Top Ten Titles This Week

Library book circulation is in full swing this week. Check out the top 10 books being read by Myron J. Francis students. Both fiction and non fiction titles are in the top ten as well as a reference book and graphic novels. I love that Snakes by Nic Bishop is at the top. It's a great read with gruesome but beautiful closeup photographs of snake life.

1.	Nic Bishop Snakes.	Bishop, Nic,
2.	Jake and Lily	Spinelli, Jerry
3.	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever	Kinney, Jeff
4.	True (--sort of)	Hannigan, Katherine
5.	Ungifted	Korman, Gordon
6.	The World Almanac for Kids - 2007
7.	The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan	Eaton, Maxwell
8.	King Of The Mound : My Summer With Satchel Paige	Tooke, Wes
9.	Liar & Spy	Stead, Rebecca
10.	Sidekicks	Santat, Dan

Book Awards: Letting Kids be the Judge

We will be studying book awards for the next few weeks in grades 1-5. Each grade level will learn the criteria for judging their book award. I will read 3-4 books that have either won or were honor books and students will use the criteria to vote on which book they think should be the winner. Criteria for each book award is different. For example, the Geisel Award highlights books that beginning and early readers can read and understand. The Caldecott Award highlights excellent illustrations that tell a great story and work well with the text. Below is a picture grid view of all the books we will read as well as a list of the awards and a child-friendly description of each. I was delighted when I asked a class of 2nd graders if they could describe the word "criteria", several hands went up, and someone actually defined that word. This is one of my favorite lessons because it gets students to think critically, they love the idea that they are the judges, and we get to read awesome books!

Grade 1 - Theodore Geisel Award - Best beginning reader
Grade 2 - Caldecott Award - Best illustrations
Grade 3 - Schneider Family Book Award - Best expression of the disability experience
Grade 4  - Sibert Informational Book Award - Best informational (nonfiction) book
Grade 5 - Coretta Scott King Award - Best work showing an appreciation for African American culture and universal human values

Reading Takes Us Places

This week, students in grades 1-5 are learning how to contribute to the library's continents display, "Reading Takes Us Places". Located at the entrance to the library, each window has a map of a different continent. Students who read a book that has a setting in one of the seven continents will have their book title, name, and map marker added to the display. Books can be fiction or nonfiction and can be read by individuals or whole classrooms (a teacher read-aloud, for example). The display is meant to inspire students to read and share books about different places around the world. Students will be doing research later in the year on a geographical location in library as well as learning more about continents through lessons in art and phys ed.

That Is Not a Good Idea

What happens when a fox entices a goose into the deep dark woods as cute baby goslings watch from afar? Well, it's not what you think. That Is Not a Good Idea, another rollicking interactive read-aloud by Mo Willems provides suspense, fun, and a mind-bending twist that K-2nd graders love. Read it a second time and discuss who outfoxes whom. This is one of my new favorites!

Kindness and Building a Community of Library Learners

This week, in grades 3-5, we focused on kindness and building a community of learners in the library. I thought this was important as we embark on a new year with interactive media spots and a new self checkout system.  Our read-aloud was Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson. In the story, a new girl, Maya, arrives to school with a tattered coat and worn shoes. She smiles and tries to make friends with the narrator and others at the school, but they all shun her. After a kindness lesson by their teacher, the narrator realizes that she has been mean, feels badly, and vows to make friends with Maya. Maya, however, never returns…. she ends up moving to a different town.

What is library?

What is library? I'll be asking students that during their first week of library class. Surely they will mention books, but our definition of libraries is changing rapidly.  After generating students' responses on "what is library?," they will watch the animated PowToon video below to understand and get excited about reading, thinking, sharing and creating in the library.