Hats off to Hat Day

Friday was Hat Day at school.  We celebrated in the Library by reading I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen.  This fun story was a hit with all ages.  If you haven't read it yet--please do.  It will make you giggle.  My first graders couldn't stop saying, "No, I have not seen your hat." Click here to see the trailer.

In sixth grade, we have been working on creating glogs using Glogster (an online interactive poster). Students have been learning about Mezzo American Cultures in Social Studies. Their teacher and I collaborated to identify what resources students need to show on their Glog.  This week I taught students how to make an iMovie using the computer to record their learning on one topic area. We had a lot of fun experimenting with all of the things iMovie can do. What fun to see students so actively engaged in their learning. My only downside was seeing myself live on a giant screen--multiple times. Movie star I am not. Students will insert the final movie into their final glog. 

So far, students have made a practice glog where they can try out the different techniques of Glogster and iMovie (We knew they would want to play around, so we let them). They inserted the practice movie that they made onto their practice Glogs. Many students have been working on their practice Glogs at home. Way cool. Look for links to our completed projects soon.

Caldecott List

My students have been asking about a way to keep track of the Caldecotts that they read.  I told them I would post a link to some resources:

Caldecott Printable Spreadsheet *created by Lorna Wheaton

ALA list of Caldecott and Honor Books

Watsons Go to Birmingham Interview

Wow!  Christopher Paul Curtis Talks about the The Watsons Go to Birmingham....one of my favorite books!

Listen Christopher Paul Curtis on NPR Backseat Book Club Interview

A Ball for Daisy--NPR Interview

Award winner Chris Raschka tells NPR about his inspiration for A Ball For Daisy, 2012 Caldecott Winner.

We LOVE Caldecotts

Brimhall Students could hardly wait to hear who won the Caldecott Medal on Monday Morning.  This past week we have been learning about the Caldecott Medal. This week we are enjoying reading A Ball For Daisy and learning about the Honor Books, Me... Jane, Blackout, and Grandpa Green.

Looking at Caldecotts

Since I am new in our library, I wanted all of our students to have an anchor lesson on the Caldecott Medal.  First I expressed my excitement about the award.  Then, students were asked to figure out why a book had won the Caldecott Medal or Honor.  I had pulled many of the Caldecott books off of our shelves and students spent about 5 minutes paging through them figuring out why they would earn a medal. In every class, students were accurately able to discover that the Caldecott Medal is given for the illustrations.  We then discussed that even in the older books, we could see the beauty of the pictures, and that the pictures helped the story.

Reading the New Caldecott Books

I then gave students some background knowledge about Randolph Caldecott and the medal.  My favorite part of the lesson was near the end, when my screen flashed pictures of Caldecott books. No matter what the age, students "ooooohhed and aaahhhed" over the books.  I will never get tired of hearing, "I love that book."

This week. we are sharing the winners.  Students are loving these books.  Nice job Caldecott Committe!

Checking out Caldecotts!

My students are so excited to read Caldecott Medal Books.  Many are joining The Caldecott Challenge: trying to read as many Caldecotts as they can in 2012.  Yeah for reading great picture books!

Family Literacy Night

Last night we had a Family Literacy Night for grades K-2.  Over 100 families attended the event, with over 350 people in attendance. Parents and students came to school to read and learn about reading.  It was a lot of fun!

My coworker Melanie Groth and I collaborated and planned an evening for families to read and talk about reading.  Our goals were twofold.  One to reinforce reading skills learned at school and secondly to have families enjoy a night with their child at school.

Families were met at the door and given their schedule for the evening. They then enjoyed a free spaghetti dinner.  After dinner, younger siblings were dropped off at childcare while K-2nd graders and their adult traveled to two stations.

Station 1: Ms. Groth and I led sessions on the importance of reading picture books.  Families talked about the kinds of books they like to read together.  They then heard our brief (5 min) talk on the importance of reading picture books to your child throughout the primary grades.  Students then showed their parents how they checked out books in the library.  Students were excited to show their parents our library and they were thrilled to get to check out a bonus book.

Station 2: Teachers volunteered to lead a modeled reading.  Students listened to a picture book and modeled to their parents that reading is an interactive process--before, during, and after reading.

After our two sessions, the students went and practiced the school fight song while the adults had time to reflect and discuss the things they had experienced.

What a night!

I'm a Guest Blogger

Today I am featured over at Page in Training: Read. Create. Share. with a Top Ten:

Top 10 Things I Wish I Would Have Known About Being a School Librarian (before the start of this year)

Take a moment to peruse Sarah's blog, she has a lot of great library ideas and book reviews.