1st Quarter Library Report

It's hard to believe the first 10 weeks of school are already behind us! It is wonderful to be back to pre-Covid protocols throughout our building, including in the Library. It seems so odd thinking back to the early days of the pandemic when students were largely confined to pods in their classrooms, unable to engage in authentic group work or to even use the bathroom without supervision! We have come such a long way. No more quarantining book returns for 10 days, or visiting classes with a cart loaded with materials! I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the wisdom of our administration and Board of Education for making it a priority to return to in-person learning in September 2020, and for creatively thinking outside the box to keep us open all 180 days for the past 2 years. I personally think this has given our students an important edge over their peers in other districts where in-person learning was not possible. I feel like the structure and smaller class sizes benefited our students in unique ways that make all the extra work of the past two years feel worth it! We did it GD! We are GD Strong!

Total Number of New Acquisitions = 41

Total Number of Items Circulated = 3,561

Most Circulated Book = Raina Telgemeier's popular graphic novel Drama with 14 loans

PreK has loved learning all about celebrated children's author, Mo Willems, during their weekly Library visits! We explored all of Willem's wonderful characters including Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny. One of our favorites, though, was Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs! The kids loved thinking up their own fun Goldilocks variation - including this one of Goldilocks and the Three Hedgehogs!

Kindergarten is learning all about Lois Ehlert in our first author study of the year. We began by watching a video to learn where Lois gets the ideas for her books and we got to see how she makes her beautiful hand-painted collages. Kindergarten loved making their own Leaf Man collages after reading Lois' beautiful book by the same title (see photos above!).

First grade is learning all about nonfiction text features as we explore the season of Fall! Students are learning to identify a Table of Contents, Glossary, and Index as they begin mastering early research skills. We're using customized benchmark assessment graphic organizers from the ESIFC to record amazing information as we explore topics including the life cycle of a pumpkin and figuring out why leaves change their color. Do you know why leaves change color? If not, ask one of our brilliant 1st graders :-)

Students independently studied biographies about an author, athlete, and President (or First Lady) of their choice using the database, PebbleGo. They recorded their research on graphic organizers where they also summarized why their chosen person was important. They are now constructing their own autobiographies before we launch into our culminating project where they will write biographies about someone they interview over Thanksgiving recess.

In the first quarter, 3rd grade focused first on choosing "just right" books as they began the transition to using the materials on the "big side" of the library. Next, they learned about our online catalog, OPALS, and our shared e-Book collection, SORA. Students enjoyed working in collaborative groups once again as they completed an OPALS "scavenger hunt" where they practiced using simple searches to locate materials in our Library collection.

As we prepare for our first library research project coming up in the second quarter, students learned how they can use our Rosen e-Book collection and databases to learn all about New York State. Students really enjoyed working in groups to complete activities and explore these new resources.

Fifth grade spent the first quarter learning how to use more advanced features in OPALS that will help them as our research projects become increasingly complex. First, they learned about Pathfinders which are online curated lists of resources designed for specific research projects. These resources are divided into 3 categories: Library Resources, Internet Resources, and Original Documents. We also learned about the 3 basic steps of research: location, evaluation, and synthesis. Finally, students learned how to construct advanced searches linking multiple search terms with boolean quantifiers.

Our 6th graders are putting together everything they have learned in Library in previous years as they embark on their first largely independent research project using the online research organizer, NoodleTools. We began our research by using our Rosen e-Book collection, Spotlight on Ancient Greece, to learn all about different aspects of this important early civilization. Then students chose a Greek God or Goddess of their choice that they are independently researching with the goal of ultimately creating their own demigod in the fashion of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson.

This is my first year teaching CTE to all of 7th & 8th grades. So far we are off to a great start! We began with an introductory unit that explored what CTE is and what some pros and cons of CTE programs are. Next, we completed a unit on Self-Awareness where students explored their own unique strengths, weaknesses, interests, and goals. As part of this unit, I taught students how to construct SMART goals, which is a skill that will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. Our current unit is focused on Building Healthy Relationships, which is another key skill that transcends just the scope of CTE. In this unit, students are thinking about the key elements of building healthy relationships including showing empathy and respect and overcoming biases. The unit will culminate in a role model project where students will create digital collages of their personal role models to complement a writing piece that will discuss their role model choices and discuss an interview they will conduct with one of their chosen role models. Students will share-out their projects at the end of the unit. Next quarter, we will explore Effective Communication and Problem Solving.

In the first quarter, Music Research students studied music genres from three different perspectives. First, students researched a genre of music that they randomly chose from a list I provided. We used this first simple project to review basic research skills and to catch up any new students who had never used NoodleTools before. In this part of the project, I taught the students how to create annotated citations, and they created one-slide infographics that they presented to class. For the second part of the project, students were asked to focus on their own favorite genre of music and they researched their favorite artist/band and song. Then they wrote a 2-3 page paper that featured in-text citations and a bibliography. To wrap up our genres unit, students will interview an older adult about their favorite genre, band, and song when they were 13, and then students will research them. Their final project will include a slide show and a short writing piece that they will present to the class.

Over the summer I took a 15-hour asynchronous PD through NYSCATE called, Creating a Culture of Digital Citizens. In it, I learned helpful tips such as having the students generate their own lists of class expectations at the beginning of the year to help solidify buy-in and relevance. I implemented this strategy at the start of the school year, and am very pleased with the results! I also attended the first Questar School Library Services Communication Coordinators meeting on October 4th where we had presentations from Gale and CDLC. It is always a valuable experience to network with other area school librarians from across the region. Then on October 12th, I attended a live online workshop called, The Five Types of Nonfiction, sponsored by the Southeastern NY Library Resources Council. In this PD we learned about a new way to organize nonfiction for students that helps to boost interest.

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