Hour of Code

I realize this is a week late, but I wanted to make sure it got mentioned.

All last week, students in all grade levels (K-5) did coding activities with a huge culminating activity where parents got to come to the school and code with their children.  This was all in effort to increase the awareness of Hour of Code.

The Hour of Code is a global movement to reach billions to introduce them to computer science. It’s designed to show that anyone can code and learn the basics. The hope is that by starting early, students will have a foundation to be successful with 21^st century skills.  It also helps to nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity.

Our students loved the activities, but I think they loved showing their parents even more.  They were so excited to teach their parents what they had been learning all week. We even had the Perot Tech Truck here to show parents and students various activities. You can see some of the activities in the pictures.  If you wish to learn more about the Hour of Code, you can visit www.code.org.

Holiday: Christmas

Well, here we are at another holiday. I was originally planning on reading these stories next week, but with Science and History Fair, Winter Parties and Early Release, it didn’t leave much time for reading a story.

I decided to include all grade levels because I don’t get as many opportunities to just read a story to 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th. It really touched my heart when a 5^th grade student told me that he “remembers when I used to read to them when they were just little kids.” Out of the mouth of babes, right?

I read How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen to Kindergarten. They really loved seeing all of the unique dinosaurs in the story. I read The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore to First Grade. Since I had read ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving to them, we discussed the similarities between the two stories. For Second Grade, I read Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O’Connor. The kids loved seeing how fancy her house becomes at Christmas time.

I read One Snowy Night by M. Cristina Butler to Third Grade. It’s a wonderful story of sharing and taking care of your friends. For Fourth Grade I read Snow Bunny’s Christmas Wish by Rebecca Harry. This story’s message is to act from your heart and wishes really do come true. And finally, I read Merry Un Christmas by Mike Reiss to Fifth Grade. The students really enjoyed the concept of Christmas 364 days out of the year. It was definitely a funny story!

      

This will be the last holiday for a while, so I’d like to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Holiday: Thanksgiving

As I stated in a previous post, I love to celebrate the holidays. Since Thanksgiving is next week, I took the opportunity to read Thanksgiving stories this week.

For Kindergarten, I read Thanksgiving Mice! by Bethany Roberts.  I read one of my absolute favorite Thanksgiving stories to First Grade. ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey is such a joy to read.  The rhythm and flow of the story is very similar to ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Not to mention that it is a very sweet story.  I read another one of my favorites to Second Grade.  A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting has a surprise ending and a wonderful message of inclusion.

As we look forward to this day of Thanksgiving, I am reminded of how truly blessed I am to work with such terrific students and staff.  They really are a part of my family.  May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Fall Book Fair

This week we had our “Monster of a Book Fair” with Scholastic Books. The students and staff were able to dress up with a different theme each day to help promote reading. We had crazy hair day, dress like a friend, dress like your favorite storybook character, wear scary monster teeth and spirit wear day.

      

                                                                       

On Thursday night, while parents were attending the general PTA meeting, students could wear their pajamas and listen to their favorite teachers reading their favorite books. They also got to enjoy milk and cookies. Afterwards, parents could shop at the Book Fair. A great time was had by all and there were many children that left with smiling faces and arms full of books.

Thank you to all of the volunteers that put in tireless hours to help make this book fair a success.  I’d like to give a special thank you to all of the staff members that gave up an evening to make so many children happy by reading to them. I also want to thank everyone that made a purchase at the book fair. Your contributions help provide the Christie Library with over 30 books immediately and Scholastic dollars that can be redeemed for books at a later date.  All in all, I would say our “Monster Book Fair” was a “monster” hit!

Holiday: Halloween

I’ve always loved holidays. So much so that I used to go all out and decorate my house for nearly every holiday. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4^th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t put out as much decorations these days, but I still like to celebrate them in the library.

I do this by trying to find stories that are about that holiday and read them to the students.  They always seem to love them as much as I do.

With Halloween being this weekend, I found this week to be the perfect time to read Halloween stories to grades K – 2.

In Kindergarten I read Click, Clack, Boo! by Doreen Cronin. In First Grade I read There Was an Old Monster! by Ed Emberley. We even managed to get a little sequencing practice in with this story. And, in Second Grade I read Haunted House, Haunted Mouse by Judy Cox. For a couple of classes, I even turned off the lights and read with a flashlight for a spookier effect that the kids absolutely loved. Although, there were a few who were concerned that I might hurt my eyes by trying to read in the dark. Such sweethearts!

Well, now that Halloween is almost behind us, I’ll be thinking ahead to Thanksgiving.  I can’t wait to read those wonderful books!

Digital Citizenship

This week has been Digital Citizenship Week.  We have been learning about how to responsibly use the Internet and social media.

We stressed the importance of not giving out any personal information such as your name, address, phone number or even where you go to school. While at school, we learned to never share our login or password with others and to completely logoff the computer.

We also discussed being respectful and using kind words when online. It is important to THINK before we speak to make sure that what we say is True, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary and Kind. If we see that someone is being hurtful or unkind online we must tell an adult.  We want to stand up and say “No!” to cyber bullying. Everything we post online is permanent, so we want to make sure that our digital footprint is not harmful to ourselves or others.

When we bring our own devices to use at school we should keep them safe and secure at all times. It is imperative that we use the assigned WIFI network provided by the district and that we only visit sites that promote learning. We should remember to properly cite our sources on all projects.

Even though we have been discussing digital citizenship over the last couple of weeks, it is really something that should be addressed every time we get online and use the Internet or social media. Be sure and talk to your kids about being safe and responsible online. If you need any tips, Common Sense Media is a good source for parents as well as teachers.

Texas Bluebonnet Award

This week I’ve been talking to the 3^rd, 4^th & 5^th grade classes about the Texas Bluebonnet Award. It is a list of 20 books chosen by various librarians, teachers, parents and students across the state of Texas for students in grades 3-6. All books must have been published within three years of the selection year and both fiction and non-fiction books are considered.

What I love most about this award is that it is based entirely on the votes of the students.  I mean, how cool is that?  Students get to actually vote for the winner! If students read at least five books on the list, they are eligible to vote for their favorite. The book with the most student votes wins the award!

This list always has wonderful books and I tell my students that this is a great place to start if they are having difficulty finding a book. I also love showing the book trailers to the students and seeing how excited they get about the different books. That’s what we have been doing this week and will continue to do next week. They’re so excited about them, that all of my Bluebonnet books are checked out!

Voting will take place at the end of January, so the students have approximately 3 months to read at least five books in order to vote.

Students that choose to vote will be invited to a special Bluebonnet Breakfast in the Library to celebrate the winner in March.

If you would like to take a look at the list, you can find it at the following link: http://www.txla.org/TBA-nominees and the link to the book trailers can be found at: 

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=MkVsUTbV_q0&list=PLmIp4XYo92bvZMuA3MWe5f517UpNwzYF2 

I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 

PTA

Out PTA does a great job of providing for our students and staff.  They have wonderful programs that include Book Fair, Fine Arts Night, Rachel’s Challenge, Teacher Appreciation Week, Veteran’s Day Remembrance, Watch DOGS and Red Ribbon Week.

These programs wouldn’t be possible without the support of the PTA members and that’s you!  For those of you who are already members of our PTA, I sincerely thank you for taking the initiative to have a positive impact on your child as well as others.  If you have yet to join our PTA, I strongly suggest that you do.  Your contribution means a lot to so many.

Besides your membership dues, there are plenty of other ways to contribute.  You could chair a committee or volunteer to help out for a program such as Book Fair or Field Day.  Both of these programs could use as many volunteers as possible.

The Christie PTA is also going green this year.  Newsletters will no longer be printed and sent home with your child.  You may find the October issue at the following links:

English

http://elist.pisd.edu/eNews/0112_99_Christie_PTA__eNews_Oct_2015_English.pdf

Spanish

 http://elist.pisd.edu/eNews/0112_99_PTA_de_Christie__eNews_Oct_2015_Spanish.pdf

If you would like to learn more about Christie’s PTA, you can visit their website at www.christie-pta.org. Thank you again to all of the PTA members that make so much happen for our Christie Cubs!

Responsibility

Responsibility was the theme this week for Kindergarten and First Grade. We discussed what it means to be responsible and different responsibilities you may have.  We read Big Words for Little People by Jamie Lee Curtis in Kindergarten and Arthur’s Pet Business by Marc Brown in First Grade. The first grade students really enjoyed talking about the responsibilities Arthur had for his pet business. I think they all either have a dog or wish that they did!

Research Resources

This week 4^th and 5^th grade students have been learning about all of the wonderful research resources we have available.  Our Library Research Tools can be accessed via http://k12.pisd.edu/home. Under Quick Links click on Library Resources à Search Prek-5^th grade Library Catalog à Christie à Research Tools.  There you will find all sorts of resources.  This week we concentrated on the online encyclopedias such as World Book and Britannica. These can all be accessed at home using the username planoisd and password discover.

We also discussed using their textbooks as a resource as well as other search engines besides Google. Some kid friendly search engines that work well are infotopia, kidsclick, kidrex and wolframalpha. We talked about how these search engines would give them more accurate, relevant, and age appropriate results than Google.

Unsung Heroes

Volunteers are the unsung heroes of our schools and particularly of my library.  That has never been more apparent to me than this year.  This is my 13^th year as librarian and for the majority of those years; I’ve had a few, but reliable volunteers.

As circumstances would have it, some of my regular volunteers have not been able to come and help out like they normally do.  They plan to come and help, but just not right now. I currently have one very dedicated volunteer that has shouldered this burden for the past few weeks and I honestly do not know how anything would get done without her.

Without her, the mountain of returned books sitting on the counter would just continue to grow until it completely overran the library. I wouldn’t be able to teach classes or assist students in finding books if I had to reshelve every book that was returned.

Shelving books can seem like an easy, menial task, but don’t tell that to the volunteers!  They will tell you that it can be hard, tiresome work. Especially if students aren’t careful and leave the shelves a bit of a mess.  So thank you to all of the volunteers that help make my job easier. And, if you aren’t a volunteer – sign up!  We’ll be glad to have you!

The Book Whisperer

This week I read the book, The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller.  Ms. Miller’s background is of a sixth grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher in Texas.

She discusses her struggles her first couple of years of teaching in not being able to get students engaged in reading in order to become life- long readers.  She finally realized that in order for students to enjoy reading they needed to have time to read.  She therefore devoted a portion of her class time to where the students just read their books. 

 Now these books weren’t books that were assigned to be read, they were actually books that each individual student got to choose for themself.  There were some stipulations as to the different genres they had to read as well as the total amount of books read during the year.  Her goal for them was 40 books for the year.  Most of her students found that number outrageous, but in the end, they came to love reading and some of them read even more than 40 books that year.

The freedom to choose their own books versus being assigned the same book for the entire class seemed to be the strongest influence in them becoming life-long readers. “Providing students with the opportunity to choose their own books to read empowers and encourages them. It strengthens their self-confidence, rewards their interests, and promotes a positive attitude toward reading by valuing the reader and giving him or her a level of control.  Readers without power to make their own choices are unmotivated.”

 Unmotivated. That seems to be the word that best describes a good portion of my students that I see as a librarian.  I keep asking myself: What can I do to try and get these students interested in reading?  I would love it if we had time where they could just come in and read a book.  I would love to be able to know all of my students well enough to be able to give individual recommendations.  Unfortunately, I have over 700 students that I see on a weekly basis.

I must admit that when she started talking about student surveys, I got very excited. I kept trying to think of a way that I could do that with my students.  I have some ideas and I’m still working on it, but if I can make it happen, I just might be doing that.

Reading this book really energized me and made me remember my passion for reading and how I would love nothing more than to get my students excited about reading.  To me, reading can take you anywhere and sometimes anywhere is better than where you are.

To Self-checkout or Not to Self-checkout

This is a topic that a lot of librarians are on the fence about.  They are so used to being the one at the computer checking students out, that they would be lost if they didn’t have to do that.  If students checked themselves out, what do you really have to be afraid of?

They’re afraid if they let the student’s use the self-checkout mode, that they might not do something right and then the books won’t get checked out.  It would be mass hysteria!  Nothing would be as it should. They would have to give up control.

I must admit that I used to be one of those librarians.  I am at a school with a rather large population, approximately 700 students. I used to think that there was no way my students could handle doing that on their own.  Fortunately, I’m glad to say that I was wrong.

We started using the self-checkout mode last year. Not everyone was using it, but I thought things went rather well considering this was so new for everyone. This year I decided things were going to be different.  I am determined to make sure that every student knows how to check out books on their own.  That’s why this first week in the library I have made a point of showing everyone how it is done and then allowing them to actually do it when they checked out their books.  I thought it went extremely well.

Allowing students to check out on their own is beneficial in many ways.

When a whole class is checking out, some students can use the self-checkout station while I check out others at the second station.  This allows the line to move much faster.  Another benefit is if I happen to be with another class when they come in, they don’t have to sit around and wait until I’m finished to help them.  They can just check out their books and be on their way.  And finally, I think it sends a positive message that I trust them enough to do it on their own and that it allows them to independent learners.

I am positive that this will be a good thing this year.  I’m looking forward to the possibility of it freeing up even a little part of my time.  My time that I can be using to do one of the million other things I have to do.  I’m so thankful that this week was so successful.                                                 

Behind the Scenes

Shockingly, sometimes librarians are stereotyped.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “But all you do is sit around and read books.”  Boy, do I wish that were true!  It would be so much more enjoyable than what I actually have to do.

The beginning of the year is especially taxing.  You return from summer break to find your library filled with 40 boxes full of curriculum materials that need to be dispersed to grade levels as well as 10 boxes full of new books that were delivered and processed over the summer.  Sometimes, it looks as if the delivery people were trying to build a fort or a pyramid just to make things a little more interesting. Not to mention the pile of summer mail that’s heaped up on your desk like a small mountain.

Once you’ve hurdled that task, there are many more waiting for you.  Like trying to find time to check out materials to teachers that they will need the first week of school or even trying to schedule a time for their classes to come to the library. It can be very difficult to coordinate 39 different schedules to make one library schedule.  But, we get it done.

Then, let’s not forget that we have to get the class rosters and make sure that the Kindergarten and First grade students’ library cards are sorted by their class and that their book return totes are ready to go. And last, but not least, we need to look at each grade level’s curriculum to discover how we can best assist our teachers and students in what they are doing in the classroom.

I’m glad that this “grace” period of “housekeeping” is coming to a close. Well, I shouldn’t say close, because there is always some sort of “housekeeping” to be done.  Perhaps I should say I’m glad that it’s slowing down, because I am really looking forward to getting to see all of the smiling faces next week as the classes come for the first time this year and hopefully discover something wonderful and fulfilling within these books and these walls.

May 29, 2015

Well, the end is almost near. Summertime is coming!  When I think of summer, I think of lazy days lounging in the sun and reading.  I know a lot of people might not think of reading as a fun summertime activity, but that is the only time that I can really enjoy and totally immerse myself in a good book.

I have always enjoyed reading, but not everyone feels that way.  Especially elementary school students who are looking forward to summer vacation and all the thrills that entails.  Swimming, traveling, summer camps.  Who wants to read over their summer vacation?  Well, they might not want to read, but it is important that they do.  Many studies have revealed that reading just four to six books over the summer is enough to maintain their reading skills.  This is so important in preventing the “summer slide”. It can be very frustrating as an instructor and a student to come back in the fall and have to play “catch up”.

Not only is it important that they read, but that they have a choice in what they read.  In a small study conducted in Rochester, NY, they found that students showed more improvement when they chose their reading material versus being assigned a reading list.  To read more about this study, click on this link: http://bit.ly/1HMrMp3 . 

I truly believe that if students are given a choice in what they are doing, it will be more fun and engaging and something that they want to do instead of something they have to do.  So be sure to pack a few books on that family vacation this summer in order to prevent that “summer slide”.  To help with a little incentive to read, here are some links to some summer reading programs.

Plano Public Library System: Suburban DARE – www.planolibrary.org

Barnes & Noble: Imagination’s Destination – www.BN.com/summerreading

Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge: Power Up & Read - www.scholastic.com/ups/campaigns/src-2015

I hope this helps get some of those reluctant readers enjoying some good books this summer so that they will be ready to go when school starts again in the fall.  Happy reading!

May 22, 2015

As the year is coming to a close, I’ve been thinking about the wild ride we’ve taken with our new learning commons.  It’s still hard for me to say learning commons instead of library.  Shhh! don’t tell anyone, but I use those terms interchangeably.  What some people may not realize is that we still have a library.  We still have all of the books and other things you think of when you think of a library.  We just use our space a little differently.

Instead of being a quiet place for solitude and reflection, it is now a place of open communication and collaboration.  Being what I consider to be “old school”, it has been quite an adjustment getting use to the mostly joyful noise of students learning and working together.  As the year has progressed and more teachers have taken advantage of the space, it has become apparent to me that when a teacher truly realizes the potential for this space the results are quite remarkable.  It is easy to differentiate the classes that come often and those that don’t.  Those that do come often have students that are totally engaged in what they are doing and they are doing what they are supposed to be doing.  Classes that don’t come as often have students that are frequently off task because they are too busy acclimating to this new environment. 

 

I’m not the only one that has to get used to this new way of using our library.  It’s an adjustment for everyone who uses it.  With that in mind, I feel as though we’ve come a long way this year.  Don’t get me wrong, we still have a long way to go to get to what I would call “optimal” appreciation and usage of our new learning commons, but I feel confident that the new year will bring us even closer to that goal.

So, I will continue to use the terms “library” and “learning commons” interchangeably and I will continue getting used to the change in the overall atmosphere.  After all, change is good.  Right?

May 8, 2015

Reading daily is an important step towards student success.  When a student reads 15 - 20 minutes a day, it improves their vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and overall knowledge.  It can also lead to stronger analytical thinking skills, improved focus and concentration and better writing skills. Any time that they can squeeze those minutes in is a good time.  It could be before they go to bed each night or in the car on the way to soccer practice.  It really doesn't matter.  To read more about this topic, check out this article: http://bit.ly/IO7ZMd

May 1, 2015

Well, National Poetry Month has finally come to an end.  Grades Kindergarten thru 2nd Grade each got to learn about 2 types of poems and this month and we finished it off with a little Reader's Theater. Kindergarten performed Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?.  First Grade performed Martha Doesn't Say Sorry and Second Grade did Hokey Pokey: Another Prickly Love Story.  They had a blast reading their parts and even acting them out a little.  The only disappointment was that there wasn't enough parts for everyone to participate in the reading.  I explained that an audience is also important and that the next time we try this, they will get a turn to read.  I think that they enjoyed Poetry Month quite a bit overall.  Enjoy this picture of our Second Graders

April 10, 2015

Poetry, poetry and more poetry. I told you the last time to be on the lookout for more poetry in the coming weeks because April is National Poetry Month.  I'm trying my best to expose these young minds to as many different types of poetry as I can in the hopes of showing them that poetry is nothing to fear.
I can remember as a child (and even to this day) that there was something strangely comforting about making things rhyme.  I still love coming up with rhyming couplets for special occasions. I hope that maybe one of my students will do the same one day. I  want them to know that poetry can be fun and silly and serious as well. In what other format can you say so much with such few words?
I must admit that their creativity and insight surprises and amazes me. Who knows?  We just might have some future poets on our hands.
Here are some examples from Kindergarten,  First and Second grades. We have the 5W poem from Kindergarten,  the Cinquain from First and the I Am poem from Second. The I Am poems were definitely the hardest to compose, but they really turned out pretty wonderful! Just see for yourself.

March 27, 2015

This week we have been learning about a variety of poetry that includes couplets, acrostic and concrete poems.  All of the classes did a great job of creating their own class poems.
Kindergarten worked on couplets. They did a pretty good job of coming up with a rhyming sentence, but sometimes coming up with 2 lines that rhymed was a little difficult.

 

I used an online aid to help 1st grade with their acrostic poems.  It can be found at the following link.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/acrostic/  They really had fun creating poems about objects that make us think of spring.

 

I also used an online aid for 2nd grade and their concrete poems.  Here's the link for it.

http://www.wild-about-woods.org.uk/elearning/concretepoetry/

 

 

 

April is National Poetry Month, so be on the lookout for more poetry in the coming weeks!