Return of the Summer Readers!

The kids loved when the upstairs room was available and they could spread out on the mats!

2013 marks the fourth year of the Summer Read Aloud program!  Once again, thanks to the support of a  Chariho Community Innovative Projects Grant, we were able to purchase multiple copies of the books so the children could follow along with the adult reader.  To ensure the quality and long-term usefulness of the books, the titles were selected from a list of books nominated for the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award (RICBA).  These 20 books are nominated by a committee of educators and librarians based on their appeal and literary value for children. 

That is a LOT of books!

This summer we were especially excited to have enough money to buy multiple copies for the Read Aloud program and two complete sets of all 20 nominees (one each to be used at the Hopkinton and Charlestown Rec programs).  At the conclusion of summer, the books will be distributed to the elementary and middle school libraries which will give our students increased accessibility to the RICBA nominees!

At the beginning of the summer, project coordinator Brenda Medina and her husband, Larry, spent some time with me at Ashaway School to help get the books ready for use.  This year I designed a label to be placed in every book, and the two of them made sure that every book you see in the picture above received one.  I think we were all surprised by how long that one activity took!  (Did I mention that there were a lot of books??)

The label placed inside every book purchased with the grant money

Like last year, I started off the first session by introducing the children to the available books with a short "book talk".  Then each child was allowed to select which reading group to join.  In the past we split them up by grade, but we've decided that it's even better to offer them a choice.  Not only did that increase their excitement, but it also introduced them to titles that they might decide to pick up and read on their own!   All of the kids were invited to participate in our "Summer Reading Reach-Out" program, which allowed them to borrow books to bring home.  (Special thanks to Mrs. Collins, who was willing to take care of the record keeping!)  Many of my students bemoaned the long waiting lists at the public libraries and were really excited to "jump to the front" by borrowing one of the books provided by the grant money at their own HopRec! 

Tessa and Sam, right after finishing The Templeton Twins

To help them along their way to qualifying for the Rooster Games next spring, my group read the RICBA nominee The Templeton Twins Have an Idea.  Tessa and Sam (pictured above) were present for every single one of our reading sessions and will start fourth grade with a star on the "Rooster Games" chart.  As it so happens, they have something in common with the main characters from the book: they are also twins!  

To learn more about the program's background and goals, you can click on the following links:

Summer Reading blog entry - 2011

Summer Reading blog entry - 2012

 

The Rooster Games...continued!

 

Team Light Blue wished that they had had more time to practice and polish their skit for the Creativity Round during the Rooster Games last Wednesday, so one team member (Ella) took it upon herself to write out a script for her team to perform today after lunch!  It was really wonderful to see the motivation and excitement that was demonstrated by the students (with a special guest from Team Yellow).  Now that's what I call enthusiasm!!

All third grade students were given a list of the 2014 nominees for the Rhode Island Children's Book Award so they can start getting ready for next year's Rooster Games...it will be here before you know it!

Rooster Games 2013!

These three students received "Champion Reader" medals for reading all the books on the list!

I can't believe it, but another Rooster Games has come and gone!  On Wednesday my qualifying fourth graders participated in a kind of "book olympics" based on books that were nominated for the Rhode Island Children's Book Award.  (They are nicknamed the "Rooster Books" because the winning book receives a medal that features the state bird, a "Rhode Island Red" rooster!)  The students who read at least five of the books on the list were allowed to play in the games.  It was a really fun morning, and I was pleased to see all of the students demonstrating good sportsmanship!

Team Yellow earns a point during the Illustration Round!

 

Team Green works on matching the titles to the first line from each book

Matching titles to items in each story during the Object Round

 

Collaborating on an answer during the Multiple Choice Round

Team Orange acts out a scene from Because of Mr. Terupt during the Creativity Round

Although Miss Hurley finished her student teaching duties back in February, she kindly came back to help us during the Games!  (Thank you so much!!)

 

Team Orange scores another point!

The winners of the 2013 Rooster Games: Team Dark Blue!

Thanks to the support of our PTO, all the students who participated in the Games got to enjoy a pizza party at the end of the day!  YUM!

Internet Safety Poster Contest!

 JUNE IS INTERNET 

SAFETY MONTH!

Poster created by Natalie B.

Recently in library class, my fourth grade students have been participating in a unit on Internet safety.  The students learned some really important safety guidelines, including:

• NEVER share your personal information online, such as your real name, address, phone number, the school you attend, or anything else that might identify you without asking an adult first!
• NEVER agree to meet someone in person that you "met" online!  You can never know for sure who someone on the Internet really is.
• NEVER respond to a bully!  If someone is mean to you online, tell an adult.  And of course, don't ever be a bully!  Always treat others the way you'd want to be treated.
• TELL AN ADULT if you see anything online that makes you worried, sad, uncomfortable or scared!

Poster created by Cameron B.

As part of this study I collaborated with our art teacher, Mrs. DiFranco, to have the students create a poster that would encourage other children to be safe while using the Internet. The students came up with some very clever ideas for sharing their messages! 

I selected four posters from each class to submit to the “2013 Gear Up For Safety Art Contest” which is being sponsored by the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.  Winning posters will be used to promote School Safety Week (October 20-26^th, 2013).  Finalists will each receive a $100 savings bond, and one lucky grand prize winner will also receive an Apple iPad!  Finalists will be notified by mail in September.

Congratulations to our twelve finalists!

If you'd like more information about Internet safety, 

please visit http://www.ikeepsafe.org/parents/. 

Summer Starters with Mrs. Steever!

Today we were grateful to have a special visitor come in to talk to our fourth graders!  Mrs. Steever is one of the marvelous librarians at Chariho Middle School, and she went over the summer reading requirements. 

(Click here to visit the CMS Library's summer reading page!)  

Students can of course read as many books as they want, but the expectation is that they read at least two.  In addition, the students need to show evidence that they read the books by creating a project of their choice.  For example, students could write an essay, create a book talk or poster, or design a Photo Story or PowerPoint.  Every student received a packet of information that included reading suggestions, including all 20 Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominees (the "Rooster" books for next year). The packets also included a rubric to make sure they meet the criteria. 

Mrs. Steever also told the soon-to-be fifth graders about some terrific online resources that they can access over the summer, including Tumblecloud "eBooks".  She demonstrated how to find different kinds of stories to read and listen to online!  The students were really excited to learn that there are even graphic novels to choose from!

The students got to watch a book talk video created by another student.  Not only was this an example of what they might do for a book project over the summer, but the book he discussed is one of next year's "Rooster" books.  They also got to see a book "trailer" for one of my favorite books on next year's "Rooster" list: The One and Only Ivan.  (Click here to watch the trailer!) 

The purple page lists all of next year's "Rooster" books!

The four girls pictured above chose to stay in the library to watch more video book talks instead of going to recess!  There are lots of book "trailers" available online.  Here are a few more:

Wonder by R.J. Palacio
The Templeton Twins Have an Idea by Ellis Weiner
The False Prince by Jennifer Nielson

Thank you for coming to Ashaway School 

to talk to our fourth graders, Mrs. Steever!  

You've helped to put them on the path to success!!

"No Time for TV" Week - Winners Announced!

No Time for TV Week ended on Sunday, May 19th.  All this week students have been bringing back their papers to show how many points they earned by exercising their minds and bodies, and there are a LOT of them!  I'll be handing out the prizes next week for those who earned at least 100 points, but today I got to announce the 15 winners of the $10 gift certificates to the Other Tiger bookstore in Westerly.  Half of them didn't have any screen time for the entire seven days, and all of them earned at least 100 points.  I wish I had been able to get a video of when I announced the names of the winners.  Not only did they have huge smiles, but I saw so many excited classmates who also lit up in support of their friends!

This year's gift certificate winners!

While the deadline has passed for being included in the drawing, I will continue to accept participation forms from those who earned at least 100 points.  These students will be allowed to select something special from the library "prize basket" next week!

Thanks all to all the families who participated and supported their children during the week!  I am also grateful for the sponsorship of our wonderful Ashaway School PTO, who provides the funds for the gift certificates and other prizes! 

No Time for TV: the "What ifs" and "What abouts"

The original "PlayStation"!

It's "No Time for TV Week" at Ashaway School!  All of the details about how the program works can be found by clicking on the links below.  Each student received a copy at school but you are welcome to print another copy if you need it:

Contract page 1

Contract page 2

I went over the guidelines with every class last week.  After explaining how the form works and what they need to do to earn a prize, I spent some time answering questions.  Most of the questions, as always, started with the words "What if...?"  For example:

"What if our teacher shows a video during class, or we need to look up a book on the computer?"  
(That's okay; it says on the form that screen time spent on required schoolwork won't count.)  

"What if my brother isn't doing it and turns on the TV?"
(We brainstorm together what some options might be: going to another room, inviting your brother to do a different activity with you, or even trying to convince your brother -- or better yet, the whole family! -- to participate with you!)

"What if someone has the TV on and I'm walking by the room and I see it?"
(Yep, I get this one over and over, every single year.   The answer is basically "keep walking!")

Then there are all the questions that begin with "What about...?"  These used to be easier to answer.  For example:

"What about watching a DVD?"
(Well, since you'd need a screen to watch it, that would count as "screen time"!)

"What about watching an educational TV show?"
(Nice try.  I do know that some TV programs can be educational, but there are plenty of other options for learning something new!)

"What about Wii Fit?"
(I actually talked to Mr. Bliven about that one.  There's a big difference between swinging your arms around in front of a television and going to a park to play tennis!)

"Look, Ma! No commercials!"

What it all comes down to, I explain, is that No Time for TV Week is all about choices.  It's about taking one single week to really think about how much time we spend in front of a screen.  I stress that my message isn't that TV, video games, and computers are inherently bad.  It's just that too much isn't good for you.  I always use the candy analogy: a piece now and then won't hurt you, but eating it all the time in place of better choices isn't healthy!  That's why Ashaway adopted a program for "No TV Week" in which kids earn points for engaging in a variety of activities that will exercise the mind and body!

And that brings us to the more recent "What abouts" that I've been hearing.  Things like:
"What about reading a book on my Kindle?"
"What about listening to music on my iPod?"
"What about using a Playaway to hear a story?  That has a screen..."

Once upon a time, I would've responded without giving it much thought; like the "educational television", I'd point out that there are plenty of other options to choose from.  But lately I've been thinking a lot harder about it.  In many households today, the way folks listen to music is on devices with screens.  I removed the dozens of audio cassettes in the library several years ago because they simply didn't circulate anymore.  Kids went from being excited about taking them home to complaining that they didn't have the equipment to play them on.  Recently I started asking my students if they have an iPad or e-reader, and I was shocked by the number of hands that went up.  And this is the first year I've had multiple students tell me about the book they downloaded to read at home.

So where does that leave us with the questions above?  Personally, I'd say that all three would count toward earning points.  After all, both reading and listening to music are listed under "exercise the mind", and I always tell students that having a book read to them is a wonderful way to spend some time.  It's unlikely the child is going to pull up music on an iPod and then stare at the screen as the seconds count off.  Same goes for the Playaway.  (Maybe they close their eyes and listen, build a new creation with Legos, or perhaps even clean their rooms!  Yeah, I know...but you can tell them that it does help chore time go faster.  I can't imagine doing housework without a Podcast to listen to.)

Ultimately, when it comes to all the "What ifs" and "What abouts" I tell the students to ask the adult who will be signing the form at the end of the week.  I leave it up to the parents and guardians to make the final call on what "counts" and what doesn't.  After all, I would've earned quite a few checks for the time I've spent writing today's blog entry, if it's okay that I typed it on the computer instead of on paper!  (And yes, the television was off!)