3rd Quarter Library Report

The third quarter was bustling with activity as we celebrated Dr. Seuss's 118th birthday, promoted our PARP reading program, hosted several amazing author visits, and held our 4th annual Literacy Fair in conjunction with the PTA-sponsored Book Fair! See the photos below of some of our outstanding Literacy Fair submissions!

This quarter brought our circulation totals up to 10, 686 with our most circulated book being Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel, Sisters, which has had 34 check-outs so far this year - WOW! Also noteworthy this quarter were our Black History Month (February), Women's History Month (March), and National Poetry Month (April) Library displays!

We began our author study of Kevin Henkes at the end of January with his book, Winter Is Here, and ended our author study in March with When Spring Comes! In April we're reading a variety of positively perfect poetry books in celebration of National Poetry Month!

In the 3rd quarter, Kindergarten used the database PebbleGo to learn all about beloved children's author, Dr. Seuss! In follow-up classes, they loved imagining what great things they can do after reading Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go, and then using their incredible imaginations to dream up all manner of wacky things after reading Oh, the Thinks You Can Think! We are now learning about cycle stories and cause and effect as we study the "If You Give a...." books by Laura Numeroff!

First grade closed out winter by reading and writing wonderful winter poetry! Then they spent the whole month of March independently using the database PebbleGo to explore a variety of important women from across the globe and through the centuries!

The 3rd quarter was busy with three units in 2nd grade! First, they focused on the inspirational life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in a unit that explored 6 pillars of citizenship. We connected each pillar to MLK through shared texts, then they independently researched more in the database PebbleGo and made meaningful connections to their own lives. Next, they learned about 3 letter styles: formal, persuasive, & friendly. They wrote formal letters to Mrs. Cornell, persuasive letters to an adult in their lives, and friendly letters to each other! Finally, we are just starting a unit on Fables where the focus is on identifying the author's purpose.

Third grade continued their unit on folklore from around the world by studying Fairy Tales in the 3rd quarter. We focused on the iconic Cinderella story and compared & contrasted how it was told in Ireland, China, & Africa. Students took notes each week in a graphic organizer and then worked in pairs to fill in a Venn Diagram. Next, they will write a brief informational essay sharing their conclusions.

Fourth grade spent the 3rd quarter wrapping up their first major Library research project where they studied topics of their choice related to NYS. They each used one database and one website to locate information and images that they turned into reports to share with the class, complete with MLA 8 bibliographies. We are now learning about online reference resources, including dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, and atlases.

Fifth grade finished our unit on NoodleTools instruction and practice in the 3rd quarter and has now started their first official research project using NoodleTools to organize their sources and notecards. We are studying the American Melting Pot by focusing on aspects of American culture and researching their origins.

In the 3rd quarter, 6th grade created an evidence-based claim defending their nomination for what man-made structure should be considered a "Modern Marvel". They began by creating a definition for what they believe a Modern Marvel is, and then they researched information that they housed in NoodleTools. Finally, they created Google Slide presentations complete with bibliographies to share with the class.

The 8th graders in Music Research spent the 3rd quarter researching a person of their choice who has either changed the music industry or has had a significant impact on the music industry. Topics ranged from groundbreaking jazz icons like Ella Fitzgerald to legendary music innovators like David Bowie. They then used their research to create 4 different research products including a resume and journal entries and then 2 other products of their choice including an obituary, timeline, or trip itinerary.

I was lucky in the 3rd quarter to have 2 terrific student volunteers! A big thank you to Izzy Strang and Adelia Saddlemire for all their help this quarter!

The 3rd quarter was busy with a variety of collaborations and professional development opportunities. I teamed up with Rebecca Delaney to help find resources and assist with the rollout of her short story ELA unit in February. Then I worked with Karin Carmody, Kate Lansing, and Kate Mercado to help develop modified units and to provide appropriate resources for Peyton Dineen. Similarly, I worked with Karen Keane to help find resources for several ASPIRE units. Then I worked with Jenn Kelleher to help with units both in social studies and science in March. Here's a link to my collaboration log.

Also in March, I attended a virtual PD called, Teaching for truth: Librarians as Leaders for Media Literacy. This workshop was hosted by Project Look Sharp out of Syracuse University.

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