Now that we are used to the space and routines in the library and have a few book checkouts under our belt, it is time to delve into our second topic - Locating Information. Grades 7-8 We've been working on usernames and passwords for Schoology and it appears as though most students have it down. We started this unit with an introduction to using Destiny Quest, our library catalog used to find books. Next, we learned about the organization of our non-fiction section using Dewey. We learned there are 10 categories and we even had a scavenger hunt to test our skills. This past week, we learned about radio plays and students listened to a creepy/mystery podcast (The Hitchhiker) and then had a 14 question online quiz where they had to score at least 80%. They successfully accessed all of this from Schoology. Next week we will explore Web Browsers and Search Engines as we prepare for our upcoming Research unit. Grades 2-6 We started this unit with an introduction to using Destiny Quest, our library catalog used to find books. Next, we learned about the organization of our non-fiction section using Dewey. We learned there are 10 categories and we even had a scavenger hunt to test our skills. This past week, we learned about Web Browsers and Search Engines as we prepare for our upcoming Research unit. Grades K-1 Students were able to explore books in our library that have the prestigious Caldecott medal. They switched titles every 30 seconds. We learned who Randolph Caldecott was, what kinds of books can earn this medal, what it means to be an honor book and how to identify an award winner and honor book. Then we took a vote to select an award and honor book to read out loud.
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Gr 6 - 8This week, we took our typing tests. Each grade had a minimum WPM and accuracy to meet in order to be exempt from typing for the remainder of the year. Also the class from each grade that completed the most typing lessons throughout the year will be treated to an ice cream party in June. Additionally, we watched videos about Internet Predators -- a version for boys and a version for girls and had a discussion about what we can do to stay safe when talking with strangers online. You should watch these with your child and have your own discussions at home including role playing. I was surprised at our students reactions. Many of them mentioned how "dumb" the decisions were. They were particularly concerned about anyone getting into a "white van" (phew!). Gr 3 - 5Book Trailers are mostly complete! Check them out on our website under Resources. Look for your child's class. Gr K - 2Our dolphin research project was a success. We learned so much about what dolphins eat, where they live, how they help people and did a great job finding the information from books and the internet. Research papers came home with your child so ask them to show you what they did.
Grades 6 - 8Working hard on our typing skills and completing our study skills assessment for review. Six areas: time management, concentration, note taking/listening, reading, exams and writing. No surprise that the top two areas of concern are time management and notetaking and listening. At the end of our unit, each student will have some strategies and techniques to put in place to help them prepare for tests, exams and writing papers. We will be moving into our final unit soon - research skills and bibliographies. Our 8th graders will receive a packet to reference when they are in high school (and even beyond). Grades 3 - 5We are working in our book trailer scripts. Usernames and passwords are setup. Next week, we begin using Animoto to create our book trailers which will then be posted on this website. Also announced a contest for grades 3 - 6. See details below. Grades K - 2I was fortunate enough to visit Florida on break and we made a stop at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and visited with Winter, the dolphin from Dolphin Tale, the movie. Ask your children about Winter and Hope and some of the other animals we talked about. We began reading Hope for Winter, the True Story of a Remarkable Dolphin Friendship. When we are done with our book, we are going to do a research project on dolphins. We watched a live web cam of the Aquarium - the children were super excited.
Children use a variety of online services, and each of these services can have different safety concerns. However, there are some basic tips which you can employ no matter how your children use the Internet.
Grades 6 - 8This week we moved into our Intermediate typing lessons. We also are beginning our Notetaking and Study Skills Unit. Students viewed a Powerpoint about the ways they can help themselves become academically successful. We learned about visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles and that some of us are a combination of 2 or more learning styles. We had the opportunity to comment on the discussion board about what 3 areas we think we can incorporate into our own lives to help us succeed academically. Next week, we will undertake a study skills assessment to find out what works for each of the students and start to plan on how to best use our strengths as we prepare for exams. We will also work on our notetaking skills. Grades 3 - 5We finalized our book selection for our book trailers. Next week we begin our storyboard, and learn how to use Animoto to create our trailers. We earned some free time on the computers this week so we took the opportunity to safely browse songs with clean lyrics on youtube. Students were notified of the consequences for abusing our technology policy and were made aware they are being monitored on school computers at all times. Grades K - 2It was Read Across America week and Dr. Seuss' birthday on Wednesday, March 2nd. All classes viewed a biographical video about Theodor Seuss Geisel and learned about the award given each year to the best beginning book author and illustrator. We read last year's winner - You are (Not) Small by husband and wife team, author Anna Kang and illustrator Christopher Weyant. We also got to view a video when they were first notified they had won and their thank you speech to their daughters, editors, publishers and teachers and librarians. We got to touch the medal on the book too! Next week we are going to be using Keyboard Zoo on abcya.com to begin our keyboarding lessons and will begin to use our headphones and headphone covers including how to install our headphones, keep them snag free and how to put them away. Spring Scholastic Book Fair - March 11 - March 18In two weeks, we will have our Spring Scholastic Book Fair. Book order forms went home the other day. It is a good idea to send younger students who will be carrying money to place money in a zippered sandwich bag with their name on it. This way, our helpers can put change back in safely and students won't easily lose their money. I have attached some book list prices including the tax amount so that you can plan for your child's purchases. They do not need to buy books, We will be browsing the book fair during library time so they will have other activities to keep them occupied if they are not buying. All grades K - 8, will have an opportunity to visit the Book Fair.
Grades 6 - 8This week was spent getting used to some new software in our lab called Italc. It it designed to keep our students safe and to get and stay on task by allowing the teacher or teacher/librarian to view all computer desktops to monitor student activity from the teacher's station. Some of the students complained that it is "spying". I disagree. When parents and students signed the Acceptable Use Policy located in the Parent/Student Handbook at the beginning of the school year, it was with the understanding that all practical measures and procedures would be followed as pertain to school computer usage. As such, students may listen to "clean" versions of favorite songs, may not go on unapproved websites and if they are off task during our lesson, they are re-directed appropriately. If there is repeated misbehavior, a screenshot will be taken of their screen which will be sent to Mr. Hahn and they will be asked to get off the computer. If such behaviors are repeated, the student may be banned from computer usage throughout the school. Computer usage is a privilege, not a right and we will do anything we can to keep students mind's on their academic pursuits as well as monitor all negative behavior including cyberbullying. I am happy to report that all went smoothly this first week. Next week, we will begin Cornell Notetaking. Grades 3 - 5Students had some free time on the computers this week as we had several events and assemblies that limited our time in the library. They also are becoming familiar with Italc (see Grades 6-8 above). It is important to let our students know how important and valuable computers are to learning but they need to be responsible users. Next week, we will continue with our Book Trailers. Grades K - 2We celebrated World Read Aloud Day all week by having student volunteers read a book aloud to their class. We chose Leo Lionni's Cornelius. Cornelius is a fable which appeals to all ages with an important message to walk to the beat of your own drum. Next week we will celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday (March 2nd) and have several Read Across America Events scheduled.
Grades 6 - 8We finished up our Beginner Typing Lessons this week and completed our last activity for Schemes and Scams on the Internet. Students had to view three (3) "phony" or "phishing" emails and be able to identify what was suspicious in each. They have become aware that generic messages (addressed to no one specific), misspellings, threats to close accounts and questionable links within the email asking for personal information are all red flags they need to be aware of. Next week is Spirit Week so we will have some fun things planned. After Winter Break, we will begin our unit on Note-taking Skills. Grades 3 - 5Students viewed some great examples of Book Trailers this week created by students their age from other schools. Be sure to check out Mrs. Unger's book trailer example on this website under Resources. After we found partners, we spent some time brainstorming ideas of books that we've read that would make great book trailers. We had to come up with a minimum of 5 books. Next time we are together, we will begin mapping out our trailers by creating scripts and gathering images and thinking about the music we'd like to use. Students will be using Animoto to create their book trailers which will be published on this website when completed for parents to view. Grades K - 2We had fun using Animal Graphic Organizers as we listened for facts about Groundhogs. Many of us had no problem listening to the video, entering data into our graphic organizer and sharing what we found with the class. Soon, we will be using simple databases to conduct research on other topics so this was an excellent start.
Grades 6 - 8This week, we took our 5 minute typing test. Overall, classes did fairly well. They are beginning understand the importance of regular keyboard practice and that it is not the same as texting! Each student was tasked with printing out a certificate of their achievement. I am keeping them as a benchmark so when they take another test in May, they can see their progress. I will be giving out prizes to the most improved typist in each class as well as a prize for each grade for the highest achiever in both speed and accuracy. Next week, we will be reviewing our unit on Scams and Schemes on the Internet and will complete our Phishing Activity before moving on to our next topic: Notetaking and Bibliographies. Grades 3 - 5We finished up our Book Reviews this week as well as viewing the GCCS Library Website. Click here to see what our Book Review Form looks like: Book Review Form. Each student needed to explore a different tile in Symbaloo before having some free time to play games. Also, we viewed a book trailer on SlimeKids and explained that a book trailer is like a book review, only visual. The idea is to excite you about the book. In coming weeks, we will be discussing book trailers in more detail and will be begin learning how to make our own. Grades K - 2Classes learned about the Caldecott Medal and we watched a video that explored 75 years of the medal. We discussed that it is an award given to an outstanding picture book and we had the opportunity to view some Caldecott Medal Winners in our library and classes were read the 2015 Caldecott Medal Winner, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend by Dan Santat. The students were excited to see many books that they already knew on the video. You can view the video here with your child: Last week, I posted an optional survey about reading with your child. I am still collecting data to share, but so far, the overwhelming majority of respondents read with their child 21-30 minutes each day. This week, I have included an article about that topic: Too Many Young Readers Still Aren't Making the Grade.
It's a go! Grades 3 - 8 have their own personal earbuds to use while working on our 27 library computers. Students will not need to share - they have their own personal bag with their name on it stored in a Teacher's Box kept in the library. They will not be taking them home. They stay in-house until they graduate from 8th grade. Our younger students in grades K-2 are awaiting over the ear headphones which should be arriving next week. They will have hygienic covers (also stored in bags with student names affixed) to keep everything clean and tidy. Grades 6 - 8We are about 3/4 of the way done with our Beginner Computer Keyboard Lessons and students will be taking their first test next week. Typing Objective: By the end of the year, students will be able to type at least 30 wpm, with 90% or better accuracy, using the correct fingers on the home row keys and without looking at the keyboard. Students have also been using Schoology, a LMS (learning management system) to work on various projects. We are wrapping up our second topic - Scams and Schemes on the Internet. Students are learning about phishing, identify theft, scams to avoid, etc.. They will be working on a short project to help them identify phony emails and/or phishing schemes. They have taken an assessment, read several articles and interacted with one another on a discussion board. Grades 3 - 5We have been focused on learning how to use our earbuds properly (adjusting the volume, picking out our colors...lol) including how to store them so they are kept safe and in working order. This week, we are creating online Book Review forms. Students will be recommending books to other students using a Google Form that I created. They are being assessed on punctuation, grammar and content. They cannot simply state that a book '"was awesome". We are also practicing closing windows on our computer and putting our chairs back to tables after using them. Students are encouraged to use Google, DestinyQuest, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Scholastic to find out how many pages are in their books, correct spelling of authors, titles, etc...For some, this meant learning how to open a new tab on the internet and copying and pasting information. Grades K - 2This week, we have been learning about how to use the mouse. Clicking, Double-clicking and Dragging have been introduced, explored and practiced with hands-on games and activities. We also began the week with some games designed to help us learn about computer parts so we know what these words mean: CPU/tower/system unit, mouse, keyboard, CDRom, USB port, printer, speakers, and microphone. Quiz your children on these terms so they can surprise you with what they know!
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AuthorMrs. Unger is the School Librarian at GCCS,. Teacher of Library Information and Digital Literacy Skills, Supreme Book Recommender, Major Book Nerd and Tech Lover. Archives
November 2016
CategoriesA person's a person, no matter how small - Dr. Seuss |