Trick or Treat! A candy basket full of fun, spooky stories!
October is here, and with it comes LOTS of exciting learning opportunities in your classes and in the library! Below are the lessons I will be sharing with your students in the library over the next several weeks. I will be using the app "Novel Effect" to add sound effects to many of our October books. Check out more info below in our newsletter!
Books:
K: Focus--Sharing; Being Yourself
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
- I Need My Monster! by Amanda Noll
1st: Focus--Spooky Fun; Character/Problem/Solution
- Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
- Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds
2nd: Focus--Facing Your Fears; Bravery; Friendship
- The Dark by Lemony Snicket
- Leo: A Ghost Story by Mac Barnett (illustrated by Christian Robinson)
3rd: Focus--Skeletal System; October Cultural Celebrations
- Skulls by Blair Thornburgh
- Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
- Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Cuyler
4th: Focus--Genres (scary/horror); "Dare to Be Scared!"
- Patrick Carman "3:15" stories--"Intruder Alert!"
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz--"Just Delicious" and "The Babysitter" (audiobook)
5th: Focus--Genres (scary/horror); "Dare to Be Scared!"
- Patrick Carman "3:15" stories--"Snap!"
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz--"The Dream" and "Harold" (audiobook)
Stations/Centers/Activities:
- Guess the Mystery Book (book quote station)
- Book Recommendation Station
- Ride and Read Station
- Puzzle station
- STEM stations with building supplies
- Lego Station: Build a haunted house, a fire station, a pumpkin patch, or an apple orchard
- "I Spy" station
- Magnet boards
- Bookmark Creation Station
- Reading Personality Little Miss/Little Mister Station
Smore Digital Book Report Template
Matt Miller has compiled a collection of FREE digital breakouts that you may enjoy (link below).
Breakout EDU Back to School Boogie Game
Library Schedule:
October 2-6--Week A
October 5-7--Golightly off-campus at NCSLMA Conference (No Library Classes)
October 9-13--Week B
October 9th--No School/No Library Classes
October 11th--Golightly/Daniels/Parish Off Campus for DTL Team Meeting
October 16-20--Week A
October 20th--Early Release/No Library Classes/Golightly in Virtual SLMC Meeting
October 23-27--Week B
October 30-November 3--Week A
Battle of the Books Update
Our Battle of the Books team is going to be gearing up soon, so 4th/5th teachers, be on the lookout for info coming soon!
If you have a current fourth or fifth grader who may be interested in joining the team this year, here is the book list. It is recommended that they read each book at least once, preferably more than once, to ensure the information "sticks", so getting an early start is a HUGE benefit! You can also send them down to me if they have questions. We will have an interest meeting this month to begin our team, just like we did last year, and I'll share that info via ClassDojo and social media when the time comes. Thanks!
School News Team
Our news team is up and running! Please help your students remember to arrive on time. Latecomers do not get their preferred jobs, and it delays production, so we appreciate everyone on news team getting to the newsroom at 7:30.
Be sure to follow our NES News Team channel for the latest news episodes. We also post the most recent episodes on our school website.
Podcasting Club
We also got a grant for a set of 30 podcast listening devices called "The Walking Classroom"! For more info and training on how to get started with this, please reach out to me so I can help you get started. This is a really cool way to get kids up out of their chairs and classrooms, being physically active while also learning grade level content. It includes quizzes, supplemental slides, and teacher guides for each episode to make this a really easy thing to add to your regular instruction. Check out this link for more details!
Tech Tidbits...
Blocksi Update:
I know y'all have been eagerly awaiting this information in grades 2-5! In case you missed the email from Mike McKay, please check out this link for more info on Blocksi tutorials and how to get started. Please let us know if you need support.
Login Reminders:
Please remember to keep student information secure. Use the info on the graphic (at right) to help guide you in this process. We are legally required to keep student data secure, and these tips are how we do that.
AI Teacher Support Tools:
Looking for some EASY ways to incorporate AI into your lesson planning? Check out magicschool.ai, Ideogram.ai, or the "Brisk" Google Chrome add-on extension.
🔑MagicSchool.ai helps create lesson plans tied directly to your standards, science labs, teacher jokes, rubrics, and many other useful tools. It is specifically designed to support educators, and it is pretty robust! I am happy to help you get started if you have questions about these tools!
🔑Brisk is an awesome tool that helps with text leveling, giving feedback, and more, and has the option to help you write lessons or create resources related to informational resources online. Check out this link for more on how to use this awesome resource!
🔑Ideogram.ai is another really cool tool that creates visuals based on text descriptions. You could create individualized name plates, visuals for instructional tools, and more, based on the descriptors you include. You are only limited by your imagination with this one!
Staff Survey:
Mr. Daniels and I are working to create some great tech PD opportunities for our staff, but we want to make sure what we are offering is what you actually WANT, so please fill out this short survey so we know what you want and need for this year! CLICK HERE
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What is the Crystal Coast Reading Council?
Do you need CEUs? Are you trying to move from "proficient" on your teacher evaluation tool to "accomplished" or "distinguished" and looking for ways to do that? Join the Crystal Coast Reading Council! The Crystal Coast Reading Council (CCRC) is the local level of the International (ILA) and NC Reading Association (NCRA). As president of the NC Reading Association and Director of Programming for the Crystal Coast Reading Council, I am happy to answer any questions you may have. We would love to have you join us! Check out the NCRA "Reflections on Literacy" newsletter for more details.
Mission Statement: To foster lifelong literacy for all citizens by partnering with educators, parents, and community members through programs, meetings, and scholarships.
We provide monthly PD (both virtual and face-to-face opportunities), and we also sponsor a statewide Young Authors and Illustrators Contest. Check out the meetings we have scheduled so far for this year below:
October 19: Field Trip Fair and Literacy at the Train Depot in Morehead City
November 2 : Literacy & Canva Event (Amanda McCall, Emily Golightly)
November 16: Young Authors Project Local Judging (location TBD)
December 14: Holiday Social/Book Exchange (5-8:00 p.m.--note time change)
January 18: Allan Wolf Meet the Author Event (location TBD)
February 15: Sheila Turnage Meet the Author Event (location TBD)
March 17-19: NC Reading Association's Annual Literacy Conference, Winston-Salem
April 18: Conference Sharing Meeting
May 8: Planning Meeting
Contact Me!
Email: emily.golightly@carteretk12.org
Website: bit.ly/golightlyreads
Location: 219 Chatham Street, Newport, NC, USA
Phone: 252.223.4201 x324426
Facebook: facebook.com/nesmediacenter
Twitter/X: @EmilyGolightly3
Contact Me!
Email: john.daniels@carteretk12.org
Location: 219 Chatham Street, Newport, NC, USA
Phone: 252.223.4201 x324501