Welcome Spring!
Lots of wonderful things have been happening in the Library since January! Highlights include community career presenters in CTE, the Literacy Fair and Book Fair, two book orders (one generously donated by our amazing PTA - THANK YOU!), and lots of learning in all of my classes PreK-8! Here are some quick numbers at a glance:
- Number of new items added to date: 175
- Number of circulated items to date: 10,408
- Most popular item: Drama by Raina Telgemeier
PreK Studies Kevin Henkes
PreK loved learning about children's award-winning author and illustrator Kevin Henkes! Appropriately enough, we began our unit in February with Winter Is Here and ended in March with When Spring Comes! In between we read A Really Good Day, Wemberly Worried, Owen, and Lily's Plastic Purse. Students especially liked it when we recreated the Learning Lab from Lily's Plastic Purse during Library!
Kindergarten Learns About Cause & Effect with Laura Numeroff
What better way to teach inferencing and cause and effect than with Laura Numeroff's If You Give... books! In this fun unit, we focus on learning how one thing leads to another and story sequencing through the examination of cycle stories. It's a nice reinforcement of what we focused on in our previous unit on making predictions with Jan Brett's beautifully illustrated books.
First grade Learns About Important Women
To celebrate Women's History Month, 1st grade spent March using PebbleGo to learn about a variety of important female leaders and trailblazers. I often paired read-alouds with independent research as students explored the lives of author Barbara Park, First Lady Martha Washington, scientist Jane Goodall, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Second Grade Writes Letters
This quarter 2nd grade practiced writing a variety of letters. They wrote formal letters to their future 3rd grade teachers, persuasive letters to an adult in their lives, and friendly letters to classmates in the other section of 2nd grade. We had fun reading exemplar texts for each style of writing!
Third Grade Compares & Contrasts Cinderella Stories
In a continuation of our unit on folklore, this quarter 3rd grade focused on comparing and contrasting Cinderella stories from around the world. Beginning with Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal which incorporates elements from 17 versions of Cinderella, we narrowed our focus down to just 3 of those stories: Fair, Brown, & Trembling from Ireland, Yeh Shen from China, and Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters from Africa. Students identify and take notes on key literary elements from each story that they will use to create a Venn diagram. To conclude our unit, students will write a brief compare & contrast essay on these stories to show what they learned.
Fourth Grade Wraps Up NYS Research
Fourth grade spent the 3rd quarter learning about a NYS topic of their choice. They found resources on the database Britannica Online and the internet (focusing on finding reliable websites that are teacher approved!). They researched the history and impact of their topic and created presentations complete with bibliographies and images that they shared with their classmates.
Fifth Grade Begins American Melting Pot Research
Now that 5th grade has practiced making citations and notecards in the online research organizer, NoodleTools, they are ready to tackle their first major library research project! Each student has chosen an aspect of American culture to explore, focusing on researching the origins and impact of their topic. It's a great way for students to learn how our culture is a richly woven tapestry made up of many different fibers!
Sixth Grade Wraps Up Modern Marvels Research Project
Sixth grade spent the 3rd quarter creating an evidence-based claim presentation defending their choice for what should be included in an updated list of Wonders of the Modern World. Beginning with defining what a modern marvel means to them and following up with evidence-based research on their chosen topic, students engaged in meaningful inquiry.
8th Grade Music Research
This quarter students in Music Research worked on a biography project where they researched the life and contributions of any person of their choice who has had a significant impact on the music industry. Topics ranged from Elvis Presley to Stephen Sondheim to Ice Spice - truly an eclectic group of individuals past and present representing the diversity of the field! Students then took their research and created 4 products to reflect their learning. Several product options encouraged creativity and allowed the students an opportunity to really discover the "voice" of their chosen individual. I am really proud of the solid research skills our students have honed this year!
7th & 8th Grade CTE
This Quarter students in CTE wrapped up their work on soft skills and began exploring the 16 national career clusters, beginning with the US military. Students learned about the 6 branches of the military and how the military can offer training or help pay for college. In March we had our first community presenter, Col Alain Fischer from the Watervliet Arsenal. Now students are exploring career opportunities in Healthcare. We had 2 presenters in this unit: Theresa Crawford, a CTE student at Averill Park currently in the CNA program, and Ashley Bevill, an X-Ray Tech at Image Care.
Linda A. Fecura Bunk, MLS
Email: lfecura@Wynantskillufsd.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/wynantskillufsd.org/lfecura/home
Location: 25 East Avenue, Troy, NY, USA
Phone: (518)283-4600 238