Diary of a Wimpy Kid Reading Party.

Join me on Friday, January 23rd to celebrate the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Last Straw.

For Who: Students in the 4th and 5th Grade that LOVE the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books


When: Friday, January 30th at 3:10 (SQUIRT time)


Where: The Library


What to bring: Your favorite Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, something comfy to read with (like your favorite reading pillow)


What to expect: A quiet place to read and enjoy one of our favorite series, and some Diary of a Wimpy Kid games


Please see me (Mrs. C) if you are interested in attending Diary of a Wimpy Kid Reading Party.

NO MORE OVERDUES!

I have decided that the Library is no longer going to hand out overdue notices. My New Year's resolution is to save paper and weekly overdue notices waste too much paper. Instead I am expecting my students to be more responsible for their Library books. All Library books go out for one week and all students can renew (check out again) their Library  book if they are still reading it. If they wish to renew their books, students need to renew their book during their Library time. Students should also record in their agenda books when their books are due, or, a reminder when to bring in their book. 

As an incentive (reward), classes with no overdue books for the month of January will be allowed to check out two books during the 1st week of February. That is right, every student in an overdue-free class will be allowed to check out an additional book.

NO MORE OVERDUE BOOK! Say YES to an extra book!

Our Librarian Won't Tell Us Anything!

You are sitting in science class when your teacher announces that you are going to do an animal research project. You silently groan as you pull out "naked mole-rat" from the hat; you know nothing about naked mole-rats." You groan out loud when your teacher passes out a grading rubric and you read that you need to use a book, an encyclopedia, and a web site to find information. How are you going to find all that? Where are you going to find all that?

Sure, you can go to the Library but it always seems that the librarian never answers your questions and does not get you what you need. It is almost as if she expects you to learn how to find the information you are looking for.

Robert and Carmen are in your shoes. When their teacher Mr. Dickinson assigns them a predator and prey multimedia product- they go to Mrs Skorupski, their school librarian. Carmen insists that "Our librarian won't tell us anything!" But does she really? Does Mrs. Skorupski not tell the them anything?

How does one explain how Robert becomes a "Library Success Story."

4th graders are going to answer the following question:

How does one become a Library Success story?

Please post your answers under comments.

Search Engines

Currently 5th grade is learning about research strageties. The next few weeks we are going to focus on using the Internet to help us find information. When starting to look on the Internet, one usually starts on a web site called a SEARCH ENGINE. A search engine is a web site that's job is to look for another web sites that best match what we are looking for!

For our activator, please answer the following questions in the comment section of the blog:
What search engine do you like to use? Why do you like to use this search engine?

Please answer in a complete sentence.

At the end of Library today, students may go back and take a look at different classmates answers. To view answers, just click on view comments.

MSLA Conference 2008

On Monday, November 3rd, I will be out for professional development. Read all about my adventures at MSLA this year here: http://mslaconference2008.blogspot.com

Winged Sandals: Challenges in Greek Myths

Currently the 4th Grade is working on a unit on Myths. The past few lessons, students have been taking a look on different Greek Myths, their (the myths) characteristics and the different characters. During the week of October 6th, the students learned about the heroes in Greek Myths and the different challenges they face in the stories. The students watched Winged Sandals: Perseus and Medusa and was presented to do the following:

After watching the following short film- Winged Sandals: Perseus and Medusa (clip from Unitedstreaming), answer the following question:

What was King Polydecte's challenge to Perseus?

Click on comments to post your answer.

Standards addressed: ELA

Grades 3-4
16.6 Acquire knowledge of culturally significant characters and events in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology and other traditional literature

Birthday Book Club starts

On Wednesday, October 1st, the Birthday Book Club Letter and Form will be going out to all students in grades K-5. Last year, the Library received over 100 books through the BBC. I know this year we will even more successful!

The Birthday Book Club is a program to give families the opportunity to celebrate their child’s birthday by donating a book to the school’s library. Families may donate a book in honor of their child’s birthday or donate money to the library for us to purchase a book their honor. This is a wonderful opportunity for families to recognize their child’s birthday while helping to enhance the library’s collection.

How does the Birthday Book Club work? At the beginning of each month, a sign up form will go home to students whose birthdays are in that month. If you are interested in participating in the Birthday Book Club, please fill out the form and return it to your child’s classroom teacher. Families may donate up to $15.00 for a birthday book or may choose to donate a brand new book of their choice. A bookplate will be placed inside the book to recognize the student’s special day and contribution. At the end of the month, participants will be called to the library to see their donations. A photo will be taken of all the students with their donation and they will be the first to check out their books.

Please help us celebrate our student’s birthdays. If you have any questions about the Birthday Book Club program, please contact Katie Cerasale-Messina, the A.C Whelan School’s Librarian, at 781-388-7510. Copies of the letter and the form can be found on the Library Web Site under the link "Library Documents: Students and Parents.