2nd Quarter Library Report

The Library continues to be the centerpiece for the entire school community. Whether we're hosting special events, providing teachers a place to work with students, or just being the classroom for K-6 library skills education - the Library is a great place to explore, work, and discover!

6th Grade spent much of the Fall using primary sources from Wynantskill's past & present to better understand the 8 Characteristics of Civilization. At the end of the unit, North Greenbush Historian, Jim Greenfield, came to speak to the students about how he uses primary sources all the time in his work. He also challenged students to think about what types of primary sources they might need if they wanted to learn more about their hometown.

This year's 5th grade book clubs are doing a fantastic job! 5-D's book group has read three books since October: Karen Hesse's, Witness, Steve Shienkin's, Lincoln's Grave Robbers, and John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. They are now reading the Spiderwick Chronicles and will start Jerry Spinelli's, Wringer in February. 5-H's book group has finished two books: Rebecca Stead's, When You Reach Me and John Boyne's, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. They are now reading Kathi Appelt's, The Underneath. Both groups are pictured here discussing the similarities and differences between the Boyne book and the movie they watched together in January.

Fifth graders learned about being responsible, ethical, and skillful digital citizens during Library class. They are pictured above discussing issues relating to safety in the digital world. The final activity in the unit was to establish new NoodleTools accounts so we can practice being good digital citizens.

Fourth grade is on the final few stops in our "Library Passport" unit where we explore different collections, both print & electronic.

Third grade has been comparing and contrasting Australia, Kenya, and USA in Library by gathering information from a rich variety of print & electronic resources.

Second grade learned about biographies in Library all Fall as they studied the life of John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Then, in the 2nd quarter, students took what they learned about biographies and wrote their own, starting with autobiographies, followed by a biography of a person of their choice. Families helped by allowing second graders to "interview" them over Thanksgiving Break as part of their research.

First grade continues to study the seasons during Library class. We use a variety of fiction & nonfiction resources to learn important vocabulary and facts to help us make connections to the world around us.

Kindergarten is learning all about great books through author studies. So far we have explored the wonderful books of Lois Ehlert & Jan Brett.

Please check out these links to my Q2 schedule and collaboration log to see some of the great work that's been going on during this quarter! Highlights include helping 3rd grade with their Australian Animal research, helping Jen Kelleher with her Family Tree unit, and finding resources for Bethany Wallace's "How To" writing unit!

The GD community came together in the final two weeks of school before the holiday break to celebrate our many acts of kindness! In all, GD members created well over 1,000 links in our combined kindness chain, with 4th grade being the largest sole contributors with each class responsible for over 200 links!

Pick A Reading Partner 2019 will have a "Choose Kind" theme inspired by R.J. Polacio's book, Wonder. K-4 will read, We're All Wonders, grade 5 will read Wonder, and grades 6-8 will read a similarly themed book of their choice. We'll kick off PARP 2019 on March 1 with Box Out Bullying, and our program finale will be GD's first ever Literacy Fair on March 20, to coincide with the opening night of our Spring Book Fair.

On December 14th, Linda Peck came to GD to help K-8 students be more mindful of their bodies & their thoughts. Ms. Peck introduced students to aspects of yoga, tai chi, and meditation.

On January 8th, Alicia Klepeis introduced 3rd & 6th grades to a variety of foods from around the globe! Later that same day, she ran a workshop on writing biographies with 7th grade.

Email: lfecura@Wynantskillufsd.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/wynantskillufsd.org/lfecura/home
Location: Wynantskill Union Free School District, 25 East Ave, Troy, NY, USA
Phone: (518)283-4600