First Graders Rejoice!

Why are the first graders rejoicing?  Because today they were allowed to take home two library books instead of just one!

We recently read Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians by Jackie Mims Hopkins.  This fun retelling of the story of Goldilocks introduces the students to the "Five Finger Rule".  This is a method the students can use to find a book that's not too hard, not too easy, but juuuuuust right!  I believe that, as students explore the library collection, they will be encouraged to use and strengthen their reading skills.  

The Five Finger Rule

1)  Choose a book and read the first page or two

2)  Put one finger up for every word you don’t know

3)  If five (or none) of your fingers go up while reading, choose another book.

4)  If only two or three fingers go up, you’ve found a 
     “just right” book!

              

 

As part of the Information Literacy Standards, students are also encouraged to pursue information related to their personal interests (standard #4).  These books, including such non-fiction favorites as dinosaurs, pets, and sharks, are often filled with beautiful and engaging pictures.  While they might be above the student’s reading level, they encourage children to appreciate that books are a source of information and entertainment.  

Now, first grade students will be able to select two books: an “easy reader” and a free choice. Hopefully, this will lead our students to becoming better readers while still allowing them the freedom to explore the wide variety of materials that the library has to offer!

In our library, an orange sticker on the spine means that the book is an "Easy Reader".  It might be a good choice for students in grades K-2 who are learning to read on their own.  This student is looking for a book that is "just right" for her!

Oh, the Places THEY Will Go!

 Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Sunday was Dr. Seuss's birthday, so on Monday we celebrated with a fabulous display created by our reading specialist, Mrs. Bartkiewicz!  It was filled with paper balloons created by the students that shared what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Throughout the day she read selections from the book Oh, The Places You'll Go and invited a class down to our foyer to hang up their work.

All week long I've seen both students and grown-ups stopping by the bulletin board to view the students' creations.  Below are just a few of them for you to enjoy!  (Click on any picture to make it larger!)

Some students had so much to say that they didn't even have room for an illustration!  These fourth graders have some terrific plans for their futures:   

When I grow up I want to have a very successful  life and a nice family.  Also I would appreciate a whole bunch of money and a well paying job.  In addition I want a very nice house.  -Nick F.

When I grow up I want to work at the Rhode Island State House.  I know this because I've met Govnor Chaffee twice already and I decided it was worth it.  I also want to have a couple pets like a German shepherd and a cat.  -Halina

When I grow up I will explore Arizona.  I will climb mountains and explore the painted desert.  I would see many ruins and it would be very fun.  -Everett

When I grow up I want to be an author and live in New York.  I also want to get married and write a best seller or Newbery winner.  It would also be cool to travel to London.  -Eleanore

When I grow up I want to be a vet because my aunt Anna is one too.  I want to be just like her when I grow up.  I love her so much and she loves me, too.  I love my whole family.  -Patience

The Many Phases of Research - Part 2!

Four very proud illustrators!

Back in December I wrote about a moon research project that my first graders were working on.  (You can click here to see that post!)  Well, we took a hiatus from that project while my student teacher, Miss Anderson, planned her own activities to share with the students during her time at Ashaway.  Miss Anderson has now moved on to an exciting new adventure, but before she left we put together the students' work into a PowerPoint presentation I could share with them this week!

A hard copy of their presentations will be bound into a book to be enjoyed in the library, but during class the students were able to see their illustrations projected onto the SmartBoard. 

Click here to view the presentation made by Mrs. Breault's class!

Click here to view the presentation made by Miss Mooney's class!

Communities Project

My third grade students have been working on a special project to learn about the four different types of communities: cities, suburbs, towns and farming towns.  All of them were assigned to one of these four groups.  To begin, we watched a video about communities and discussed the attributes of each one.  As part of this exploration I created a SmartBoard sorting activity.


To help the students visualize how the locations of each type of community are related to each other, I had four students stand various distances apart.  "Suburb" was right next to "city", "town" was next to "suburb" but farther away from "city", and "rural" was sent to the the far side of the room!  :)

The students explored what made their group's community the same or different from the other kinds.  After many meetings taking notes, each student wrote about one characteristic of their group's community and found a picture online that helped to illustrate this information.  Finally, we imported their pictures into a PhotoStory and the students recorded their voices to narrate the pictures.

The students enjoyed recording their voices into the computer with the special headphone microphone!

Miss Anderson did an enormous amount of work on this project while she was here!

The whole third grade came down to the library this morning to enjoy watching the four different PhotoStory presentations.  I'm happy to report that their teachers were impressed!  :)

Hello from Miss Anderson!

Hi friends! My name is Miss Anderson and I have the pleasure of student teaching with Mrs. Mann this winter! I am from upstate NY, currently getting my Masters in Library Science from URI. I have had so much fun getting to know the students and teachers at Ashaway School,  and I am so excited to continue teaching and learning here!

Miss Anderson with one of her favorite authors, Sarah Dessen!

With the Kindergartners, I have started a Gingerbread Man unit along with their classroom teachers. The first week we read a traditional retelling by Eric Kimmel. The second week, we read The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst.

We talked about the problem and solution in the story and then drew pictures depicting it!

 

 

We will be reading more fun retellings of the Gingerbread Man story in the next coming weeks, including an ebook and the Jan Brett favorite, Gingerbread Baby.

With the 1st grade, I've been reading Eric Carle books and doing some creative activities. The first week we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and students wrote about the main idea and two key details. Then, in writing with their classroom teachers, they retold the story, making sure the events were in order.

We've also read The Very Busy Spider and A House for Hermit Crab so far. After reading A House for Hermit Crab, students drew their own hermit crab shell based on the illustration from the story.

The classes blew me away with their amazing, detailed pictures. Here are a few:

Friends had so much fun drawing their shells! We love Eric Carle! 

In the coming weeks, I will be continuing to have fun with the K and 1st grades, along with the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th!  Come stop by the library to say hi! 

~Miss Anderson

First to Finish!

Back in September I wrote about my challenge to the fourth graders to read at least five of the Rhode Island Children's Book Award nominees.  (Click here to see the post!)  This week, not one but two of them finished reading all fifteen books that I bought for our library!  That means they will both be presented with a "Champion Reader" medal at the Rooster Games in the spring!

Mia and Nathan have been engaged in a friendly competition to see who would finish first.  As it happens, it was a tie!  That's because Mrs. Young was reading the book Wonder aloud to their reading class, and that was the last book for the both of them.  Don't you love a happy ending?  :)

Nathan and Mia point to their rows on the poster, which are completely filled with stars!

The Many "Phases" of Research!

Our first graders have been learning about the steps we follow when doing research.  We started off by reading Eric Carle's Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.  The story is about a little girl who wants to play with the moon.  Her father climbs a long, long ladder into the sky and then waits for the moon to become small enough to take with him back to Earth.  Our first graders have been learning about the difference between fiction and nonfiction, and they were quick to point out that a ladder couldn't really reach the moon, and the moon would never really get small enough for a man to carry it in his hands.  They did wonder why the moon appears to change shape in the sky, though, and thus began our research project!

The books we used to find information!

We spent part of one library class beginning a "KWL" chart.  In the first column we recorded what they already Know about the moon, and in the second column we wrote What they wanted to learn.  The third column, what they Learned, would be filled in over the course of the next few weeks.  I began modelling for them how to locate the "treasure words", or useful information, and they followed my example on their own note sheets. 

Students discuss what to record in their notes

Both classes are now working on their final project: a book illustrated by the students using MicroSoft Paint!  I demonstrated the basic tools using the SmartBoard, and then the students took turns on the computers.  Thanks to the support of some fabulous fourth grade volunteers, the first graders had lots of help as they explored the program.  They loved "painting" on the screen, and I can't wait to see their excitement when we share their work on the SmartBoard in January!

Thank you, fourth grade helpers!!!