Rooster Games 2014!

Last Wednesday was the 6th 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 seven teams (each a mix of boys and girls from both fourth grade classrooms) competed in a variety of games that were based on books from the list.

This year the students surprised me by arriving for the games wearing fabulous rooster hats that they had secretly made in class.  Aren't they terrific??

It was a really fun morning, 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!

These students earned "Champion Reader" medals for reading every RICBA book I bought from the list!

Team Light Blue earns a point during the Multiple Choice Round

Working together to identify the title of a book during the Illustration Round

A student matches the title of a book to its opening sentence during the First Lines Round

Team Red acts out a scene from a book during the Creativity Round

This year we had a tie for first place...a four-way tie!  Teams White, Light Blue, Green and Yellow were the winners of this year's Rooster Games.  But, of course, all of the students who participated had a fun morning and got to enjoy a pizza party at the end of the day.  I'd call that a "win-win"!  :)

Yum!  Thanks, P.T.O.!

These Kids Had "No Time for TV"!

No Time for TV Week ended on Sunday, May 25th.  All last week students brought back their papers to show how many points they earned by exercising their minds and bodies, and there were a LOT of them!  This year, I saw a 33% increase in participation over last year's number!!  WOW!  In addition, over 50% of the students who participated in the program didn't have any screen time for the entire 7 days!  (By comparison, last year that number was about 25%.)  I'll be handing out the prizes for earning at least 100 points this week, and today I got to announce the winners of the $10 gift certificates for Scholastic Books.

This year's lucky winners have some shopping to do!

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!  

Get Weaned from the Screen!

The original "PlayStation"!

It's almost "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 will receive a copy at school but you are welcome to print another copy if you need it:

Contract page 1

Contract page 2

Click here to see a sample contract all filled out!

I'm going over the guidelines with every class this week.  After explaining how the form works and what they need to do to earn a prize, I spend some time answering questions.  Most of the questions, as always, start 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?  What about watching a video on YouTube?"
(Well, since you'd need a screen to watch it, that would count as "screen time"!)

"What about playing a game on an iPad?"
(That would also be "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?"
(That would also be "screen time".  As one of the PE teachers put it, "There's a big difference between swinging your arms around in front of a television and going to a park to play tennis!")


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!

"Look, Ma! No commercials!"

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 now I'm hearing 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 this blog entry, if it's okay that I typed it on the computer instead of on paper!  (And yes, the television was off!)

Just for fun, try playing No Time for TV Bingo!

Click on the links below to print!

Bingo board #1

Bingo board #2 

Bingo board #3

Chariho's First Elementary Poetry Slam!

Wednesday, April 30th was the first-ever Chariho Elementary Poetry Slam!  Nearly half of all participants were from Ashaway School, so we were very well represented!  I'm so proud of the students who not only followed through on penning an original poem, but also for courageously taking the stage to share their work in front of an audience.  It was a wonderful evening and my thanks go out to all who helped to make it happen!!

 

All of the students who participated were presented with a medal and personal "poetry slam" notebook before leaving the stage.  They were so proud!  Several students showed me the notes and some new poem ideas they had written before they had even left the building!

           When I Dream                                       Mermaids

          by Lilly, Grade 2                              by Erika, Grade 1

Planets                                                               Mermaids

I know there's 8                                    Beautiful  Colorful  Dressing

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars                  Collecting  Swimming

Saturn and Jupiter                                  Meeting a prince to marry

Uranus and Neptune                                            Princess

When I close my eyes

I'm in outer space                            

Floating, flying                         Sugar is Sweet        

Stars all around                       by Madelyn, Grade K        

I hop on an asteroid                Sugar is Sweet        

And shoot past the sun            So are lollipops

A space explorer                    So is the Easter Bunny's jellybeans        

That's who I am                      So are you!

When I dream

Summer
by Zoe Coscia, Grade 1

The bees are in the trees.

The trees have lots of leaves.

I like to go to the beach to swim in the wide, wide sea.

I like to ride my bike

In the warm sun's light.

When the breeze is swaying I like to fly my kite.

When the sun goes down,

And the moon comes up,

I like to go to the park to see the 

Fireworks light up.

At night when I am sleeping

And the owls and crickets are awake

I hear them peep and hoot so that's the sounds 

They make.

Summer is sunny, warm and bright

When the sun is sunny I feel just right

Winter is not my most favorite season because I can't

Wear flip flops that is one of my favorite reasons

I Just Love Summer!

I Twirl My Hair
By Isabella, Grade 2
I put my hand in my bangs
and I twirl my hair around
I twirl them when I'm up in the air
or here on the ground
I twirl my hair when I'm nervous, scared, or stressed
I twirl my hair when I'm looking at my spelling test
I do it because it's fun
It makes me feel better
when it is raining and there is no sun
when I twirl my hair
it forms a fancy knot
when I twirl only a bit of hair
it kinda looks like a frizzy dot
I twirl my hair when I'm happy or sad
I twirl my hair if my day is good or bad
I twirl my hair fast or slow
I thought you should know

Homework is Not Fun                                 
By Nathan, Grade 4   

Home is not fun,
But I always get it done.
I don't like it when it takes so long,
And neither when I get it wrong.
  
I would rather read a book,
Paint a picture, or be a cook.
I would rather put a worm on a hook
And go fishing on Sunday,
But oh no, here comes Monday!

Homework is not fun,
But I always get it done.

Homework is FUN!

By Curtis, Grade 4

I think homework is fun

I get excited when I'm done

I like to do my math

I like to know my facts

I read books every night

Science and adventures are what I like

But, I often forget to log

I guess my brain was in a fog

But, that's okay,

It doesn't really matter anyway.

The important thing to say

Is that I learned what I needed to today.

Thanks go out to Mr. Gencarelli, principal of Hope Valley School.  He did a terrific job organizing this event, plus he made an excellent stage hand!  :)

Nobel Prize Winners!

winner of a Nobel Prize in Botany!

Today was "Dress Like a Scientist Day" in honor of our Reading Week theme, Experiment With a Good Book!  Our students came up with some wonderful costumes, and we were truly impressed by all the effort and creativity on display!  Here are just a few of our "Nobel Prize" winners.  Enjoy!

winner of a Nobel Prize in Excellence for his portrayal of an entomologist!  (Are those real bugs in there??)

This second grader won a Nobel Prize for Creativity.  She's dressed as a "fashionologist"!

winner of a Nobel Prize for Geology!

winner of a Nobel Prize for Chemistry!  (Yes, that's a "lab rat" peeking out of her pocket!)

winner of a Nobel Prize for Phlebotomy!

winner of a Nobel Prize for Robotic Science!

Right after taking the picture above, this student said, "The results are in...this is definitely the best class!"  :)

winner of a Nobel Prize for Wildlife Biology!

winners of a Nobel Prize for Research!

This last group really went "above and beyond"!  All four of these fourth graders spent some time learning about something new as part of their costumes and were able to tell me about their topics.  Great job, girls!!!

Dress Like a Scientist!

What image comes to mind when you read the word SCIENTIST?  

Do you picture someone in a white lab coat holding a glass beaker? 

There are all kinds of scientists who don't work in a laboratory.  For example:

• An astronomer studies stars, planets and galaxies.
• A botanist specializes in plants.
• An entomologist studies insects.
• A herpetologist studies reptiles and amphibians. 
• An ichthyologist studies fish. 
• A vulcanologist studies volcanoes. 
• An ornithologist studies birds. 
• An archeologist studies ancient civilizations. 
• A geologist specializes in the history of Earth.
• A geographer studies Earth's surface.
• A zoologist studies animals.
• A marine biologist studies ocean plants and animals.
• A meteorologist studies weather and climate.
• A microbiologist studies microscopic plants and animals.
• A paleontologist specializes in fossils.
• A seismologist studies earthquakes.
• A speleologist studies caves.

The above list is based on one found at factmonster.com

  

These students found titles that interested them in the enormous "We're Mad About Science!" book display in the library.

During library class this week we’ll be exploring all sorts of books about scientists and what they study.  This coming Monday is the beginning of Reading Week and the theme is "Experiment With a Good Book".  I want to make sure they're ready for Tuesday, which is Dress Like a Scientist Day! 

After viewing all of the students' costumes, Mrs. Bartkiewicz and I will be awarding selected students with prize certificates.  For example The Nobel Prize for Research (for going above and beyond to research a particular scientist or type of scientist and wearing a costume that demonstrates that knowledge) and The Nobel Prize for Creativity (for creating a costume that is especially unique and interesting)!

Here are some links for you to explore to get some more ideas:

Scientists From A-Z lists a different kind of scientist for each letter of the alphabet along with a link to another website for further exploration!

Learn about inventors and scientists at Kids.gov

"Famous Scientist Facts" at Science Kids

Just for fun, try out some of the "Science Games" at PBS KIDS

Yes, students may also dress as a fictional scientist!

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!