WELCOME BACK !!!

This year our library theme is, "I'm Wild About Books" and the library is decorated with lots of wild animal displays. Our library hours are from 7:30-5:00 Monday-Thursday and 7:30-3:15 on Friday. Hope to see you soon!

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.Association The Florida Reading 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 center. Stop by soon!!

KEEP READING THIS SUMMER!

Students in Grade 1 are studying the ocean and for their lesson they enjoyed the music and narrative ballad of Follow the Moon by Sarah Weeks. This is a story about friendship and a child's deep bond with nature. A newborn sea turtle, whose instinct is to "follow the moon" to find the ocean, is drawn instead by a glittering mirrored ball in a crowded dance club. He is rescued by a young boy who helps him learn to listen to the voice inside his head.

Teeth fall out every day, all over the world. What do you do with yours? In Grade 2 the students traveled around the world to learn about the tooth tales and traditions from around the world. They read Tooth Tales from around the World by Marlene Targ Brill and Throw Your Tooth on the Roof: tooth traditions from around the world by Selby B. Beeler. For thousands of years, children around the world have followed special customs when they lose their teeth. From the tooth mouse to the tooth fairy the students were introduced to stories old and new from a variety of cultures.

Students in K studied Zoology by reading the book by Joelle Jolivet. Students had to classify the animals in the pages by discovering similar aspects. They learned compound words, too, such as seabed and underground.

Do you know what the odds of a shark attack are? The odds of a shark attack are extremely small-only about one in twelve million.Third graders worked in partners to learn this fact and lots more about Sharks after reading the book by Beverly McMillan and John A. Musick. They discussed shark defenses, the different kinds of hammerhead species, how sharks are in danger, and where river sharks can be found.

A BIG THANK YOU again to all of our library volunteers. I am so grateful to Jodi Gayoso for making sure every week the library schedule is posted and coverage is available for all the classes. All of you are so appreciated and your efforts are making the students happy to visit the media center.

MARVELOUS MAY

HAPPY MAY DAY!

The votes have been counted and the winners of this year's FRA (Florida Reading Association) Children's Book Award for 2010-2011 have been announced:
**WINNER -
Dewey: There's A Cat in the Library - by Vicki Myron

*HONOR TITLES -
Three Little Gators - by Helen Ketteman
Trouble Gum - by Matthew Cordell

An interesting fact is the students at Shorecrest who voted in Grades Alpha-grade 2 also picked the same winning book and one of the honor books was their second winner. Congratulations to all of our voters!

SUNSHINE STATE YOUNG READER'S AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
In a very close contest, the grades 3-5 winner is M. C. Delaney for Obi, Gerbil on the Loose.
The grades 6-8 winner is Roland Smith for I.Q.: Independence Hall. This is Mr. Smith's 3rd time as a SSYRA winner. He has previously won for Jaguar (grades 6-8 in 1999-2000) and Cryptid Hunters (grades 3-5 and 6-8 in 2006-2007).

Students in grade 1 are studying life in the oceans so they enjoyed learning facts about Manatees in the National Geographic book entitled Face to Face with Manatees by Brian Skerry. Do you know what a group of manatees are called? What are the males called? How about the females and babies? If you want to know, just ask any first grader.
In honor of Earth Day, students also read the book entitled Michael Recycle Meets Litterbug Doug by Ellie Bethel. Not only did they enjoy the story, they learned some valuable lessons about going green and trash. Next time you buy a six-pack of any beverage, snip the rings of the plastic holder before you throw it away. Uncut rings often strangle seabirds and other animals. Another interesting fact, did you know that twenty years ago there were almost 8.000 landfills in the United States? As of 2007, there were more than 1,700. Recycling saves room in landfills. So be cool....recycle!

Students in grade 2 continued to take turns reading Africa Is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight by reading about all the countries in the continent of Africa. This vast continent is made up of 53 nations. If you took the land of the United States and added it to the lands of China, Japan, and Europe, Africa would still be bigger.Unlike any other continent, it is divided into two almost equal lengths by the equator, and it is nearly as wide as it is long.

Before they begin planting new trees, Mr. Tate tells his students to listen closely as the lone tree behind their school counts out ten ways it serves the needs of different animals. Students in Jr. K listened to Alison Formento's gentle story, entitled This Tree Counts, illustrated with Sarah Snow's beautiful papercuts, whispering important ideas to young tree lovers.

Opposites was the main theme for students in Alpha as they read Black White Day Night by Laura Vaccaro Seeger. In this book there are a series of colorful die-cut pages that introduce a number of things that are opposites including black and white, big and little, and day and night. The children learned and reviewed opposites and fun, too!

In grade 3, students discussed their favorite type of bubble gum.Gum has been around for centuries. The ancient Greeks chewed say from mastic trees. The American Indians chewed spruce resin. Men in top hats and women in puffy dresses chewed gum to cure things like stomachaches. Gum wasn't that exciting. But what if gum chewers could blow bubbles while chewing it? In the late 1920's a factory in Philadelphia was working on a top secret project. Month after month the workers experimented with different ingredients and formulas. And month after month all they had to show for their hard work was a big sticky mess. Would there be no bubble gum? Sometimes the best inventions come from the most unexpected places...Full of fun historical facts, Pop! : the Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy is the true story of how bubble gum was invented.
They also took turns telling the story of The Silver Pony: a story in pictures by Lynd Ward. They needed to pay attention to what the names of the characters were and what the previous readers said since this was a book without any words. It was amazing that every class told a different story, too!

A BIG THANK YOU again to all of our library volunteers. I am so grateful to Jodi Gayoso for making sure every week the library schedule is posted and coverage is available for all the classes. All of you are so appreciated and your efforts are making the students happy to visit the media center.

AWESOME APRIL

Mo Willems is the New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of picture books and early readers that have changed the face of children's literature. He has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions, and two of his Elephant and Piggie early readers received Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals. Therefore, many of the students in grade 1 knew the author of the book they read this week in their library class entitled, City Dog, Country Frog. In this story, written with poignant text and expressive watercolors, there is a reflection on the natural course of friendship and life that will resonate with readers of all ages. The second book they read was entitled Chalk by Bill Thomson which takes place on a rainy day with three children in a park with a dinosaur spring ride and a bag of chalk. The children begin to draw and then...magic.

Students in grade 2 took turns reading Africa Is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight by reading about all the countries in the continent of Africa. This vast continent is made up of 53 nations. If you took the land of the United States and added it to the lands of China, Japan, and Europe, Africa would still be bigger.Unlike any other continent, it is divided into two almost equal lengths by the equator, and it is nearly as wide as it is long.

To celebrate the Arts in our library classes, K students heard the story entitled Louie by Will Hillenbrand. Louie, the pig, loves to draw, but it gets him thrown out of every school he attends. So he goes to live with his aunt and uncle who help him realize he has a wonderful talent.

Students in Jr K heard the newest Knuffle Bunny entitled Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems. In this third book in the series Trixie and her famiy are off on a fantastic trip to visit her grandparents-all the way in Holland. But does Knuffle Bunny have different travel plans? The first book is entitled Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale and won a Caldecott Honor. The sequel is Knuffle Bunny Too: a case of mistaken identity.

Alpha students enjoyed listening to Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith. There is a lot to do before Little Mouse is reay to go visit the barn. Will he master all te intricacies of getting dressed, from snaps and buttons to Velcro and tail holes? This Theodor Seuss Geisel honor book by Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Jeff Smith is filled with humor and excitement. Another story they heard was entitled I'm the Best by Lucy Cousins. Valuable lessons were learned and discussed with the students after listening to this colorful work.

Students in grade 3 had to solve 13 riddles in Spot the Plot by J. Patrick Lewis. Each riddle described a book the students may have read and some of the titles included The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Madeline, Cinderella, The Story of Ferdinand, Goodnight Moon, The Adventure of Pinocchio, The Polar Express, Rapunzel, Charlotte's Web, Tacky the Penquin, Click, Clack, Moo, and the Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Fifth grade students learned about all the many award-winning books for young readers by author Avi. His extraordinary range of books include fantasies, sports stories, tales of suspense and terror, historical adventures, and a graphic novel. He has written over 70 books and is the creator of the Breakfast Serials stories by well-known writers, which appear, chapter by chaper, in hundreds of newspapers across America, and now have more than forty million devoted weekely readers. He and his family live in Denver, Colorado.

Voting took place in the media center last week and over 70 voters from grades 3-5, who read at least 3 books, cast their ballots for their favorite book from this year's Sunshine State Young Reader's Award contest. The results were sent to the DOE in Tallahassee and we will know the winner by the middle of May. Thank you to all the teachers and students who participated in this state reading program.

A BIG THANK YOU again to all of our library volunteers. I am so grateful to Jodi Gayoso for making sure every week the library schedule is posted and coverage is available for all the classes. All of you are so appreciated and your efforts are making the students happy to visit the media center.

APRIL ACTIVITIES IN THE MEDIA CENTER

Students in Grade 1 found out all about the 2011 Randolph CaldecottMedal which is given for the most distinguished American picture book for children. They studied the charts and found many of their favorite books, too. This year's winner is " A Sick Day for Amos McGee," illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead. The children enjoyed listening to the story and looking at the illustrations. Two Caldecott Honor Books were also discussed. They are "Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave," illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill and "Interrupting Chicken," written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein.

In Grade 2, students are studying Asia and they chose from three popular stories in the Chinese folktelling tradition to act out the book. This role playing was done to one of the following stories: The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop, Six Chinese Brothers by Cheng Hou-tien, The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy.

As a follow up to their field trip to the zoo last week, students in K learned about symbiosis which is the relationship in which each animal helps the other. They listened to the non-fiction book entitled How to Clean a Hippopotamus by Steve Jenkins and learned the answers to the following questions: Why does a giraffe let an oxpecker climb into its ear? Why do a coyote and a badger team up? Why does a crab wave an anemone like a pom-pom? Why does a plover stroll into a crocodile's mouth? How does a turtle keep a hippopotamus clean? Want to know any of the answers? Just ask any K student.

Third grade students were very busy this week in the media center working in partners to compare and contrast the uses of almanacs and atlases. They learned how to use each reference book as well as when to use them. Each team reported their findings to the entire class so they all learned from each other.

Alpha and Jr K students heard all about the famous cat who lived in the library after listening to the FRA book on this year's list entitled Dewey There's a Cat in the Library by Vicki Myron, the librarian who worked at the Spencer Public Library in Spencer, Iowa, where Dewey was found in the book drop slot.
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VOTING FOR THE SUNSHINE STATE BOOKS WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE MEDIA CENTER NEXT WEEK:
MONDAY - APRIL 4 (7:30-5:00) TUESDAY - APRIL 5 (7:30- 2:30) WEDNESDAY - APRIL 6 (7:30 - 5:00) THURSDAY - APRIL 7 (7:30 - 2:30)
ANYONE WHO READ 3 OR MORE OF BOOKS FROM THIS YEAR'S LIST ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE.
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A BIG THANK YOU again to all of our library volunteers. I am so grateful to Jodi Gayoso for making sure every week the library schedule is posted and coverage is available for all the classes. All of you are so appreciated and your efforts are making the students happy to visit the media center.

MARCH MEMORIES

In first grade students heard the story behind the voice of the Statue of Liberty entitled Emma's Poem by Linda Glaser with paintings by Claire A. Nivola. Emma Lazarus was a writer at heart. She was born in 1849 into a wealthy Jewish family in New York City, and wrote many poems, stories, and articles during her short life. She was already a highly respected writer at thirty-eight years old when she died of Hodgkin's disease.
Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus," poem about the Statue of Liberty, in 1883 when she was thirty-four years old. Thanks to Emma's friend Georgina Schuyler, the poem was engraved on a bronze plaque and placed inside an entryway to the statue's pedestal-thus saving it for posterity. The bold words that Emma gave the statue to speak are the most famous of all her poetry-and are permanently linked with the statue and known throughout the world. Now on display in the Statue of Liberty Museum, the poem is viewed by millions of visitors each year and continues to stir the hearts of people in the United States and give hope to all those around the world who "yearn to breathe free."

Students in grade 2 were comparing the Asian stories of The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop, Six Chinese Brothers: an ancient tale by Cheng Hou-tien, and The Seven Chinese Brothers by Margaret Mahy in their library classes this week. After listening to all three stories they did a comparison and contrast exercise.

Who says encyclopedias are not being used anymore...well if you stopped in the media center this week when third graders were finding their answers to research questions using them, you would definitely change your mind. Students work cooperatively in teams of four and each one had a specific job to perform. One was the reader (who choose the question and read it to the group), the runner ( who actually went to the shelves to choose the correct encyclopedia volume to use to do the research), the researcher (who read the article for the answers) and the scribe (who wrote the answer down after the group discussed it). The students had so much fun when they finished one question they ASKED if they could do another one...and they learned how to use the index of the set of encyclopedias! Their rewards including sharing the questions and answers with the entire class and choosing a scratch and sniff book mark. Next lesson we will investigate almanacs and atlases!

Fifth graders were introduced to the famous British author Brian Jacques, renowned for his bestselling "Redwall" children's fantasy series who recently died on February 5, 2011. He came to write "Redwall" for the children at a blind school in Liverpool where he delivered milk. The tale centers around a young mouse Matthias who summons the courage to protect Redwall Abbey when it is threatened by a rat culled Cluny. Jacques made his writing as descriptive as possiblewith his blind audience in mind, and, when his childhood English teacher Alan Durband took the story to a publisher, it offered the author a five-book deal. Twenty-one Redwall books followed, starting with Redwall in 1986 and ending with "The Sable Queen" published in 2010. The 22nd novel, "The Rogue Crew," is due to appear later this year.

K students are planning a field trip to the zoo this month so in their library lesson they enjoyed the story of Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo by E. S. Redmond. In this story Felicity Floo takes a trip to the zoo despite being sick and as she pets all of the animals she leaves behind handprints of green slim which causes everything from emus to llamas and elephants to become ill. Proper hand washing was discussed and the students voted not to invite Felicity on their upcoming trip.

In preparation for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday students in Jr K listened to the story Lucky O'Leprechaun written and illustrated by Jana Dillon which takes place on St. Patrick's Day eve, Meghan and Sean get help from their three grandaunties and manage to capture a sly leprechaun. Don't be surprised if some of the Jr K students go on a leprechaun search next Thursday, which is the holiday.

A BIG THANK YOU again to all of our library volunteers. I am so grateful to Jodi Gayoso for making sure every week the library schedule is posted and coverage is available for all the classes. All of you are so appreciated and your efforts are making the students happy to visit the media center.

FEBRUARY.....READ WEEK!

In preparing the students in grades ECC - 2 for the visiting author/illustrator Frank Remkiewicz several of his works were on display this week in the media center. He is the illustrator for the Horrible Harry series, the Froggy series, and several math books including Arithmetickle, Piggy and Dad Go Fishing, Just Enough Carrots and Less Than Zero. Students also enjoyed working in teams as clever
detectives as they listened to There's Only One Harris, which he wrote and illustrated. They will have some interesting questions for him to answer when he visits our ECC- 2 graders on March 1. Students in Jr. K enjoyed listening to Let's Go Froggy and in Alpha we heard all about Froggy's First Christmas.We are all looking forward to that day for sure.

Fifth graders saw i-movie interviews with popular author Louis Sachar. Some of his books are There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, the Marvin Redpost series, Holes and Small Steps. Holes is a winner of the National Book Award, a New York Times Book Review Notable Children's Book of
the Year, a New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a Horn Book Fanfare Honor list Book, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, a Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Winner and a John Newbery Medal Winner. A movie was made from the book as well. Mr. Sachar is a writer who does not discuss his book with anyone until it is finished and it takes him 1-2 years to finish a book. He lives in Austin, Texas.

Our unit on Reference books began with the third graders working with partners to list the many uses of dictionaries and thesauruses. Students discussed thumb indexes, abridged and unabridged forms of dictionaries and the etymology of words. They will be using encyclopedias, atlases and almanacs in the weeks ahead. The final goal is to know when each type of reference book is used to locate the information you need. We will also be using the computer forms of these research tools.

A BIG THANK YOU again to all of our library volunteers. I am so grateful to Jodi Gayoso for making sure every week the library schedule is posted and coverage is available for all the classes. All of you are so appreciated and your efforts are making the students happy to visit the media center.