how this symbol of freedom measures up. They listened to the story entitled Emma's Poem - the voice of the Statue of Liberty by Linda Glaser. Emma Lazarus's now famous poem, written as part of the fundraising campaign, is displayed in the statues's museum located on the second floor in the pedestal. Working with partners, they also did a reader's theater of the book.

Students in Jr. K are studying about Africa and during their library lesson they helped read the story entitled Traveling to Tondo - a Tale of the Nkundo of Zaire retold by Verna Aardema.This folklore is about a civet cat who meets with extraordinary and unexpected delays on his way to his wedding with his friends as attendants. The children helped out with the reading by repeating the words of the people who live in the rain fores of Zaire. Their language is called Lonkundo (Lon-KOON-doh) and the students said the vocabulary words in that language.

Third graders continued doing their research work using encyclopedias in the media center and they worked with the same partners from the World Book Encyclopedia online lesson. They used the indexes of the encyclopedias to locate the correct volume and pages to answer research questions and got very excited while finding out some very interesting facts.
We will compare both types of research during our next lesson.

Alpha students have been studying all about Dr. Seuss in honor of his March 2 birthday and "The Lorax" movie which opened in theaters this month. To continue the celebration we read The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and the children helped along by reciting the alphabet at the end....what to know why? ... Just read the sequel to the famous Cat in the Hat soon to find out!


Kindergarten students discussed all the habits of leprechauns and listened to two stories in honor of St. Patrick's Day, which will be celebrated during their spring break. Lucky O'Leprechaun by Jana Dillon and takes place on St. Patrick's Day eve when Meghan and Sean get help from their three grandaunties and manage to capture a sly leprechaun. Clever Tom and the Leprechaun by Linda Shute, is about clever Tom Fitzpatrick who thinks his fortune is made when he captures a leprechaun and forces him to reveal the hiding place of his gold, but the leprechaun is clever too.