This Week in the Library: April 25 - 29

I Can't believe that April is coming to a close.  It has been a busy month and a busy week.  Here's what we did in the library this week:

Kindergarten: We read "A Dragon in a Wagon" by Jane Moncure.  Then students drew small pictures of a mode of transportation.  Then we sorted the pictures into land, water, and air (each topic had a hula hoop to place them in).  Students also figured out what to do if a picture fell into 2 categories.  We made a Venn Diagram.

Grade 1 (Bonnell/Gordon): Read "Sixteen Cows" by Lisa Wheeler.  In small groups they alphabetized the names of the cows.

Grade 1 (Hirst): Alphabetized the words from "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss as a class.

Grade 2: Mr. Sonnen demonstrated how to use the library search station.  This can be accessed on any computer anywhere in the world with an internet connection (find Sherwood and select library).  We learned how to do a basic search, look at results, and write the call number and title on scratch paper.  This will help us find books in the library!

Grade 3: Worked in pairs using the library catalog.  Students practiced finding books using title, author, and subject.

Grade 4: We looked at a news article and found the information we would need to create an citation for this type of source.

Grade 5: We continued our digital citizenship learning regarding talking online.  We looked at a list of things one should consider with their parents/guardians before using social sites online. We will wrap up this unit next week.

Grade 6: Worked on our Book Spine Poems.  We talked about how the background of a slide might distract from the creator's message.

Professional: Finished reading "Mindful Tech: How to Bring Balance to Our Digital Lives" by David M. Levy.  An interesting read about how overwhelming tech can be in our lives.  Began reading "Reading in the Wild" by Donalyn Miller.  It is a follow-up to "The Book Whisperer" that I read earlier this year.  I also read some book that I'll review for Puget Sound Book Review Council.  I prepared and presented the district's SBA Proctor Training to the Sherwood staff to prepare for the upcoming testing in grades 3-6.  I served on a panel for a discussion with prospective Edmonds librarians at the ESC on Tuesday evening. I had my final evaluation observation of the year on Tuesday and met with my evaluator before and after the observation.  I also organized and scheduled Edith Farrar's visit to Sherwood in June.  She will be sharing Sno-Isle Libraries Summer Reading Program with students in Grades K-3.  I did some tech trouble shooting which included: classroom sound systems, document camera/display units, laptops, and some connectivity issues.

Battle of the Best Books is Coming Soon!

Dates for the Battle of the Best Books:

School Battle - Thursday, May 12.  Sherwood Library. 12:15 - 12:50 (we might go into lunch time depending on number of teams participating, if so, we'll break to get lunches and then finish while eating!)

District Battle - Friday, May 20, Brier Elementary Gym. 10 am (top 2 Sherwood teams attend)

This Week In The Library: April 18-22

Another bee-sy week in the library (Gr/1-2 did their "Going Buggy" musical on Thursday hence the insect joke).  Here's what we did in library classes:

Kindergartener. reads one of the
transportation books to his class.

Kindergarten: We looked at the definition of "transportation" and then we looked at 4 short books on different forms of transportation (both fiction & informative).  We shared examples of modes of transportation.

Grade 1 (Gordon/Bonnell): We alphabetized the words we brainstormed from "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street." We had to look to the second or even the third letter to alphabetize some of the words.

Grade 1 (Hirst): We listened to "And To Think I Saw If On Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss.  We learned that this was Dr. Seuss's first children's book, written in 1937 (we calculated it was published 79 years ago!).  Then we created word card from the nouns (people, places, things) in the book.  We will use these card next week to work on alphabetizing

Grade 2: We created a poster for the Biography Section which is now hanging up in the library.  We learned where the biography section is, what kind of books it contains, how the books are arranged, and some good 2nd grade level biographies students might like to read.

Grade 3 (Keating/Pawling): We had hands-on practice time for some techniques in using the search stations that we learned last week.  Students worked in partners on the computers.

Grade 3 (Liker):  We heard "The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma" by Diane and Christyan Fox. A book focused on dialogue.

Grade 4: We continued our digital citizenship learning.  We looked at the things one would need to find to complete a citation for an online resource.

Grade 5: We continued out digital citizenship learning.  We discussed how someone might feel if they are asked personal questions by an online friend.

Grade 6 (Combined Group/Bogert: We began creating book spine poems for National Poetry Month.  Student would in small groups to find books, use their Chromebooks to take a photo, and then place the image in a Google slide show.

Grade 6 (Hanson):  We had extended book selection and reading time.  (Mr. Sonnen was at an appointment and we had a problem with Google Classroom)

Professional: Attended a "Teacher Librarians and NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards): A Natural Phenomenon" workshop on Saturday 4/17.  I learned about the new standards and how the library can support students and staff with these new standards.  Subscribed to "Horn Book" magazine.  This is a publication that reviews children's books and materials.  I used personal funds to subscribe.  Attended the reception for the 3rd grade poster contest winners at the Edmonds Public Library and helped hand out certificates, then we heard author Trudi Trueit speak.  I also completed at lesson for a book on next year's WCCPBA  that will be added to the state wiki.

Poster Winners Receive Certificates

Trudi talks to the students!

Thursday night 7 Sherwood students received their certificates for the 19th Annual "Best Book I Ever Read" Poster Contest.  The award winner reception was held in the Edmonds Plaza Room at the Edmonds Public Library.  Students were presented with their certificates, they heard from author Trudi Trueit, and got a cookie snack!

The contest was sponsored by the Friends of Edmonds Library, Edmonds School Librarians, and the Edmonds Arts Commission.  Mr. Sonnen was one of the judges this year.  The contest was for 3rd grade student attending schools in the city of Edmonds.  Each school submitted 20 posters for the contest.  Congratulations to all of the winners!

Sherwood Winners

Outstanding Award: Kendall A., Maddy C., Mikaela U.

Honorable Mention Award: Elias H., Ariana M., Emelia M., Sophia W.

State WCCPBA Winner Announced

"The Secret Life of Squirrels" by Nancy Rose won the 2016 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award.  Below are the state results for the top 5 books.  This book was also Sherwood's top voted book. Over 119,000 Washington students participated in voting this year.

1.  The Secret Life of Squirrels (14,341 votes, 12.02%)
2. The Cat, the Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf, and Grandma (10,177 votes, 8.53%)
3. Gaston (8837 votes, 7.41%)
4. At The Old Haunted House (8166 votes, 6.85%)
5. Sick Simon (7573 votes, 6.35%)

COMPLETE LIST HERE 

This Week in The Library: April 11-15

We're back from Spring Break.  Here's what we did in library classes this week:

Kindergarten: We compared a fiction book cover with an informational book cover.  Students noticed the type of illustrations, the font of the title.  Then we heard the fiction book, "When Everything Came With Dinosaurs" by Elise Broach.

Grade 1 (Bonnell & Gordon): We listened to "And To Think I Saw If On Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss.  We learned that this was Dr. Seuss's first children's book, written in 1937 (we calculated it was published 79 years ago!).  Then we created word card from the nouns (people, places, things) in the book.  We will use these card next week to work on alphabetizing.

Grade 1 (Hirst): We read 1982 Newbery Honor book,"On Market Street by Anita Lobel.  After the reading this alphabet book, we took the words from the book and put them in alphabetical order as a class.

Grade 2: We created a poster for the Classified section of the library.  We learned that this section is sometimes called "non-fiction," they are ordered by numbers, each number represents a class or topic.

Grade 3: We reviewed using the computer search stations.  Students learned about how to access the catalog from any computer in the world with internet access, how to log-in with their district account information, how to put a book on hold, and how to sort result lists.

Grade 4: We began lessons on citing sources.  We discussed why it was important to cite the resources we use on research projects or reports.  Vocabulary: source, bibliography, citation, MLA.

Grade 5: We began lesson on communicating online.  We explored the difference between online-only friends and face-to-face friends.   Vocabulary: uncomfortable, monitor (noun), monitor (verb)

Grade 6: We completed work on reading bus schedules.

Professional: Continued reading "Mindful Tech" by David Levy.  Gathered books for the all-day kindergarten class's reader night.  Worked on class rosters for the upcoming SBA tests.  Ordered cords for technology. Planned the upcoming Library Helper field trip.  Troubleshot technology problems around the building.  Cataloged magazines and some new books.

Sherwood Votes for WCCPBA

The Primary Classes at Sherwood voted for the 2016 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award.  Here are our results:

School Wide (top 5)

1.  Secret Lives of Squirrels by Nancy Rose (36 votes)
2. At The Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman (30 votes)
3. The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma by Diane and Christyan Fox (29 votes)
4. Gaston by Kelly DiPucchio (19 votes)
5. My Teacher is a Monster by Peter Brown (18 votes)

Grade/Class Top Votes

Kindergarten: At the Old Haunted House
     Morehouse: At the Old Haunted House
     Cook: Sick Simon
     Widener AM: How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans
     Widener PM: (tie) At the Old Haunted House, Big Bad Bubble, Life Sized Ocean

1st Grade: The Secret Lives of Squirrels
     Bonnell: The Secret Lives of Squirrels
     Gordon: The Secret Lives of Squirrels
     Hirst: My Teacher is a Monster

2nd Grade: The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma
     Gregerson: The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma
     Goodsky: The Secret Lives of Squirrels
     Rempel: At The Old Haunted House

3rd Grade: (tie): Gaston & The Secret Lives of Squirrels
     Keating: (ties) Big Bad Bubble, The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma, & Mogie
     Liker: Gaston
     Pawling: (tie) The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, The Exploding Eggs, The Wolf, and Grandma & The Secret Lives of Squirrels.

This Week in the Library: March 28 - April 1

Spring Break is finally here!  A lot was accomplished in the library this week.  Here's what we did:

Primary Classes (K-3): We viewed a short video to remind us of the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book nominees and then we voted for our favorites.  (The results will be in a future post).

Grade 4: We completed our lessons on spam and did a short assessment.

Grade 5: We completed an assessment on fact and opinion.  Our focus was thinking of resources that could prove or disprove a fact.

Grade 6: We began our second project in our transportation scheduled reading unit.  We began looking at a Metro bus schedule.

Professional: Served as a judge for the Best Book I Ever Read Poster Contest.  Judging was held at the Francis Anderson Center in downtown Edmonds.  Participated in a building discussion about the teacher evaluation and feedback process.