Teacher librarians at Holt, Howard, and Chavez Elementary schools are teaching students to navigate the library so they can find the books they love on their own.

Debbie Pfeiffer, the teacher librarian at Howard Elementary, taught students to "find their names on the shelf". Students were informed how books were organized on the shelf and then were instructed to find where they would be located on the library shelf. Students were engaged as they searched the shelves in ABC in order to learn where their library home would be if they lived on the shelves.

At Chavez Elementary, teacher librarian Martha Dyer held a "book tasting" where students sat at tables and had a specific amount of time to "taste" one of the new books Ms. Dyer ordered with recent grant funds. They wrote down the title and ranked the book based on their interest. Then books were passed on and a new book was "tasted". The next time students return to the library the books will be shelved and students will have to use their library skills to find the book they want on the shelf! It is a great motivator to use their newfound library skills to find the books they love.

Robbie Cortez highlighted the books nominated for Patricia Gallagher Children's Choice Picture Book Award in January. The latest book he read was Sylvia Finds a Way, by Stephanie Shaw which features a slug that does yoga. After reading the book aloud, Mr. Cortez taught students some yoga poses. Students have enjoyed reading the books and look forward to voting on their favorite in the coming month.

Join the fun on World Read Aloud Day! Teacher Goal has a great line-up of authors reading aloud for two hours live! Join for free and listen to four amazing authors including Peter Reynolds, author of The Dot, and Adam Wallace author of How to Catch a Unicorn. StoryVoice has also teamed up with authors to live-stream read-alouds all day long! See the schedule and join live here. Click here for printable bookmarks students can color for WRAD.

In February we celebrate "the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society" (blackhistorymonth.gov). There are plenty of resources available to help celebrate. Check out the resources below and reach out if you need support.

• GALE Celebrates Black Artists in History with activities and lesson plans.
• NEA K12 Lessons and Activities
• We Are Teachers: 34 Activities for Black History Month
• Black History Month Podcasts
• Black History Month Choice Board

The 2023 Youth Media Awards are here! The YMAs celebrate the best diverse literature released in the past year. Have a watch party and celebrate diverse literature! You can view the results here. It's an awesome list of engaging, diverse books all of which we have in our district digital collection available in Sora. Click here to explore these great titles.

• ALA's list and explanation of YMAs
• 2023 YMA recording
• 2023 YMA Winners
• 2023 ebooks available in Sora

New! Talking Children's Books

Have you *heard*? Eugene Public Library now lends talking books for children! Kids just push a button on VOX Books to listen as the built-in player reads the words on each page out loud.

VOX Books can be used with or without headphones. No computer, app, internet connection, CD or batteries are needed. Each book will play 150 times, then can be quickly recharged with a USB charger or simply returned to the library. No wonder VOX Books won the 2021 National Parenting Product Award in their Best Books for Kids and Families category, and a 2021 Mom’s Choice Award.

At Eugene Public Library, choose from 245 picture books and early reader titles so far, including English, Spanish, bilingual English/Spanish and bilingual English/Chinese (Mandarin). Titles in French and Japanese are coming soon. VOX Books are available at all our locations -- and you can place hold requests to have them reserved and delivered to the location of your choice. Find them in the catalog: bit.ly/EugLibraryVoxBooks.

The GIANT Book Sale Is Coming - Help Make It Happen!

The Friends of Eugene Public Library's giant spring book sale is coming in April -- so NOW is the time to declutter and donate your gently-used books and DVDs for others to enjoy. There are multiple drop-off spots around town, including the Downtown Library's garage; or if you have a large collection, the Friends will pick up. Thank you in advance for supporting this important library fundraiser! Additional info about donating.

Winter Reading with Free eBooks and Audiobooks
If you ask us, there's nothing cozier than curling up with a good read -- in print, onscreen, or out loud. Did you know you can get eBooks and online audiobooks free with your Eugene Public Library card? Your library offers hundreds of thousands of titles for all ages and interests. Enjoy current bestsellers to classics, fiction and nonfiction, and graphic novels and comics, too. Get started: https://www.eugene-or.gov/1006/eBooks-and-Streaming. For more information or assistance, visit or call Eugene Public Library: 541-682-5450.

PebbleGo has many awesome lesson plans on a variety of different topics and this Winter Scavenger Hunt is an engaging lesson that will familiarize students with PebbleGo while having fun at the same time.

The new elementary English Language Arts curriculum, Wit and Wisdom, covers a lot of different topics across grade levels and leaves plenty of room to dig deeper into each topic. If teachers are in need of resources that connect to specific topics, fill free to reach out to Amy Page and she can provide resources to help expand knowledge on specific topics. The image below is an example of a choice board created for second grade when they studied chameleons. Happy reading!

Though National Reading Month is in March, February is the time to start making plans to engage students in reading all month long. From read-a-thons and literacy nights to read-ins and book talks, there are plenty of ways to get students and families excited about reading.

The National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America event is often highlighted during the month of March. As stated on their website, "Read Across America is an annual reading and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading with this theme: Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers." Many choose to kick off the celebration on March 2nd and celebrate all month during National Reading Month, but NEA provides resources and activities to engage readers all year long. Reading Rockets has awesome resources and activities to engage students in reading as well as fantastic lists of diverse books.

If your school is planning a read-a-thon, Beanstack is a great tool to help track reading. It's available to 4J elementary students and educators and is accessible via Clever. If you need assistance getting this tool up and running in your class, schedule a visit with Amy Page and she'll get students started in less than 30 minutes.

Start planning activities for Read Across America now so the fun can begin during National Reading Month next month. March is just around the corner, friends!

Let the battles begin! Many schools have already started their school Oregon Battle of the Books competitions. As you know, Eugene SD 4J is hosting the elementary regional tournament at South Eugene High School on Marth 11th. Battles should be wrapped up and winning teams reported by February 24th. We have yet to hear about whether the middle school regional tournament will be happening. Good luck and have fun!

Globally competent, digital citizens know how to access reliable and credible information as they explore the world around them. 4J subscribes to the databases below and we also have access to many more databases via Eugene Public Library. If you would like more information on these databases, contact Amy Page (page_a).

Email: page_a@4j.lane.edu
Website: https://www.4j.lane.edu/technology/library/
Location: 200 North Monroe Street, Eugene, OR, USA
Phone: 5410790-7765
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4jlibrarymediaservices/mentions
Twitter: @AmyPageTL