"Why We Read"- asking students to ponder their READING!!!

This week I asked my 3rd-6th graders to ponder "WHY THEY READ" and record it on a Flipgrid.  Here is the process.  Stay tuned for finished Flipgrids.  I gave kids two weeks to complete their recordings.  

Here are their FlipGrids.

Fourth through Sixth Graders Read Because.....

Third Grade Reads Because...

Planting Seeds of KINDNESS

      So as many of you may know I am a huge fan of the Reederama blog.  If you don't follow her you should because she does amazing things in her library.  I follow her lead on many of the lessons I teach.  

      I always tie Digital Citzenship into all of my lessons but I really do a focus lesson on it early in the year.  That lesson is quickly approaching so I thought what better way to lead into it other than to do a lesson on KINDNESS.  Following some recommendations online I have chosen two books to use with my first and fourth graders.  They are:  

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As I was reading Each Kindness to my fourth graders not one sound was made.  They were so engrossed into this "compelling" story that they couldn't take their eyes off the book.  Students aren't used to hearing stories that have this type of ending.  We discussed how if the story had ended differently how would that have impacted the story.  

We discussed how we all plant seeds of "something."  Sometimes that is KINDNESS sometimes it can be SELFISHNESS.  I encouraged the students to think about what type of seeds they want to plant.  The illustrations in the book are amazing.  One student said "even though I don't like tomatoes I would like to pick that one off the page and eat it."

Fourth graders then used Schoology (online blackboard) to post one act of KINDNESS that they have been shown or that they had planted.  After they posted that they were encouraged to write their act on a SEED that will be displayed in our hallway.  Some of them were filmed by a class Digital Leader reading their act of KINDNESS.  

First graders were encouraged to write or draw a picture to show what KINDNESS can look like.  Some wrote words like LOVE.  Some drew pictures of people carrying items for someone else.  

First graders were asked to reflect on what the word KINDNESS means to them either through drawing or words.  Some of the words they shared were:

LOVE

HELPING

KIND

Here is the the final product.

Public Librarian visits Summit 6th graders

     At the start of each school year I like to invite the local Teen Public Librarian to come and speak to our 6th graders about all the fabulous resources that are available online to them.  This include access to thousands of Ebooks, free music, magazines, and the list goes on and on.  This year she even tied some information in about the Maker Space workshops that are happening at the local library.  Here are pics from the items that she brought to show the kids what they are creating in their Maker Spaces.  This was a great lead into our upcoming Genius Hour projects that we will soon be getting into.  Thanks to Mrs. Chumbley for coming to Summit and getting the kids excited about reading and Maker Spaces.

3D Pen Harry Potter Glasses

Leather Book on a Necklace

RoboBot made a Maker Space

Having a HOOT of a time with Kahoot!

After a Professional Development day on Friday I decided to take my learning and put it into action.  I discovered a new site called Kahoot.  I had heard of this before but never had used it myself.  I had already planned to introduce the basics of Destiny searching to my second graders but now I decided to use Kahoot to review the concepts with my kiddos.  If you would like to take a peek at my Destiny Kahoot go ahead.  Fill free to use it for your Media Center also. 

First and Second Graders Feeling Overwhelmed!

     
We started the class by watching the book trailer from Little Elliot and the Big City by Mike Curato.  


I then had students imagine an elephant.  It could be one they had seen on a movie, in a book, or real life.  They had to share their ideas with a partner.  We then compared how all of our elephants were different to how we are all different readers.  Some of us like to read, some don't, some can read for long periods of time, some can't.  

We then read the book:

     We made these connections:
          Sometimes when our first and second graders start checking out books at the beginning of the year they can feel overwhelmed.  So MANY choices, so MANY great books, so MANY decisions.  Because of this I decided to read Little Elliot and the Big City.  After reading we discussed how just like Elliot felt overwhelmed in the city they may also feel overwhelmed in the Media Center when looking for books.  

    We also discussed how they must be problem-solvers like Elliot was in the book.  They must be brave to ask for help from others and try to solve problems on their own.  I was honest with them and explained how there is only one of me and many of them.  This means that sometimes they will need help but I may not be available.   After reading this we sang the shelf-marker song, reviewed our Media Center Expectations, and entered the world of READING for this year by checking out books.

This lesson was adapted from another Media Specialist that I follow, David C. Barrow... if you don't follow his blog you should he is doing great work.  Here is his link http://expectmiraculous.com/2015/08/24/library-orientation-for-kindergarten-through-second-grade/.  

Here are a few pics of our third graders the first few weeks of school practice Checking-Out Procedures.  This is the first year that they do Self-Checkout.  They are so excited about their books that they are enjoying and sharing them while waiting in line.  I love seeing this!

Kicking the 2015 Year off RIGHT in the Media Center

The Summit Media Center is booming with excited readers.  Readers can't wait to get their hands on these new titles.  They were placing holds all over the place!

Using The Adventures of Beekle to get to know my 5th graders more.

 

My 6th graders created a Library Expectation video to show my primary students.  This saved me from having to repeat myself all week and it was a great opportunity for my former 5th graders (now 6th graders) to review some of their video making skills.  Here was their final product.

My beautiful daughters helped me create a Book Care video to show my students.  I have found that all of my students, even my intermediate grades, need refreshers in this.  This is the video that I used to reinforce these skills the first full week of school.  Thanks to Anna and Bella Dawn for helping their "dear ole" Mom out!

Reflection on 2014-15 School Year

     As an educator and just completing my 17th year in teaching, of which thirteen years have been as a Media Specialist or what was formerly known as a Teacher Librarian, I have been conditioned to constantly reflect on my year and evaluate what worked and what needs some fine-tuning.  That is what I will write about in this post.       Teachers tend to be tough on themselves.  They constantly think about how to reach all their students so that no one gets left behind.  They tend to wonder constantly if there was a better way to teach a concept, they self-criticize their ability to reach out to and listen to all students in their class (even though most of the time this includes 25+ kids), and the list goes on and on.  I am no different.  Yes the subject I teach may be formerly "non-tested" according to the state but what I do in my Media Center impacts their success in many facets of what my students do in the classroom, from formal assessments to researching skills to technology skills.  I must be successful in instilling the needed research and tech skills in my students so that they will use these skills when they are in the depths of our information driven society.  No one else will teach them how to filter through the information, how to remain safe when online, how to be a good digital citizen, how to cite information.  These are just a few of the skills they must learn how to handle in today's world.  Many teachers and parents do not fully understand all of these concepts today but they are my speciality!  I must create citizens who feel obligated to spread the word of these things so that others will learn from them.  I can't teach the world but on any given day I can teach 125 students who can reach the world one person at a time.  

Students enjoying CENTER time in the Media Center.

Students learning KEYBOARDING SKILLS in the Media Center.

We had a great year of author visits.  We welcomed Patricia Polacco, Sarah Mlynsowki, and various others.  Pictured is Diana Perry, author and scientist.

Numerous guest speakers to discuss careers and Genius Hour project passions.

Dress like your favorite character day.

Maker-Spacer in the making.  He created a robot for his passion project.