Autumn Arrives with October
The first week of October brought fall to El Paso with warm, sunny days but chilly evenings. In the library we were busy testing the students in grades 2-4 with the STAR Diagnostic test in order to determine each child's approximate reading level or Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The children approached the STAR test with their all and that is evident in their results. In many classes, the majority of students read at or very close to grade level. Yippeee!
While waiting to take the STAR test our second and third graders created posters of the library rules featuring Skoob the shelf elf. I showed the children step by step how to draw Skoob and then they colored him and gave him a dialog bubble stating a rule for the library. What terrific artists our students are! The posters are precious and some of them will be displayed in the library. I just wish had wall space enough to display them all.
The fourth and fifth graders did an excellent job of taking the STAR test, reading thoroughly and carefully, and as they finished would look for books. Job well done, Mountain Lions!!
While waiting to take the STAR test our second and third graders created posters of the library rules featuring Skoob the shelf elf. I showed the children step by step how to draw Skoob and then they colored him and gave him a dialog bubble stating a rule for the library. What terrific artists our students are! The posters are precious and some of them will be displayed in the library. I just wish had wall space enough to display them all.
The fourth and fifth graders did an excellent job of taking the STAR test, reading thoroughly and carefully, and as they finished would look for books. Job well done, Mountain Lions!!
The Making of Little Librarians
Can't believe we are already into our fourth week of September! With all the crazy rain we've had, it has felt more like spring than fall. Our mountain lion cubs will be coming to the library this week.
First graders will be learning how the books in the easy section are arranged by the first three letters of the author's last name. We will begin by reading an alphabet book and singing the ABC song together. Then they will be practicing their alphabetizing skills by arranging large, easy section call numbers in ABC shelf order. The children will locate the area in the easy section that matches the call number on their card and then we will check out books. The children will have an opportunity to use the computers to play Shelver! an online alphabetizing game once they have checked out their books. They can access the game by clicking on the owl on Symbaloo below.
Kindergarten will also learn about ways the alphabet is used to arrange books in the library. We will sing the ABC song and then I will read the children Caps for Sale , E SLO, encouraging the cubs to participate in the repetitive parts of the story acting like the monkeys. We will put together "My Flip-Flap Hat Book" with each child coloring one page of the book representing one of the letters of the alphabet.
Prekinder also visits the library this week. We will be talking about fiction and nonfiction and comparing books about scarecrows. Then we will put together a scarecrow color booklet. Stay tuned for pictures.
First graders will be learning how the books in the easy section are arranged by the first three letters of the author's last name. We will begin by reading an alphabet book and singing the ABC song together. Then they will be practicing their alphabetizing skills by arranging large, easy section call numbers in ABC shelf order. The children will locate the area in the easy section that matches the call number on their card and then we will check out books. The children will have an opportunity to use the computers to play Shelver! an online alphabetizing game once they have checked out their books. They can access the game by clicking on the owl on Symbaloo below.
Kindergarten will also learn about ways the alphabet is used to arrange books in the library. We will sing the ABC song and then I will read the children Caps for Sale , E SLO, encouraging the cubs to participate in the repetitive parts of the story acting like the monkeys. We will put together "My Flip-Flap Hat Book" with each child coloring one page of the book representing one of the letters of the alphabet.
Prekinder also visits the library this week. We will be talking about fiction and nonfiction and comparing books about scarecrows. Then we will put together a scarecrow color booklet. Stay tuned for pictures.
Sashaying into September
Library classes are officially underway for the 2013-2014 school year. The first week of the month, students in third, fourth and fifth grades were introduced or reacquainted with the Bluebonnet Reading Program then check out books. Second graders came in just to say hi and check out books real quick. It was great to see all of our upper grade Mountain Lions for the first time this school year.
This second week of September is Blue Week and the fifth graders are back for a second library visit and I am seeing the students in PK, K and first grade for the first time. The babiest of our Mountain Lions...I guess our "mountain lion cubs" are learning library manners and book care. We are comparing caring for books and library etiquette to the way we should treat babies and animals. We are watching a quick PowerPoint starring my granddaughter Cady that demonstrates the ways books are like babies then PK is coloring a baby, K is folding an origami diaper, and first grade is making a pet kitty or puppy. The books we are reading together include All of Baby, Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler; A Book of Hugs by Dave Ross; and A Pup Just for Me : A boy just for me by Dorothea P. Seeber. Check out the great library manners being demonstrated by our mountain lion cubs in the gallery below.
This second week of September is Blue Week and the fifth graders are back for a second library visit and I am seeing the students in PK, K and first grade for the first time. The babiest of our Mountain Lions...I guess our "mountain lion cubs" are learning library manners and book care. We are comparing caring for books and library etiquette to the way we should treat babies and animals. We are watching a quick PowerPoint starring my granddaughter Cady that demonstrates the ways books are like babies then PK is coloring a baby, K is folding an origami diaper, and first grade is making a pet kitty or puppy. The books we are reading together include All of Baby, Nose to Toes by Victoria Adler; A Book of Hugs by Dave Ross; and A Pup Just for Me : A boy just for me by Dorothea P. Seeber. Check out the great library manners being demonstrated by our mountain lion cubs in the gallery below.