B a Summer Reader!

ipad fun & new seating

HP started in 1997

June 30, 1997 began a phenomenon that rocked the world of literature and spawned a generation of readers!  The Harry Potter series started my son's reading career and hooked me too.  I started reading so we could talk about it and I kept reading because I enjoyed the story and was invested in the characters; I needed to know if good triumphed over evil!

Read or re-read it today!

Find out more:  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter

End of Year Bulletin Boards

One for the kids:

One for the staff:

3rd grade Poetry

April was poetry month, so we listened, read and wrote poetry! The students also illustrated their lines of poetry using www.awwapp.com. 

2nd Grade Zoo

It was a great collaborative effort between the second grade teachers and the library.  The classroom teachers kicked off the research projects by having students select an animal.  Then they discussed habitats, warm/cold-blooded, and backbones.  Students were introduced to the online Britannica Encyclopedia and World Book in library.  Online Britannica Encyclopedia is a great resource for students, because it has a read-aloud feature and students can select from 3-reading levels. Students also used nonfiction books, and PebbleGO.

Armed with their research, students created a 30-second write up of what their animal would say about themselves.  Students used the ChatterKids app to record their voice, talking about their animal from their animal's perspective.  After recording, students uploaded their videos to their Google Drive folder.  From there, we used goo.gl to generate QR codes, which were added to each student's project.

In library, students also used PicCollage to create their "I Am an Animal" poems, adding their animal picture and using the iPad camera to snap a photo of their printed poem.  Finally, they added their first name, cropped their poem and selected a background to complement their animal.

Students were also introduced to:

ChatterKids

QR reader

PicCollage

The culminating activity was the Zoo Display in the gym at the end of the research project.  Parents could scan the QR codes to view and listen to the videos and talk to each student about what they learned.

 <==examples of the "I Am an Animal" poems.

Summer Reading prep

As the school year is winding down, summer reading looms!  How to keep the kids motivated?

The readers will read, no matter the time of year.  It's those struggling readers or the kids that just haven't found their groove yet, that need a little boost.  

Ideas for encouraging summer reading:

- reading for prizes (Barnes & Noble, Half Price Books and others)

- reading programs at the Public Library (entertainment, fun, hands on, prizes)

- send them home with books (too many kids don't have ready access to reading materials)

- encourage summer school for a mix of fun and curricular