Code Dance Party!

"peer programming" -- These second graders are working together to solve the puzzles

The first week in December was Computer Science Education Week.  It was the perfect week to kick off our units on Coding in the library!  Kindergarten and first grade enjoyed exploring Kodable while the second, third, and fourth graders tried out the all new Code Dance Party!

To get the students engaged and excited, I invited them into the library with the music turned up!  I told them to dance to their seats and keep going until the music stopped!  Not only did I have everyone's undivided attention, but it was also a fantastic movement break for all of us!

Singing and snapping along!

After an introduction, we broke out the Chromebooks and the students jumped right in.  (We were all extremely impressed by the variety of music available to choose from within the program; there was literally something to please everyone!  The team over at Code.org did a truly incredible job!)  The class was over in a blink, but I assured them that we'd continue the project for the rest of the month.  I also gave the students a copy of their Code.org passwords so they could work on their own if they wanted.

During our last class before break, I posted a form in Google Classroom so the students could share their final projects with me.  I'll be sharing these with each class when we come back from break.  We'll be having a Dance Party Book Look in grades 2-4!

Click on the links below to get a look at some the students' projects.  We had an absolute blast and there was a lot of learning going on!

Click here to watch Mackenzie's video (2nd grade)

Click here to watch Luke's video (3rd grade)

Click here to watch Santino's video (4th grade)

Click here to watch Kyleigh's video (4th grade)

How to Make a Librarian Smile!

These students did an awesome job showing what they know!

Of course, there are *lots* of ways to make a librarian smile!  But during a first grade lesson on book care I got the students smiling -- and cheering! -- right along with me!

First the students got a copy of my "I Know How to Take Care of Books" activity.  It features ten statements, each of which I read out loud.  The students colored in the smiley face at the end of each line if the statement was true or the frowny face if it was false.  Or, as I put it to the students, "Color in the smiley face if you think that sentence would make Mrs. Mann happy!" 

The real fun began when we were done going through the whole paper.  I went back and re-read each statement, and this year I tried a new way of revealing the correct answers.  I started off by making a big show of pointing to my face.  I began with a very neutral expression before breaking into either a huge grin or a dramatic frown.  It was a hit!  Luckily my student intern, Miss Kingsbury, was available that day and she caught one of the reveals on video:

Of course after each statement the students took turns explaining why each answer was correct.  The energy in the room was delightful, and the students were really proud to show off how much they knew about taking care of books.  That is certainly one way to make a librarian smile!!!  :D

Rhode Island Children's Book Festival 2018!

It was a chilly, rainy Saturday, but there was lots of warmth and love inside Lincoln School yesterday!  This annual gathering of authors and illustrators is an event that I look forward to all year long, and the deary weather in no way put a damper on the fun and excitement of the day's events!

I met Rosemary Wells!

My morning began with a presentation by the remarkably talented Rosemary Wells.  The deep love that she holds for her work was readily apparent, and she offered a glimpse into her studio and habits.  She begins each day with some painting "practice" by coloring in a line drawing of her characters.  This steadies her hand and gets her into the right frame of mind.  She played a sample of the Navajo flute music that she listens to and emphasized that all screens should be off!  No TV, no iPad.  She encouraged everyone to be "paying attention in a quiet environment and focusing on your work".  (She repeated this idea multiple times, and it was clear that she was speaking to the adults just as much as to the children!) 

She also focused on the importance of taking good care of your supplies and materials.  She is meticulous, and I'll admit I was a bit jealous of how organized and neat her studio is.  Hers is not a work space filled with jumbles of supplies!  She retold a story of being in Japan and learning that, when given their first brush (actually, their only brush), the children spend the week painting with just water.  This allows the focus to be on how to properly handle and care for this prized possession.  A comparison was made between this attitude toward objects versus the more American view of items being disposable.  Rosemary, it was clear, is a firm believer in assuring the longevity of her own brushes, and she explained that she treats them with Pantene hair conditioner once a week! 

Rosemary included some fascinating information about her techniques when creating her illustrations.  I've admired her work for years but never specifically noticed the interesting textures that exist in select areas.  She revealed that she has custom rubber stamps created from images that she makes herself using a copy machine.  She showed a handful of lentils that are spread across the glass and made into a black and white photocopy, and the resulting design was really unique!  She's done this with a wide variety of objects including pine needles, brown rice, bird gravel, tapioca beads, and Cheerios!

Can you tell what type of cereal she used to create this stamp??

Just as fascinating, I learned how she applies the stamp to her painted piece in only the specific area she wants it to go.  After the illustration is colored in, she covers it with a clear plastic called "frisket".  It's sticky on one side so it doesn't slide around.  Rosemary cuts away the frisket with an Exacto knife to exposed the area she wants to stamp, and the remaining frisket remains to mask the rest of the work.  After stamping she peels away the plastic.  She showed video of the process and it was really fun to watch! 

Removing the frisket.  The stamp that adds texture to the yellow dress was created using Cheerios!

She also uses frisket to create interesting backgrounds!

You can bet that I'll be looking at my Rosemary Wells collection with a much more attuned eye from now on! I wonder what other objects I'll be able to recognize in her textures?

I met Kazu Kibuishi!

I also had the pleasure of sitting in on a presentation by Kazu Kibuishi!  He started off by showing a book trailer for the just-released eighth book in the Amulet series, Supernova.  (It looks amazing!)  He talked about his childhood, how he got into making graphic novels, and shared the process he follows for creating his books.  He even did a live demonstration of how he "paints" his illustrations using a computer!  

First he "sketches" an outline of the story

Next he creates "thumbnails" which he also calls "rehearsals"

Then he does "penciling" to make the final outlines.  It looks like ink when it's done because he darkens the lines on a photocopier!

These were just a few highlights of my day.  I enjoyed meeting other authors, too, and got some of our library's books signed as well!  

It was an amazing day, and as always I send out enormous thanks to the remarkable Meagan Lenihan and all the folks who worked so hard to make the day happen!!!

Signed by Rosemary Wells!

Our copy of  "The Talking Eggs" -- now signed by illustrator Jerry Pinkney!

I had to borrow this book back from a teacher to get it signed by Kevin Henkes!

Kazu Kibuishi signed *and* drew an illustration in our copy of Amulet, Book 1: The Stonekeeper!

Summer Sun, Books & Fun!

This summer marked the ninth consecutive year of the Hopkinton Recreation Summer Read Aloud Program!  The program invites Chariho staff members to volunteer an hour of their time to read aloud to the camp's participants.  (The reading program also took place in Charlestown and Richmond!)  The students get so excited when they know one of the people who has shown up to read to them!

In my group we read "The Trail" which was one of my RICBA favs!

Mrs. Allen, teacher at CMS

Mrs. Medina, teacher at CMS

Mrs. Potter, teacher at CMS

The two chapter books selected by the students going into grades 5 and younger, The Trail and The Wizard's Dog, came from a list of books nominated for the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award (RICBA).  During the school year, students are encouraged to read at least three of the books from the list in order to vote for the winner.  In addition, several of the schools (including Ashaway) hold competitions called the Rooster Games based these nominees.  By selecting books from this list, the children participating in HopRec will already have one of these books completed by the end of the summer or, at least, will have gotten an extended preview!  We also had Scar Island available to the older students; this book is from the Rhode Island Middle School Book Award list for grades 6-8.  These students got a start on qualifying for the middle school Book Battle!

This summer's featured book nominees!

In addition to our "chapter book" groups, there is also a bin of picture books for the younger kids. Miss Chloe, one of the HopRec counselors, enthusiastically jumped into presenting these and I'm grateful to her for extending the fun to them!

picture book time!

A fun game of Duck, Duck, Goose went with that week's theme of "geese"!

Guest reader Mrs. Bliven from Ashaway School brought along her daughters.  They are playing with a moose hat.  Can you guess what that week's theme was?!

No matter which group a child joined, every one of them spent an hour each week interacting with some excellent books.  It truly is a wonderful program, and I'm very proud to be a part of it.  My sincerest thanks go out to the fabulous staff at the camp who were so accommodating in order to make it all possible and to the staff members who volunteered to participate! 

Poetry Out Loud Celebration

On Monday students from all four elementary schools gathered to participate in the 5th annual Poetry Out Loud celebration (formerly "Poetry Slam").  This remarkable event, coordinated by Hope Valley principal Mr. Gencarelli, invites students to stand before an audience to read aloud an original work of poetry.  Each presentation was a treat, and it was wonderful to watch the students enjoy a moment to shine on stage!

It was a beautiful, sunny day so we gathered in the high school courtyard.  Please enjoy these happy memories of an lovely June evening!

Mermaids in the Sea

By Joandrie, Grade 2

Swimming up

Swimming down

They swim all around

Whales and dolphins are their friends

To them the fun never ends

Shiny shells and leftover things

Is what they call their treasures

Don’t get too close or they’ll steal

Your heart forever.

Skiing

By Paige, Grade 4

Sliding down the slope pushing with my poles,

Riding up the chairlift, flying over jumps.

 Learning more and more,

Falling over and over,
Skiing with my family, skiing with my friends, skiing all together,

Because friendship never ends.

         Down a black diamond, right over a jump, plop on my back, Back up again.

         Going to a race, I’m gonna win first place, passing my opponents, I just won the race.

Super duper tired, snoozing in my bed, super duper tired, I think I might be dead.

         Back up on the slopes, warm up in the green, back up on the diamonds, flying down with speed.  Again another race, again I won first place, again back in my bed, again I think I’m dead. Now my trip is over, we’re packing up the car, putting on my headphones, listening to some tunes.  No I’m back home, laying in my bed, lot of memories in my head.

Spring is Coming, Spring is Coming!

By Harper, Grade 1

Spring is coming, spring is coming!

Spring is in the air

Bears are growling

Birds are singing

Coyotes are howling

Spring is in the air!

Trees are budding

Flowers are blooming

Bees are everywhere

Lots of rain, no more snow

Spring is in the air

Spring is ending

Summer vacation is near

Swimming, playing, running, camping

It’s my favorite time of year!

My Magnificent Mother

By Alisa, Grade 3

Sweet,

nice,

confident mother

I love her.

With all my heart.

She’s the best.

I will never let her go.

Help me?

I’ll help you.

Sweet, sweet mother,

I love you.

Brushes

By Jordan, Grade 4

There's all different brushes

Any brush is useful

There's dog brushes and cat brushes

There are toothbrushes and hair brushes

All hygienic in a way

And there’s even working brushes

Like paintbrushes

Different sizes and shapes

You choose which one you'd like to use

I'm so proud of all the students who not only wrote their own poetry but also confidently stood up on stage to share their writing with us.  Awesome job, everyone!!

Rooster Games 2018

On Thursday our fourth graders participated in the 10th Annual Ashaway School Rooster Games!  All of the students who read at least five of the books on the list of nominees for the Rhode Island Children's Book Award were invited to participate.  The six teams (each a mix of boys and girls from all of the fourth grade classrooms) competed in a variety of games that were based on books from the list.

Rooster Games Champion Readers!

I had five students who earned special recognition by reading all 18 of the RICBA nominees that I bought for Ashaway School.  I started off the games by awarding Champion Reader medals to these students!

Three of the games are set up on Google Slides.  They are projected onto the large screen above the stage, and the students collaborate with their teammates to come up with the answers.  Then they use marker boards to display them and earn points.
 
Students match pictures from each book to their titles in the Illustration Round, they answer multiple choice and short answer questions in the Question Round, and they identify which book is being represented in the Object Round.

In the pictures above you can see the students pointing to a piece of paper.  I give each team two "pointing pages" (letters for Multiple Choice and a list of the book titles for Illustrations and Objects) so they can point to their answers rather than saying them out loud.  The kids are always so excited when they know an answer that they usually blurt it out -- loudly enough that neighboring teams can hear!  It takes some practice, though; their enthusiasm usually wins out at first!  

For the "table top" round, the teams are matching the titles of each book to the very first line in the story.  

A really popular round is Charades.  Students take turns acting out a word for the rest of the team to guess.  If the team guesses the word they earn a point, and if they can then identify which book the word represents they earn a bonus point!  As always, I was really impressed by the creativity on display!

This year my "Mystery Round" became expanded!  In the past I've come up with a game inspired by a book on that year's RICBA nominee list.  We've done the Homophone Hustle for Rain

Our luckiest student!

Reign, an assortment of balloon relays inspired by A Whole New Ballgame, and a "minute to win it" game based on Neighborhood Sharks.  This year I was drawn to Fortune Falls, which was not only the first book I read on the list but also one of my favorites.  The setting of this story is a town where superstitions are all REAL: step on a crack and your mother is going to the hospital with a broken back!  The idea of being "lucky" or "unlucky" is of extreme importance, and that inspired this year's game, Luckiest Student of the Day!  Well, really it was a series of games.  Students tried out their luck on a variety of games of chance in order to earn stamps on their papers.  The student with the most stamps at the end of the Rooster Games is the winner!  (As it turned out we had a four-way tie, so I drew one of the four papers out of a bag to identify who was truly the luckiest!)  

Students pulled a straw out of a cup; if the tip was colored red they earned a stamp!  (If it was green they earned TWO!)

Students pulled a card out of a deck.  If it was a Queen they earned a stamp.  If it was a Queen of Hearts they earned TWO!

Students pulled a marble out of a bag; if it was red they earned a stamp!  If it was green they earned TWO!

Students rolled two dice; if they rolled a 6 they got a stamp.  If they rolled doubles of any number they earned TWO!

Students pulled a plastic egg out of a bag and opened it; if it contained a cotton ball they earned a stamp!

This year our Rooster Games winner was Team Yellow!  There's no prize for winning the Rooster Games, but at the end of the day all of the students who qualified to participate in the games gets to enjoy a pizza party sponsored by our P.T.O., so they truly are all winners!

It was a really fun event, and it couldn't have happened without the support of our fourth grade teachers, our parent volunteers, and our Ashaway School P.T.O.  My sincerest thanks go out to them all!