80,000 minutes? Yes, we can!

Sprague School December Break Reading Challenge.

Can Sprague students and staff read 80,000 minutes over the December break?
I believe we can.

Every student and staff member should have a Reading Challenge reading log to keep track of their minutes read over the December break.

If we hit our goal (or blow it out) we will earn an all-school Pajama Day!  Personally, I am very excited about a pajama day because I don't usually get to participate in those.  I've got my pajamas, bathrobe and fuzzy slippers all picked out.  I hope we make it.

What counts as reading?

• Being read aloud to
• Listening to an audio book
• Reading to yourself
• Reading aloud to someone else

Also, we will recognize

• the class with the most total minutes read
• the top 10 student readers
• the class with the highest percentage participation

Don't forget to bring your reading log back to school after the break!

All reading logs are due on Thursday, January 5, 2017.

We've got this!

Read On!

Ms. J.

Need a reading log?  Here's the link to the Sprague December Break Reading Challenge LOG

Hour of Code... in the Library? Yes!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... I worked for a software company and not only did computer programming, but also taught it.  Weird, but true.

Flash forward to 2016, and here I am the Library Teacher at Sprague, but I still think programming is fun to do.  Personally, I love the problem solving aspects of it and the fun of making something that actually works.

Code.org sponsors The Hour of Code - a global week of coding for children all around the world.  We took time in library this week for students to try out block coding. Here is a cool video about coding in the library:

If you want to keep working on your coding here is the link to all of the code.org modules:

https://code.org/learn

And even though I do enjoy a little coding, now and then, I still love books!
Read on!
Ms. J.

Thanksgiving in the Library

I've heard from many people over the years that Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday.  It is definitely one of my favorites too and I try to find different ways to approach talking and reading about it in the library.

1st Grade and Thanksgiving

I start off this class by asking students if they have ever watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade themselves - either on TV or in person in New York City.  Then we read this picture book biography of Tony Sarg, the puppeteer who imagined and created the giant balloons for the parade.  Finally, students have a chance to draw a picture of the balloon they would make.  I love the wild ideas that 1st graders come up with - the lions and tigers and dragons, the volcanos and tornadoes and, of course, the wide variety of Pokemon characters.

2nd Grade and Thanksgiving

Despite the fact that cranberries are grown right here in Massachusetts, I never really knew much about how they are cultivated and harvested.  This book got me thinking about cranberries and since I think of them as an essential part of the Thanksgiving meal I developed an entire class around them.  We start off by discussing what foods do we eat at Thanksgiving that were eaten at the original Thanksgiving... turkey, pumpkin and cranberries are at the top of that list.  We read the book and then watch a short video about the cranberry harvest in Massachusetts.  We finish up with students taking a quick survey - putting a colored stickie on their favorite cranberry food.  Cranberry muffins usually beats out cranberry sauce, juice and dried cranberries.

4th Grade and Thanksgiving

This is my personal favorite. I have been doing this lesson with 4th graders since this book came out.  First of all, the book is hilarious and is written in a way that grabs and holds on to everyone's attention.  Then it brings up the wonderful concept of writing to the President of the United States about an issue that is important to you.  We read the book and then students write letters to the President. I always mail them and usually sometime in December we get a big envelop back from The White House which is always so exciting.



However you celebrate it and whatever you are eating this Thanksgiving, I wish you a wonderful holiday.

Read On!
-Ms. J.

What we are up to in 2nd Grade Library: Catalina Neon.

The Library of Congress, in partnership with the current Poet Laureate, Juan Herrera Felipe, are sponsoring an online ebook project for 2nd and 3rd graders in the United States. Throughout this school year they will be publishing chapters of a book about the adventures of a girl named Catalina Neon and her dog Tortilla.  Here is a link to the webpage all about this exciting project.

In our 2nd grade library classes here at Sprague, we have read this first chapter and begun thinking about ideas to submit to the Library of Congress about what chapter two could be about. The prompt they have given us reads:

“Where does Tortilla go? Describe in detail—make us see, hear, and feel where Catalina’s doggy is!” 


Students have come up with some fun ideas and we will select three in each class and spend some time working on writing about those ideas to help the reader see, hear and feel what is happening. We will be submitting our work to the Library of Congress on the November 1st due date.

The Project plans to add chapters to the Catalina Neon book throughout the school year - ending with a final chapter in June 2017.  We will be periodically checking back into the website to see the progress on the book and perhaps to work on more suggestions for future chapters.

Perhaps it is too much to hope that one of our Sprague submissions will be selected as the inspiration for the next chapter, but you never know.

Read On!
Ms. J.

What we are up to in 4th Grade Library: Architecture ThingLink Project

Architecture ThingLink Project

Ms. J.'s example ThingLink:


What is this thing?
It is a super cool library building (of course)! The main branch of the Seattle Public Library.  I have been inside and walked around and this is one of the coolest and must functional library spaces I have ever been in. Make sure to add a stop here next time you are visiting Washington State.

The 4th Graders have been so busy delving into all thing architectural.

In class (and at home) they created some amazing dream houses with detailed floor plans and furnishings. A few of these are now on display in the library.

In Library Class students searched for an image on Britannica ImageQuest of a building they found interesting.  Once they selected their building and image they used a new online tool called ThingLink to add notes directly onto the photo.

Sound interesting?

To see the 4th graders projects, just click on this link: 4th Grade ArchitectureThinkLink Projects.
Enjoy.

Read On!
Ms. J.

What we are up to in 1st Grade library: Rhyming Dust Bunnies

This past week in 1st Grade Library Class we read the very funny book, Rhyming Dust Bunnies, and had some discussion about what makes words rhyme.

Students then had a chance to create their own personal dust bunny book mark including at least two words that rhyme.  The resulting dust bunnies were amazing! Here are a few of my favorites:

Mega Awesome!

 

Mega Awesome Author Visit in Wellesley

Don't miss Rick Riordan, Eoin Colfer and Jonathan Stroud along with Robert Beatty and Joshua Khan when they are here in Wellesley on Sunday, November 6th.

For more information and to buy tickets to this Mega Awesome author event check out the Wellesley Books Mega Awesome webpage.

See you there!
-Ms. J.

Why Elementary School Libraries Matter

Two recent pieces in the Boston Herald about the state of school libraries in the Boston Public School District got me thinking.  The original article and  Sapochetti's subsequent column, "You can read trouble into lack of libraries," highlight the fact that out of 126 schools in the City of Boston, 76 do not even have a library.  Out of the few schools that have a library, even fewer have an actual, trained and qualified library teacher.  For the vast majority of Boston Public School students the first school library they encounter is when they get to high school.

So, what have they missed?  What is the big deal if students don't see or get to use a school library until high school?  I have been mulling over that question for the last week and here is what I have come up with:

If a student has never had a school library he or she will not have had an opportunity to learn...

... that a library is a place to find something good to read.

Where do you go to find something to read if there is no library?  Yes, teachers have classroom libraries, but those can be limited.  A bookstore? That can be pretty expensive.  A public library... but is there a branch nearby with hours of operation that make it possible to go?  Teachers are always talking about the importance of reading, but how important can it be if there is no opportunity to find something I really want to read?

... that a library is a place to go when you need help.

My iPad is doing something weird can you help me fix it? How do I find a book about tide pools? I need to download an ebook, but I don't know how.  Do you know how to find primary sources that are relevant to this project? I love this book can you help me find another book that is like it? I'm supposed to present both sides of the argument that is occurring on this topic can you help me find current opinion columns?

... that a library is a great place to go when you need reliable information.

Anyone can Google and read Wikipedia, but what do you do when your teachers want scholarly sources?  What is a scholarly source anyway and how do I find one?  Why does information have to be reliable anyway?  What difference does it make? Why is a database better? How do I find a website that has information I can trust?

... that a library is a place to satisfy your curiosity.

Children start life off full of curiosity about the world and how it works. A library can be a place to satisfy curiosity, a place to find out and to explore, a place to ask questions and then find out the answers. It starts with noticing the world around us, but then we have to take a moment to think and to wonder... how? why? who?  A library can be a place to answer those questions.

... that a library is full of surprises.

You might not expect to find some of the things you will find in a modern school library like audio books in digital formats, ebooks that you can download to a school or a personal device, online resources that help you find information, blogs, booklists, pop-up books, Playaways, green screens and so much more.

... that a library is a safe spot.

Sometimes we all just need a place to stop in the middle of a busy day and flip through the pages of a favorite magazine or to curl up on a soft cushion and read a beloved story.  Sometimes we need a quiet place to be still and to reflect, a place to write or to read.  These moments are an essential part of learning - they are the time when we synthesize information and turn it into real knowledge and understanding that we can use as we navigate the world around us.

For the student whose first encounter with a school library does not come until 9th grade they will not know from experience the wealth of resources and assistance that are waiting for them behind those doors. 

I believe a strong school library matters and everyday that I am at Sprague I am in in the library everyday doing my best to make sure my students move on to middle school and high school with a solid understanding of how useful and amazing a library can be.

What we are up to in 2nd grade library: Oliver Jeffers and Stuck.

This past week in library classes the 2nd grade students had a chance to "meet" the author/illustrator Oliver Jeffers.  Okay, okay, he did not actually come to Sprague to visit, but we watched this excellent, and quite humorous, video about him and read one of his books.

Mr. Jeffers is the illustrator for both of the Crayon books - that is The Day the Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home so most 2nd graders are familiar with his work and style and also are big fans. We read a book that he wrote and illustrated titled Stuck.

The hilarious thing about this book is that Floyd throws item after item up into the tree to try to knock his kite down and everything he throws up gets stuck.  This is an incredibly silly (and therefore) fun book to read aloud.  We took some time after reading the book to come up with our own items to get stuck in the tree.  Take a look at the crazy Stuck trees the 2nd graders made:

2KC - In addition to the fast blue car and the ice cream cone, Elephant and Piggie made it into this tree.

2KF - lots of donuts stuck in this tree along with Darth Vader and some balloons.

2MH - notice the 3D items like the paper airplanes, the volcanoes, the sun and the Empire State building.

I hope you are enjoying your book as much as we are enjoying ours.
Read On!
Ms. J.

What I remember about my school libraries...

... Or how our personal experiences shape the way we approach teaching in the library now.

I only have few memories of my school library when I was a student at Lincoln Street Elementary School in the 1970s.  I remember visiting with my 4th grade class and having a teacher direct our attention to the biography section.  She told us about a former student who decided to read all of the biographies in the library in one school year.  This was not an idea or a challenge I ever would have come up with on my own and I found it interesting, if not totally inspiring.

My husband remembers one thing and one thing only about his school library experience in elementary school: the frustration of never having enough time to select and check out a book.

Now that I find myself teaching in the library, I like the idea of making suggestions to students about their reading choices that they might not have thought of on their own. The library can and should be a place where students have a chance to set their own goals and make their own choices based on what they are interested in.

I keep my husband's shared memory in the forefront of my mind always.  I know students want time to check out a book that they are excited to read and I want to make sure they have that time and any help they might need to find that book.

I have no memory of a library teacher from middle school at all and I never saw or spoke to a librarian in high school either.  With that in mind, I aim to be available to help my students and to get to know them and their interests as much as possible.

Read On!
Ms. J.

Print and eBooks Co-exist

Picture from wikiHow.com 

I opened up the newspaper this morning only to find that there was a very relevant article about books.  It looks like printed, paper, dead-tree books are not going anywhere despite the existence of ebooks available on every phone and tablet.

The article from the New York Times Media desk is "No, the Internet Has Not Killed the Print Book. Most People Still Prefer Them." by Daniel Victor.

None of this news is surprising to me because as a librarian for children I see a big future for printed material.  There is nothing quite like sitting down with an oversize picture book spread across your lap and immersing yourself in a story told through pictures and words.  I don't mind an ebook and I am more than grateful to have a few with me at all times thanks to the fact that my phone is with me at all times, but when I am sharing a book with a child I still want that printed paper experience in full color, in a variety of sizes that we can touch and turn and examine carefully together.

Picture from paintermommy.com "How to Spark a Child's Interest in Reading"

I have ebooks in the library.  Ebooks certainly have their place.  Which is exactly what the study by the Pew Research Center that this article was based on found out.  Ebooks have features print books will never have - like allowing you to easily search the text when the index fails you.  The thing is, printed books also have features that ebooks will never have and it is those seemingly simple, analog aspects of printed books that makes them an essential part of every reader's life.

Read On!
-Ms. J.

The 1st Day of School

Hi there, my name is Ms. J. and I am the new Library Teacher at Sprague Elementary School starting today - the first day of school.

I had a great first day of school and had a chance to meet the entire 5th grade class and find out what they read over the summer.

I read a lot of books over the summer myself - some long, some short.  Here I am reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

 I also read while riding the T in Boston and while visiting the only full size replica of the Parthenon which happens to be in Nashville, Tennessee (not Greece, like you might think).

 

I love reading all kinds of books - chapter books, picture books and graphic novels. Nonfiction books and fiction books.  I even read newspapers and magazines.  Crazy right?!

You might saying reading is my hobby. That is a pretty good hobby for a library teacher to have.
I am looking forward to the new school year and getting a chance to know every student at Sprague.

Happy 1st Day of School everyone!
See you tomorrow,
Ms. J.