Hope Valley library students created a list of reasons Dr Seuss (born Theodore Seuss Geisel) made our world a special place. His books were available, centers were open to create and explore favorite characters and we talked about his biographical information. Happy Birthday to you Dr Seuss!
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New Year, new books!
Kindergarten- Kindergarteners are choosing books from the shelf! They are doing very well using shelf markers to hold the place of the book while they decide if the book is just right or not. Maybe they will sing “The Bookey Lookey” song for you at home that shows how the shelf markers work. Grade One- We read and enjoyed Leo Lionni's works and compared the books to Eric Carle's books. Audrey Wood is our next author of study coming up next. Grade Two- 21st century learner Standard #4 “I can find books that I like” Grade 2 completed our author study of Tomie dePaola and learned about all genres of Tomie's books including literary fiction, realistic fiction, and non-fiction/informational. We are also learning how to find answers to questions with different sources. Grade Three – Technology is helping us find what we need in the library as students use the computers and learn to navigate our online catalog. We also are using websites to answer questions and scan through to find the information we are looking for. Ask your child about our big "Dewey" project! Stay tuned for photos coming soon to a Hope Valley Shelf near you. Grades Four – We continue to study author Chris Van Allsburg. Students are learning about answering questions using technology. The 4th graders are choosing a FIC series or literary author and designing a shelf sign. This will help younger students find what they are looking for on the shelves! Rooster Voting is coming soon. Students are working on finishing 3 Rooster Books so they can participate in a statewide vote. Our Book Fair was a giant success. Thank you to all who supported our fair and especially to our fabulous volunteers for coming in and assisting. Our library acquired new materials for the school- awesome! What are we learning in the library? Kindergarten- Kindergarten is doing an author study on Russell Hoban (my childhood favorite!) and learning about book care and book routines. We began checking out books! What is a fact? What books give us information? How can we tell? These are some of the questions that we are asking. Grade One- We are beginning an author study on Leo Lionni. We have learned about his art medium, collage, as well as watched a video with Leo showing how he created his mouse character. First graders made their own mice and acted as an author, creating a story to go with the characters. Grade Two- We are investigating the author and illustrator Tomie dePaola, discussing the various books' genres. We have learned facts about Tomie's life and how he likes to write about things that have happened in his life. Copyright and other parts of a book are being discussed as well. Grade Three – We are learning how to find what we need in the library, using the online catalog and learning the organization of the library. Grades Four – We will begin learning about vocabulary related to the Internet and Copyright issues while studying RI author Chris Van Allsburg. We compiled our goal list of Rooster Books that we intend on reading. Students may also check out brand new Playaways (audio books)! Very exciting! I'm always thankful to be able to do a job that I love, and this month, I'm especially thankful. Have a great November! Our Library is a busy place for Hope Valley School. All of our students are coming in to the library and have begun to check out books. (Kindergarten will begin book check out after Columbus Day.)
Grades One and Two check out one book each week. Only one book may be checked out at a time, so please help your students remember to bring back his/her books each week! Grade 3 and Grade 4 may check out two books for two weeks. Grade 4 is participating in reading three or more Rhode Island Children’s Book Award Nominees before voting in February. These titles are also available through all public libraries in our state. Visit the website for more info: http://www.ri.net/RIEMA/bookaward.html Our Fall Scholastic Book Fair is coming up! The fair will be open during both Open House nights, September 30th and October 1st from 6-7:30. I will be welcoming families - hope to see you there! Happy Reading! Your Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Ward What a wonderful Reading Week we had. “Be a Super Hero- READ”…what a joy it was for me to see our school celebrating books, presenters, and reading! All the classes have been enjoying poetry and a poetry center to support our upcoming Chariho Poetry Slam on June 4th.
Kindergarten- Kindergarteners researched on animals and took notes in class and collaborated with me. They also worked in centers in the library on frogs and will learn more about ponds before their upcoming field trip. Grade One- Moo you know what we’re doing in grade one in library? We have been learning about books that give us information and facts (non fiction) compared to books we read just for fun (fiction). We choose an animal that lives at Casey Farm and do some research and writing! Grade Two- We have been learning why authors might use non-fiction text features in information books or websites. Students are compiling examples of text features in their own non-fiction book…publishing dates coming this June. Grade Three – We are investigating cyber communities on the computer and internet. Students are almost all proficient using our online catalog to find what they need in the library. Grades Four – We are learning more about “rules to stay safe” when online. We will be creating a comic strip to share a rule or two on how to be smart online. I am always available after school on Tuesdays. If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected] Your Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Ward All students learned about Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss this month. We all listened to Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster by Debra Fraiser to get us ready for reading week!
Reading Week is April 13-17th. Be on the lookout for the exciting things being planned in the library and school for this week to celebrate reading…. Book Fair- Buy One, Get One Sale! Wed, April 15th-Fri, April 17th Volunteers needed on Thursday April 16th J Kindergarten- Kindergarteners enjoyed Mo Willems titles. We have also been using centers to practice math, writing, reading and science concepts. Grade One- Moo you know what we’re doing in grade one in library? We have been learning about books that give us information and facts (non fiction) compared to books we read just for fun (fiction). We chose an animal that lives on a farm and are doing some research and writing! This project will end around the time the students go to Casey Farm in May! Grade Two-. We have been learning how to find answers to questions with an information book or website. Next up, folktales from around the world are the books we will be focusing on- and some pourquoi stories too! Grade Three – We are working on our communities’ research. We learned about the rookeries of penguins and now will focus on our town of Hopkinton, and comparing the roles of our citizens. Up next, we will talk about cyber communities on the computer and internet. Grades Four – We practiced our note taking skills! Up next, internet safety. I am always available after school on Tuesdays. If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected] Matty Hatty Birthday Dance-a-thon was a huge success!! Our school raised money (final total coming soon) for the Matty Fund and awareness for epilepsy. Thank you to all for making this wonderful event a success.
Kindergarten- We are studying Mo Willems who writes stories about a pigeon who wants to drive a bus, a duckling who wants some hot dog, and an elephant named Gerald and his best friend, Piggie. These stories are SO much fun to read! We are discussing character, dialogue and the job of an author and illustrator. Centers are also a new part of our library time. Center activities relate to our literature units of study and incorporate math, science, art and writing Grade One- We are completing our Audry Wood unit. We have looked at her writing as well as the different illustrators that she worked with. Students have also been authors, creating their own stories! Once upon a time...fairy tales are up next! Grade Two- Standard #4 states “I can find books that I like”. Gr 2 is learning all kinds of books including folk tales, fiction, realistic fiction, and non-fiction/informational. We are also learning how to find answers to questions with an information book or website. Grade Three – We will use the Big6 (http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/Big_Six_Steps.asp) to research penguin rookeries and then compare with our own communities. Grades Four – We are ready to VOTE VOTE VOTE! Rhode Island Children's Book Nominees that we have been reading all year. Hope Valley winner to be announced...stay tuned! We have also been practicing taking good note facts- and just using the treasure words. I am always available after school on Tuesdays. If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected] Your Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Ward ) Upcoming event! Hope Valley School is hosting a Matty Hatty Birthday Dance-a-thon Wednesday, February 11th at 2:00. We will be reading the book My Friend Matty written by Matty’s mom and dad. Our school will be learning that people with epilepsy are just like you and me. What are we learning in the library? Kindergarten- Kindergarteners are choosing books from the shelf! They are doing very well using shelf markers to hold the place of the book while they decide if the book is just right or not. Maybe they will sing “The Bookey Lookey” song for you at home that shows how the shelf markers work. We have begun an author study on Mo Willems. The first character we are reading about is the Pigeon. Kindergarteners LOVE these fun stories (librarians do too!) Grade One- We continue to learn from author Audrey Wood and illustrators she works with to see how illustrations help to tell stories. Students are creating their own stories, writing recipes, and thinking about an author’s job. We are also practicing keyboarding and visiting brand new reading corners after book selection is complete. Grade Two- 21st century learner Standard #4 “I can find books that I like” Grade 2 is completing our author study of Tomie dePaola and learning all genres of books including literary fiction, realistic fiction, and non-fiction/informational. We are also learning how to find answers to questions with different sources. Grade Three – Technology is helping us find what we need in the library as students use the computers and learn to navigate our online catalog. We also are using websites to answer questions and scan through to find the information we are looking for. Grades Four – We continue to study author Chris Van Allsburg. Students are learning about answering questions using technology. Searching for information using World Book Student is a great place to start. Internet links are posted on the library media center homepage of our school website. Rooster Voting is coming soon. Students are working on finishing 3 Rooster Books so they can participate in a statewide vote. Hope Valley Rooster games are coming in June. Students must read a minimum of 5 books to participate. I am always available after school on Tuesdays. If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected] Your Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Ward What are we learning in the library? Our school just participated in the Hour of Code (code.org)! Students were able to learn about programming and try out some puzzles. Even Mr. G. tried the puzzles. It was a great introduction to the importance of computer science in our ever changing world. Kindergarten- Kindergarteners learned about owls and talked about fiction/literary pieces and information books. We continue to talk about book care and book routines. In January, students will self-select books that he/she wants from the library shelves. Grade One- We have begun our author study on Audrey Wood. We will do some creative writing in response to the texts. Some of the questions we have been thinking about are “do the illustrations help to tell the story?” and “how are the illustrations the same/different?” in different titles. Grade Two- We are our enjoying our author study on Tomie dePaola and learning about the different kinds of books, including fiction, realistic fiction and non-fiction/informational. Ask us about an atlas! Using the story Big Anthony ‘s setting we found various places in Italy and created our own map of places Big Anthony went on his travels. As part of a year-long project, we will save our work and create a non-fiction book “All about the Library” to share our learning of non-fiction features. Grade Three – We are utilizing the laptops to achieve standard #1 “I can find what I need”. Students have learned about the Caldecott Medal, visiting the website as well as locating book information on OPAC/Destiny (our online catalog). Grades Four – RI author Chris Van Allsburg is our focus. We have been listening to his stories and asking questions such as “What do you notice about Chris’s works?” Students visited his website and participated in a scavenger hunt to dig through the website to find answers to questions. I am always available after school on Tuesdays. If you have questions, please contact me at [email protected] Happy Holidays! |
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