December Newsletter

Here is the December newsletter. We're doing some fun activities in the library!
 

Force and Motion

Here is our video, based on the TEKS of Force and Motion, and the book, The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Rosen Schwartz.  The puppets acted out the book as it was read aloud, then the classes made videos to show force and motion.  We also watched a video by Genesis JuJitSu, which introduced the students to terms such as rolling and sliding.



It was so much fun to bring science alive in the library and to see the creativity of the teachers and the students!

November Newsletter

A Visit From the Fort Worth Vaqueros

We had a blast in the library today!

Two players, and the coach, from the Fort Worth Vaqueros soccer team stopped by.  They read to the students, answered questions, and signed autographs.  They even played in a quick game of soccer with some students and teachers!  

It was a great experience for the students and a wonderful way for the community to be active in our school.

Marshmallows and Puppets, Oh My!

This past Friday was Puppet Show day in all three of the elementary libraries. At each school we read the book, The Marshmallow Incident by Judi Barrett, and the puppets acted it out.  It was an interactive puppet show as marshmallows were thrown at the audience--the screams of excitement made cleaning up all the marshmallows worth it!

You can see the Knight (with the orange head) in the picture above.  He likes to recite poetry.

After the book, we showed a video about marshmallows and science and had the students predict if the texture, size, temperature and color would change if we placed a marshmallow in the microwave, a bowl of water, and the freezer. 

It was so much fun to see the students excited about the puppets and to see them participate as scientists in our marshmallow experiment.  Puppets, marshmallows, science and even some poetry in the library on this Friday!

Having Fun in the Library

The past two weeks have been a lot of fun in my library (but really, everyday is fun when you work in a library!). 

We celebrated National Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19) with a visit from some pirates via Google Hangout; we also connected with the other two elementary schools in my district so all the kids could participate.

After some pirate poetry, the students participated in an extension activity such as drawing themselves as a pirate:

 

This week, I received my books from DonorsChoose.   I asked for high interest, popular books for my library because I have over 800 students come through my library in a week.  I just can't keep these popular books on the shelves and I want my students to have every opportunity to read.  I am humbled that people have donated to my "cause" (encouraging my students to read) and very thankful.  This week my students and I will be writing thank you notes to our donors and I will take pictures of them reading our new books!

Why This Shelf Looks Good to Me!

This is one of the 

display shelves in my library.  

Looks good, doesn't it?!  

Let me tell you about this shelf.  

Steve is in charge of this shelf. 

For the uninitiated, Steve is the good guy from the game Minecraft.  (see Steve to the right).  

Steve likes to read and he wrote a quick, 3 sentence review of the book, The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman.  He gave it 4 out of 5 stars.  He then placed the review and the book on this shelf.  Soon, 4th and 5th grade students noticed and asked if they could write their own reviews.  Of course!!  Once the review and the book go on display, the books are quickly checked out by other students who want to see if they agree with the book review.

That's why I'm happy this shelf is empty.  My students are taking the initiative to write a short book review and post it on the Steve Shelf.  Other students see that the book is interesting and they check it out! *doin my happy dance*

Fun in the Library This Week!

Here are two videos I used with students 

to remind them of library procedures.

I used this one with the 4th and 5th graders. After the video, we discussed some of the rules, especially the one about letting a friend borrow your library book.





 I shared this one with 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades. We discussed good library behavior. They loved being able to choose which picture was the one with the right library behavior.


 



Steve (the library helper) has also started writing book reviews on index cards and posting them on a special "Steve Shelf".  Fourth and fifth graders are encouraged to write a quick review of a book they liked.  They give the book "hearts" based on how much they liked the book.  The most hearts a book can receive is 5 hearts.

September Newsletter

A Brief Introduction

Welcome Back to School!

It's Coming Together!

I spent the week working in my library, specifically, genrefying the library.  With some help, I was able to get all of the Fiction section arranged by genre.  Here are some pics:

The signage indicates which genre you are looking at.  

This is the beginning of the Adventure section.

This is the beginning of Animal Stories.

This is the beginning of the Humor books.

     Sorting the Fiction books by genre has been a great way for me to get to know the collection in my library and to see some gaps in the collection that I need to start filling.  

     I think that genrefying the Fiction section will empower students.  They can now walk into the library and have a better idea of what kind of book to check out.  This also helps me guide them toward a genre (if you like Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, you might like Timmy Failure).  It's a way for students to feel like they are part of the library--no longer will they walk in, look at all the books, and ask, "What should I read?" or "Where are the scary books?"  I can now point to the Scary section.

I have worked in other libraries that have genrefied and it has been a huge success.  The students prefer the library laid out this way and they are quick to recommend books to other students, "I just finished Dragon Slayers Academy.  You should try that one."

I also started decorating the Reading Area:

I'm hoping that this will be a comfortable, relaxing space in the library where students and teachers can hang out and enjoy a book.  

Getting the library ready

Spending some time this week getting the library organized.  

My girls helped today!

"You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential." From the book, Digital Leadership, by Eric Sheninger. 


Would love to have this on the wall in my library!  
#castleberryisd  @NMHS_Principal