3rd Quarter Library Report

Between PARP 2019 events, 180 new books, engaging units, and lots of collaboration, this has been a very BUSY and productive 10 weeks in the Library! Click here to see my 3rd quarter schedule.

We kicked off our PARP 2019 Choose Kind program with a K-5 assembly featuring Box Out Bullying on March 1st. Students learned the importance of distinguishing between "tattling" and "telling" in this interactive and engaging performance.

Over 40 students submitted projects for our first ever Literacy Fair. Students grades PreK-8 were invited to work independently or in groups to create a project based on a book they loved. These were on display in the Library all day on March 20th for classes to visit, and then later, for the community to view. We had an outstanding turn-out! The successful evening also featured three guest readers, a visiting local author, and a free raffle that gave away $185 in Book Fair gift certificates to keep the love of reading going!! According to the PTA, book sales were nearly doubled during the evening Book Fair event as a result of the community turn-out for our Literacy Fair ~ woo hoo!

Starting in February, our K-1 and the students from Little Red learned about topics related to our PARP 2019 theme of Choose Kind. We read books including The Kindness Quilt, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, and Horway For Wodney Wat to discuss helping others, accepting differences, and bullying. We complimented these texts with correlating nonfiction selections and activities designed to inspire original thinking and empathy.

Second graders studied letter writing during library this quarter. They wrote formal letters to author Tomie de Paola, persuasive letters to their parents, and friendly letters to each other.

As 3rd grade studies countries in the classroom, we explore cultures through their folklore in Library. In this portion of the unit, we read three versions of Little Red Riding Hood - one from Germany, one from China, and one from Africa. Students took notes on each story that they later used to fill in a triple Venn Diagram to help visualize the similarities and differences between the stories. The culminating activity was a short essay discussing their conclusions.

Fourth grade students have been exploring different sections of our collection throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters. There were 8 "stops" on our journey which began in picture books and ended on the Internet. In addition to print resources, students learned about our eBook collections and databases, too.

Fifth grade spent the 3rd quarter learning how to create citations and notecards in the online research organizer, NoodleTools. They found articles in databases (Britannica Online and Kids InfoBits) as well as reliable websites to practice this important skill. Next, they will work on their first major Library research project using NoodleTools.

To compliment their global studies in the classroom, students chose a modern man-made structure that they believe should be considered a modern marvel. They first came up with their own unique definition for what a modern marvel is, then they researched who, what, where, when & impact of their structure along with at least 4 relevant images. All of this research was cited in NoodleTools with corresponding notecards. They are now wrapping up their GoogleSlides presentations to share during class.

I continue to be awed by the 10 amazing fifth graders I get to read with each week! I spend 2 hours with each group every week discussing absolutely amazing literature - what could be better than that?! What's most surprising is that the kids seem to love it as much as I do!! I feel so incredibly lucky to be given an opportunity to provide true enrichment to students who actually crave to be challenged. Parent feedback has been incredibly positive, too. My Horacek group is currently reading the Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry, while my DiSotto group is finishing As Brave As You and will read Flipped next.

"Busy" does not do justice to the pace of our 3rd quarter teacher-librarian collaborations!! I have loved helping Kindergarten & 1st grades with their social studies inquiry units, and am now totally immersed in animal research in all four 1st and 2nd grade classes. Second grade scheduled time for me to help their students with topic selection and resource gathering. First grade has had me in the classroom helping students with their research. Here's a link to my collaboration log if you'd like to see what else I have been working on!

I have been approached by Kerrie Burch of Questar SLS to participate in the Leadership Institute in Syracuse this August to help with the role out of the new Information Literacy Continuum which has been updated to reflect the new 2018 AASL standards. I will be working with library legend, Barbara Stripling, and others. This is a great honor and I am excited for the opportunity. Kerrie and I will be designing and implementing PD based on our training for all the other school librarians in the region in the Fall.

Email: lfecura@wynantskillufsd.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/wynantskillufsd.org/lfecura/home
Location: 25 East Avenue, Troy, NY, USA
Phone: (518)283-4600 19