Playaways!

This week I've been introducing our third graders to the newest collection in the library: the Playaways! These devices allow a student to listen to an audiobook without any other equipment needed. The Playaway has all the buttons right on it (volume, play/pause, rewind, etc.) and the earbuds plug directly into it. We bought our first set of them three years ago thanks to a CCEP grant, and we've been adding to the collection ever since. As you might guess, the students love them and they are in high demand!


Borrowing a Playaway is a privilege reserved for the third and fourth graders because they require special handling and care. This week they have been signing up for the ones they would like to borrow, and the Playaways will begin circulating next week. (Because they are so popular, I maintain a "holds list" to ensure that the students get the titles they're most interested in.)

Children have much to gain from listening to audio books. For example, they can hear the correct pronunciation of new vocabulary as well as models of correct grammar. Listening to stories can help students with their own fluency when reading aloud. They also enable students to enjoy material which may be above their reading level. Whatever their reasons for borrowing a Playaway, it's wonderful to see the kids get so excited about signing them out!

Strive for a Five!

In library this week I have been introducing the students to our Book Look Rubric. The rubric lets kids know what the expectations are during the time they are given to select books. All students in grades 1-4 will perform a self-assessment using this rubric and give themselves a score before leaving the library. A score of "5" is exceeding the standard, and I hope that all of the students will... STRIVE FOR A FIVE!

The image shows one of our third graders showing us the score she earned this week! She is standing in front of the library SmartBoard, which we used to go over the rubric together. If you would like to view the entire rubric you can see it here: http://www.chariho.k12.ri.us/node/4180
I am very proud of what I've seen and heard in the library this week. The students have really been making an effort to demonstrate positive behaviors, and I lost count of the number of times they said PLEASE, THANK YOU, and EXCUSE ME. Plus, the library looks terrific! The books have been put away correctly and all the shelf markers are back where they belong. You're off to an amazing start, Ashaway students! Keep up the good work!

Welcome Back!

The 2010-2011 school year has gotten off to a great start! It's wonderful to have students back in the library, and they have been so excited to begin taking books home again. I'm very happy to announce that there are lots of beautiful new books for them to choose from, including these:

All of the books pictured were purchased with funds raised by our wonderful PTO at last year's Scholastic Book Fair. Most are copyrighted 2009-2010, so they will help to keep our science section current. This is one of our most popular areas, so I know they'll get a lot of use! (Good thing they all have a reinforced library binding!)

Thank you, Ashaway School PTO, for all of your hard work!

And to all of our marvelous students...

Welcome Back!

It's going to be a GREAT year!