Learning Library Manners with the Shelf Elf!

Have you heard about Skoob, the library shelf elf?  My kindergarten students have been learning all about him in the book The Shelf Elf by Jackie Mims Hopkins.  His job is to help our students remember to use their library manners.  With Skoob's help, we've learned how to use shelf markers to keep the library neat and organized.  The book says, "Use a shelf marker, you can't go wrong; put books back where they belong!"  (The children really enjoy the book's rhyming reminders!)  I'm happy to report the students are more and more responsible each time they look for books on the shelves in the library.  Not only is it respectful to the other people who use the library, but they are also helping Skoob win the Golden Shelf Elf Award!

Of course, the children are always curious about him.  He's very shy and only comes out when no people are around.  He's really good at sewing (he used to work in a shoemaker's shop with his cousin, Skeeter), so he made a toy elf for us so we can see what he looks like and how tall he really is. Still, the children always have more questions for Skoob that the book doesn't answer, so we work together to write a letter to him.  (Miss Lambert's class wrote theirs last Wednesday, and Mrs. Smith's class will be writing theirs this week.)  I'm always interested to learn what each class wants to know about him, and I always learn something new when I read his responses!  I'll let you know what he told our students when he writes back!

Doing the "Bookie-Lookie" (part 2)

Last year I wrote about "The Shelf Marker Song" that I shared with my kindergarten classes.  (You can find the post by clicking here.)  I love how enthusiastic the students are when I share it with them, and this year I decided to add some verses to reinforce even more of the good habits I want them to practice! 

THE SHELF MARKER SONG 

Sung to the tune of the "Hokey-Pokey"

First Verse Written by Jackie Mims Hopkins

With Additional Verses by Mrs. Mann!  :)

You put your shelf marker in     (Pretend to put marker on shelf)

You take the book right out      (Pretend to take a book off shelf)

You open it up                         (Put hands together like book covers

To see what it’s about              and then open)

We do the bookie lookie                   (Pretend to turn pages 

To make sure the book’s just right        by the corners)

That’s what it’s all about!                        Clap, clap, clap

You put your book back in      (Replace book using 2 hands)

You take your marker out        (Pretend to remove marker)

You hold it just right                (Pretend to hold marker over tummy)

So the teacher doesn’t shout   (Wag a finger back and forth)

We do the bookie lookie          (Hold hand over eyes like a visor and look

For a book that is just right        back and forth like you’re searching)

That’s what it’s all about!           Clap, clap, clap

You put your book at your seat     (Pretend to put the book down)

You put your marker away         (Point to the teapot where they go)

We sure did have fun              (Point fingers and jiggle at the ceiling

In the library today!           like you're doing the "Hokey Pokey")

We did the bookie lookie and       (Pretend to “hug a book” and

We found a book that's right              twist back and forth)

That’s what it’s all about!                      Clap, clap, clap

 

You do the boooooookie lookie!    (Feet planted, wave arms above head &

You do the boooooookie lookie!      then slight crouch with hands on knees;

You do the boooooookie lookie!       repeat 3x)

That’s what it’s all about!               (Hands still on knees, swing hips)

My kindergarten classes were learning the song this week.  They aren't quite ready for Broadway, but they certainly had a lot of fun! 

First Grade is Fond of Fairy Tales!

To support a similar unit that happens in their classrooms, I've been sharing fairy tales with my first graders.  I'm happy to say that they are really enjoying the stories and have been learning a lot!  This week I read Jack and the Beanstalk and then showed them the five other versions our library owns.  I wasn't too surprised when every single one was signed out!  I also showed the students where the fairy tales live in the library, and lots of other titles were borrowed as well.

Our Fairy Tale Felt Board

In both the classroom and the library, the students have been learning the different elements of fairy tales.  To help them remember what we've discussed I display the "fairy tale felt board".  Each picture on the board represents something that I want the students to know.  If your child is in grade one or higher, see if he or she can explain what each picture refers to.  I'll put the answers below!

One thing I explain to the students is that fairy tales are just one type of folktale.  So everything we learn about folktales is also true of fairy tales! 

PICTURE - EXPLANATION

clock - Folktales are very, very old stories that have been around a very, very long time.
speech bubble - Folktales are passed down as part of an "oral tradition".  In other words, the stories are told over and over again and are passed down from generation to generation.  (They tend to change as they're retold, so we might discover lots of different versions of the same story.)
person - The person has a question mark because we don't know the name of the person who originally invented the story.  That's why the book version will usually say "retold by" the author.
letter "F"- The "F" stands for "fiction".
Earth - Folktales come from all around the world!

Many folktales, and fairy tales especially, also have these traits:
wand - magic!
crown - At least one character is royalty, such as a king, queen, prince or princess.
3 jewels on crown - There are often groups of threes (and sevens).

The first fairy tale we read together was Rumpelstiltskin, which is an excellent example of a classic fairy tale: there's magic (turning straw into gold), royalty (the greedy king), and many groups of three (3 rooms of straw, 3 turns of the spinning wheel each time, and 3 chances to guess his name).

I'm glad the students are enjoying these stories as much as I enjoy sharing them!

The Frog Prince, Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel: three more classic fairy tales!

"For the Love of Books"

The patch shows a bear reading a book!

Last night I had the pleasure of hosting local Brownie Troop 498 in our library!  Troop leader Mrs. Barbato asked if the girls could come in so they could earn a Brownie Try-it award named "For the Love of Books".  And because I demonstrated that I know to good care of books, I ended up earning one of the awards, too!  The patch is absolutely adorable and I plan to proudly display it in the library!

The girls started off browsing damaged books that live in the "Sad Bag".  (You can find a blog post all about the Sad Bag by clicking here.)   I spread the books out on the library tables and gave them time to look through them.  Then we sat in a group on the rug and discussed what happened to each one and how to keep something like that from happening to one of their library books.  The girls were very good detectives!  By examining the clues, they figured out all sorts of dangers that need to be avoided: rain, juice, dogs, very young children, and plain old carelessness were at the top of the list. 

Eeek! A dog-earred page!

Scissors got this one!

What might cause THAT?

Finally, the girls started designing bookmarks with a positive message about taking care of books.  They each made one to keep and they also took home a few more to decorate and donate to the Ashaway Free Library.  The time really flew by, but I am happy to announce that all of the girls earned a patch and will receive it at their next awards ceremony.  Congratulations!

 

4th Grade Puppet Performances!

Our fourth grade students just wrapped up a research project about animal adaptations. Each student selected an animal to learn about and started the note taking process in the library. They recorded note facts about the animal's behavioral adaptations (what the animal does that helps it to survive, like migration) and physical adaptations (parts of the animal's anatomy that helps it to survive, like fur or claws). Along with creating a labelled diagram of their animals, the students also wrote a report to synthesize (or pull together) all of their information. As a culminating activity, the fourth grade teachers put the students into pairs, and these pairs each wrote a skit to share what they learned. The students wrote their dialog using a "frame", or outline of the basics, but they were free to add their own creative details. They practiced reading the scripts aloud to improve their fluency, which is a skill we expect effective readers to possess; for example, they should use a voice that shows expression and sounds natural. Practicing with "google eyes" I also held a voluntary puppetry workshop after school to demonstrate methods of making their puppets appear more lifelike and gave each participant a pair of "google eyes" to practice at home. As you might imagine, the students had loads of fun and were enthusiastically engaged in their learning! One of our third grade teachers, Mrs. Allen, actually had a gorgeous puppet theater that her husband had made for her and she was happy to let us borrow it. The students loved using it, and that added touch really gave their performances a polished look. I hope you enjoy their work! Mrs. Ornburn's Class Mrs. Young's Class One group doing a "dress rehearsal" in front of the class.

Bad News, Good News, and Great News!

As you may have heard, the program that runs our library circulation program is not working.  Our technology department is trying to get the system back online, but in the meantime I can’t sign any books out to the students.  That's the bad news.  The good news is that students are still selecting a book to bring home this week...I’m allowing the students to choose from a collection of donated books.  The great news is that students may return these books for others to borrow or they may keep them as a gift from us!  As you might guess, the students have been extremely excited about taking a book from the library that they don't have to return!

A few of our happy third graders!

If you find any library materials at home that have a library barcode sticker on the front, they should be returned to school as soon as possible. We’ll have a lot of work to do when the system is working again, and having all our books, magazines and Playaways back will be a big help!  Thank you!!

I am Thankful for Libraries!

I am thankful for students who enjoy books!

This week our Ashaway Student Council delivered "Turkey Grams" that were purchased by students and teachers to send a message to someone in the building.  I was delighted to find a bunch in my mailbox on Tuesday, and I loved the sweet sentiments.  Each began with "I am thankful for you because".  Several students had written I am thankful for you because you let us bring home library books.  Reading through the slips got me thinking about how thankful I am for libraries, too!  I often walk out of my local public library with my book bag stuffed full of books for me, books for my students doing research, and books on CD to listen to in the car.  (I am a huge fan of audio books!)  I love finding materials waiting for me that I've ordered from Inter-Library Loan, and having access to high-quality databases online has been an enormous help when doing research.  I am always so grateful that these wonderful resources are available to me and to everyone else who wants to take advantage of them!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone, and please take some time to share a book with someone you love!