THE GREATEST ADVENTURE

The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
Today and tomorrow are yet to be said.
The chances, the changes are all yours to make.
The mold of your life is in your hands to break.
           (from THE HOBBIT,  by J.R.R. Tolkien)


Books without words was the focus for students in grade 1. Using their imaginations and the pictures to form the story, students enjoyed Tuesday, Art & Max, Free Fall, 7 Sector 7 all by David Wiesner and  Chalk by Bill Thomson. In Chalk, three children go to the park on a rainy day and find a bag of chalk...You will not believe the magic that begins when they begin to draw.

Students in grade 2 chose an Asian book and by using a check list they needed to locate all the parts of the book including maps, charts, time lines, fun facts, recipes, author information, table of contents, glossary, index, internet sites, useful addresses bibliography, boldface type, and pictures. They shared their findings as well as interesting facts to their classmates.

Mrs. Smay also showed the students how to make a book come alive with augmented reality using the app Aurasma. She showed the students how to access and use the app, too. They were delighted to see the flames coming out of the oven, the school of fish swimming on the pages and the dragon scene on this video below. This is a great way to add a special feature to a wonderful book..

Spots and stripes on Earth's creatures, give each animal unique features and by taking a closer look, the readers in Jr. K discovered Lots of Spots by Lois Ehlert. 

Do you know the alphabet ?....well in Kelly Bingham's book entitled Z is for Moose the students in Alpha class learned why the title was chosen for this outstanding book. It is a book about friendship, hurt feelings and choices as well as an alphabet book.

Students in grade 3 worked with Atlases and Almanacs to find out when they would need to use them. They also compared what information each type of reference book contains.

 


Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started in the new year. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule of  Andi Mullins. I am very thankful for the new "APRIL LOOK" in the library thanks to all the wonderful other volunteers who decorated and pulled the new author books. You are all so appreciated and loved by the children and especially by the librarians.

APRIL ARRIVES IN THE MEDIA CENTER

                    THE WISE OLD OWL

A wise old owl sat in an oak, 
The more he heard the less he spoke,
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?

Happy National Library Week - April 14-20

One way students in grades 3-5 will be celebrating is by voting for their favorite Sunshine State book.

Students in grade 2 acted out the book The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop. They picked out their part, and using props recreated the story in their own words. Everyone enjoyed this way of appreciating literature and realizing how each country has tales that are told and retold over the generations. A comparison of the different versions of this popular book was also discussed.

In 1st grade the students discussed the book written by Madonna entitled Mr. Peobody's Apples. This book was inspired by a nearly 300-year-old story that was told to her by her Kabbalah teacher. It is about the power of words, and how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to

others.

Students in K were detectives as they listened to Winston the Book Wolf by Marni McGee and Ian Beck. They had to fill in the story web and answer Who? What? When? Where? Problem? Solution? 
In this story Winston the wolf has a very big appetite and his favorite thing to eat is a book! Can Winston learn that eating words is not the only way to enjoy them? Find out in this tasty morsel of a story.

In Alpha, students discussed inspiration after reading Hank Finds Inspiration by Craig Frazier. They discussed places, things, and events that give them inspiration. They really enjoyed the surprise ending, too.

Students in Jr. K followed the adventures of Little Mouse as she creates a painting which looks like three different things to her three friends, all of whom find themselves in it. They listened to the book entitled Little Mouse's Painting by Diane Wolkstein and illustrated by Maryjane Begin and found out about Little Mouse, Squirrel, Porcupine who have tea together and go for walks together. One day Little Mouse decides to do something all by herself...and that is when the fun begins....In this warm book about friendship, the talents of two major artists intertwine.

 Students in grade 3 worked in teams to find answers to research questions using encyclopedias. They learned how to use the index, figure out Key Words, locate the page and volume where the information was found and recorded it. Each team shared their findings with the entire class and every team found their answers....some teams even asked..."Can we do another one?"....proving that research can be fun....





  Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers.....we have seen so many wonderful volunteers since school started in the new year. Thanks to the hard work and very flexible schedule of  Andi Mullins. I am very thankful for the new "APRIL look" in the library thanks to all the wonderful other volunteers who decorated and pulled the new author books. You are all so appreciated and loved by the children, and especially by the librarian.