BOOKWORM BLOG

Pete the Cat

2012-02-10T07:50:00.000-08:00

Our Kindergarten discovered "Pete the Cat-I Love My White Shoes" a few months ago and word is spreading fast throughout the school. This book was one of the best selling at our book fair. If you would like free downloads for these stories or other fun Pete activities, go to the link below... "It's All Good!"

http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/feature/petethecat/

2012-02-06T13:10:00.000-08:00

Here is the link to the blog that Sue was talking about at the meeting today...

www.peoniesandpoppyseeds.blogspot.com

and here is another site i found that has some great library related ideas...

www.librarygames.com

PLANTILLA has invaded Highland Elementary

2012-02-01T03:56:00.001-08:00

Have you read this book? So fun and entertaining for your students - but Mary Robinson has taken it to a new level, creating her own plant - Yes, She Made This! It stands about three feet tall. I'm sure all the students would Love to take Plantzilla home for the summer.

Mary's full of fun and pranks for her students. Last spring she read the book "The Rain Came Down" by David Shannon. She had the teachers help with "Special Effects". Each time she read, "Still the rain came down!", the teacher would mist the students using a spray bottle filled with water Mary had provided.

Books are Sweet at Vineyard Elementary!

2012-01-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

Doesn't this entrance draw you into the Vineyard Library? If you like this, just wait until you get inside!

book read-alouds

2012-01-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you are aware of this great tool, but just in case...

Scholastic offers videos of authors reading all or part of their own books. It's great to introduce different books, or to even have the author read to the kids for a change. Visit Scholastic for more information.

Widgets

2011-11-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

I found a great website www.readingrockets.org with loads of great ideas, and widgets! I've added one to the right sidebar, so you can preview it. I've added this one to my library blog as well. I love the daily tips and suggestions for parents to help the child(ren) with their reading. Small things done each day will greatly improve reading and comprehension in the future. It also has links to scads of printables that parents can use at home. Lots of fun ideas can be found on this website.

Researcher buttons

2011-09-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd send out a picture of some new buttons I've recently created. I'd love to hear what everyone else has done.

Bulletin Boards

2011-09-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share my theme this year, as well as a couple of my bulletin boards. I'm always looking for new ideas, so I'd love to see everyone's boards here.

I went with a graphic novel theme, I know, I know, I'm pandering! But, I think it turned out pretty cute

I reuse this board every year, it's so colorful and I love the information on each of the file folders. I got the idea from someone in our group, sorry I can't remember the person. Whoever you are, thank you.

BATS!

2011-09-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as we shared the bat story, I thought of this easy bat finger puppet you can make out of poster paper. Just cut the shape of the bat then add 2 slits in the middle of the bat to slip your finger through. I always read a bat story or poem around Halloween time with Kindergarten and give them these bats... they love it!

Here is a bat poem I frequently read and the motions students do as I read...

5 little bats sitting on the floor (have puppet sit on their knee) 1 flew away and there were 4

4 little bats sitting in a tree(make a tree with fingers spread apart)1 flew away the there were 3

3 little bats tasting witches brew(make a cauldron with one hand cupped)1 flew away and there were 2

2 little bats just having fun(fly your bat through the air)1 flew away and there was 1

1 little bat who likes to pretend... Won’t fly away because he is your friend(have bat sit on their shoulder or head)

2011-08-23T14:25:00.001-07:00

WELCOME BACK!

How did you welcome back your students this year??

The Lone Media Specialist

2011-08-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

I came across this article in an email from the NEA this morning...

We are so lucky to have one another and a district that understands and supports libraries, and their importance in the educational process. Read all about her HERE.

It's that time once again...

2011-08-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

BACK TO SCHOOL!

Hope you've all had a spectacular summer!

What fun things are you planning for your libraries this year? Please share, and if you have any photos send those to me so we can post them here on the blog. Thanks, and have a great year!

Alexandria Training

2011-06-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for our Alexandria Training?? I know Sue is, and she's EXCITED! Actually we were too after our training meeting today! The new version has some wonderful new additions. Before your training, make sure you have downloaded the demo, available by clicking the link below.

http://www.goalexandria.com/support/training/demo.html

and HAVE FUN playing around with it! It's awesome!

This week at Cascade...

2011-04-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

Last week we learned a little about poetry, where it is in the Library, and read a few out loud. This week, I wanted to review some of the fairy tales, and what better way to do that than to read Betsy Red Hoodie by Gail Carson Levine! Gail takes several fairy-tales/nursery rhymes and weaves them together for a very cute story. After we read the story, the students see if they can identify the different tales that were in the story. It's been great fun so far!

source

This book resides in the PIC section of our Library, but we also are reviewing where in our Library the students can find fairy-tales. Non-fiction, 398

2011-02-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

I am sharing a simple presentation about President's Day this week. As part of it we are watching 2 short movies from history.com. You CAN access history.com from school without problems and they have a ton of short clips full of great info about history. We are watching the "White House deconstructed" and one about George Washington as well.

Check it out at http://www.history.com

2011-02-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Saw this cute idea to make paperclip bookmark. I plan to give them out for my Valentine cards. I'm clipping them onto a note with the quote "There is no friend as loyal as a book" ~Ernest Hemingway ... but you come awfully close! Happy Valentine's Day

Peggy Sharp Workshop

2011-02-03T09:57:00.001-08:00

I did not get to attend the Peggy Sharp Workshop this year, but I did purchase the audio program and book. She mentioned something that I thought was worth repeating...

"Children want/need to choose their own books to read."

According to a survey conducted by Scholastic, 90% of readers were more likely to finish a book if it was one that they picked out themselves. We need to introduce them to different types of books, but we need to let them select the ones they read. That includes letting the upper grade students select picture books if they choose.

Did anyone else gain added insight from Peggy?? Any thoughts/ideas come to you that you would like to share? Please share... =)

2011-01-03T11:39:00.001-08:00

Welcome back! Hope everyone had a spectacular break! Ready to hit the ground running?

Just to start off the year on a fun note, and to "freshen up" your shelving skills from the long holiday...try this librarian game! Don't play it at work though... =)

http://funschool.kaboose.com/fun-blaster/games/lightning-librarian.html

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hope your holidays are merry, bright, and WARM with the love of your family and friends!

This week...

2010-12-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

This week in the library, we have been talking about traditions. Specifically traditions passed down from ancestors that come from other countries. The kids have mentioned some really cool traditions!

After we talk, I read to them Uncle Vova's Tree by Patricia Polacco.

This book is rich with Russian tradition and an overall feeling of love and family togetherness.

We have also been reading Olive, the Other Reindeer & Mary Englebreit's A Very Merry Christmas: Celebrate From A to Z. The younger kids have loved to come up with their own Christmas words for each letter. We also do the ASL sign for each letter as we turn pages.

Christmas Mouse

2010-12-09T12:49:00.000-08:00

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring,not even a mouse.

With some of my younger students we are making Christmas Mouse ornaments simply by coloring a picture of a mouse (without a tail) then taping a candy cane to the back for it's tail.

2010-12-02T10:11:00.000-08:00

I love to share Christmas traditions, but also enjoy sharing

how other celebrations are celebrated this time of year.

The first week in December I am sharing this story, since Chanukkah starts Dec 1st this year.

I also have dreidels on the table so the students can have fun playing a game from that celebration.

The second week of December we are sharing Christmas traditions. I am not reading a story, but letting students share their favorite traditions or Christmas memories.

The third week of December I will "serve" the students a cookie from a tray as they enter the kiva, then share portions of the story below about Saint Lucia Day and how it is celebrated, since it falls on December 13th.

Fun Christmas and Holiday reads...

2010-12-02T07:36:00.000-08:00

These are just a few of my favorite Christmas stories...written by Robert E. Barry
~ ~ ~

Written by Karma Wilson
~ ~ ~

Written by Rick Osborne
~ ~ ~

Written by Colleen Monroe
~ ~ ~

and of course...
...written by Clement C. Moore and illustrated by Mary Engelbreit.

What stories will you be sharing with your students this holiday season?

Dewey Decimal Fun & Jack Prelutsky's It's Thanksgiving

2010-11-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

3rd-6th graders are so SMART! This week, I have been testing their non-fiction shelving skills and most students are masters of Dewey! I've also been using a worksheet from The Complete Library Skills-Grade 3. The page Ordering Dewey Call Numbers has been a hit.

via

With my younger grades, I am teaching them how to say "Prelutsky" and reading to them from It's Thanksgiving. They have been loving these poems. Some of the classes have a couple of them memorized because their teachers have shared them. We are having a great time this week!

2010-10-25T12:59:00.001-07:00

At Halloween (with kindergarten) we recite the poem "5 Little Bats" and give students a copy of the poem and a bat finger puppet. Making your own finger puppets is simple. Cut out the shape you want, cut 2 slits in it and slide it over your finger (pictured to the right.) The kids love it and think it is so fun to have their own bat to keep. Below is the poem. I have them do the actions with their finger puppets.

5 little bats sitting on the floor

(have puppet sit on their knee)

1 flew away and there were 4

4 little bats sitting in a tree

(make a tree with fingers spread apart)

1 flew away the there were 3

3 little bats tasting witches brew

(make a cauldron with one hand cupped)

1 flew away and there were 2

2 little bats just having fun

(fly your bat through the air)

1 flew away and there was 1

1 little bat who likes to pretend

Won’t fly away - he is your friend

(have bat sit on their shoulder or head)

Halloween Books

2010-09-03T11:20:00.001-07:00

I asked for Halloween ideas and here are the responses I received... (I'll add others as I get them)

Thank you to those that shared!

Andrea Chapman - I think I posted on the blog last year about Goodnight Goon. I read Goodnight Moon and then read Goodnight Goon and talk about parodies...it's so fun! The kids love it!

Carissa Allen - There's also Dr Seuss' What was I scared of?

Linda Bethers - Maybe "Tell Me a Scary Story...But Not Too Scary" by Carl Reiner. I had parents and teachers ask for it BUT I definitely think it's too scary for younger grades (the art work). My older students love it.

Vickie Hovik - One of my favorite halloween books is The Perfect Pumpkin Pie by Denys Cazet. It's not really scary, but I order those eyeball suckers from Oriental Trading and give each child a sucker at the end of their visit. The younger classes who pass the office on their way back to class bend down and hold their 'eyeball' up in the office window on their way past. The office staff gives off a few gratuitous shrieks and it’s a good time.

Linda Morgan - I read scary story by Carl Reiner, read it first, it is a fun book with a fun CD, but I did have a mom complain about it, oddly enough the kids loved it, she did not like that her student brought it home.

Danette Fullmer - Jerry Seinfeld wrote a book called Halloween. It is hilarious, teachers and students all love it. It's not scary.

Carl Reiner has a book titled Tell me a scary story - but not to scary! Kids all like that one too. It comes w/ a CD of him reading it.

2010-04-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

We are sharing poetry in our library for National Poetry Month. Undoubtedly, one of the favorite poets among students is Shel Silverstein. Here is great site that has Shel Silverstein poems and activities on it...

http://www.shelsilverstein.com/html/poetry.html

Wordle!

2010-04-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

A cool website for those who like to play with their words is http://www.wordle.net/ It allows you to enter text and make your own word collages--you choose the font, the colors, and the style and it automatically arranges it for you! Here's one I did from the first chapter of one of my favorite books--can you guess which one it is?

They do have a saved gallery of other people's Wordles, which can sometimes get a little dangerous, so be cautious if using this with a class. But it's a great tool for teachers and librarians who want to jazz up the way they introduce a book or topic.

I used the screen capture function to save the graphic--on my Mac, it's Command-Shift-4 (pressed all together), and then you can click and drag a window around what you'd like to copy and it will save it to your desktop.

Happy Easter!

2010-03-31T11:19:00.001-07:00

Same idea as the leprechaun hat below, but bunny ears instead.

2010-03-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

2010-03-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

A high school that I once went to had a wall full of wanted posters with pictures of their teachers holding their favorite books on it. I found this site where you can create a wanted poster like the one pictured to the left. All you do is download the picture and add the text you want on it. Take pictures of teachers and label them "WANTED for reading... (then list their favorite book)"

The site that I created this poster on was http://www.glassgiant.com/wanted/

March is Youth Art & National Craft Month

2010-03-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

March is Youth Art Month, and National Craft Month. I am amazed at the detail and crafting put into pop-op books and am presenting a pop-up book this week during library classes to share my amazement. Robert Sabuda, one of the paper crafters that created several pop-up books with Michael Reinhart, celebrates his birthday on March 8th. If you would like to check out a website put together by Sabuda and find instructions for a few simple pop-ups that you can make, go to http://www.robertsabuda.com/popmake/index.asp

2010-02-10T08:11:00.001-08:00

"It came from Outer Space", a picture book about an astronaut that crash lands into a school and is considered a monster by the aliens that live there, is the book we are sharing this week. Once the students at the school take the time to discover more about the "monster" they find out how nice he is and are sad when he has to leave. You can make an alien/heart card for valentines day by folding a paper in half and cutting it into the shape of an alien head (pictured to the left, a bulge on the top and pointy on the bottom.) Draw your alien face on the front of the card, then unfold the card and write your valentine message on the inside, which should be a heart shape (pictured on the right.)

2010-01-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

A friend sent an email to me with info about an artist that, because of an injury, draws holding the pencil in his mouth. In a question & answer section of his website the artist says...

"Question - How did you learn to draw by mouth? Answer - I'm really just holding the pencil in my teeth. My neck is doing all the work. After the bet with my brother to see who could draw a better picture, I started out just sketching things out of art books and around the house. Then one day we received a Christmas card with a sketchy line drawing of a house on it. I thought I could do something like that, so I copied the style. After awhile my own style developed. I've only taken one art class after my injury and it was figure drawing. Every image I draw is a learning experience, about the animal and how to bring it to life. Because I've found this hidden talent within me, I believe everyone of us has hidden talents that each person can find in themselves."

I challenged students to learn something new this year, maybe discovering a hidden talent, so I have been sharing pictures and info about this artist with students this week.

If you'd like to learn more about the artist go to

http://www.mouthart.com/mouthart/frame_info.html

Cookie Monster goes to the library

2009-09-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Magic of Books

2009-08-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

To start of this year I am inviting students to discover the “Magic” of books. Attempting to create a "castle" atmosphere in the kiva, I am starting off with a "coat of arms" shield (pictured right) that reminds us of the library rules. My plan is to add other items to the kiva throughout the year, each representing different genres or topics that we discuss. I want students to understand they can discover new things and travel to new places through the "magic" of books.

*The "coat of arms" shield is simply a sturdy piece of cardboard covered with foil. Draw a design on the cardboard, trace the design with a glue gun creating a raised surface, cover it with foil and rub over the design until your pattern shows through. You can also stain it then rub over it with steel wool to give it an antique look. I also added a little color.

Cereal Box Book Report

2009-05-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a picture of the cereal box book report that I shared at the Elementary Library Meeting. Aside from decorating the front like the cover of the book, include "nutritional information" such as the genre, and a little about the characters and setting. Make sure to also give a brief description of the book, or a page or two from the book that would grab the readers attention.

What smells @ Orchard?

2009-05-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

This week @ Orchard we read "My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks: And Other Funny Family Portraits" by Hanoch Piven. In the book a little girl uses objects to make collages of her family; including the dog Schmutz who is as smelly as dirty socks (a dirty sock becomes an ear in his collage). Let students have fun making collages of themselves or their family members. What items would you use to make a collage of you? Check out my collage above - LOL!

Music in Our School Month

2009-03-12T07:24:00.001-07:00

This week for Music in our Schools month, I have been reading a book called Play, Mozart, Play by Peter Sis. We've been listening to Wolfgang's music and talking about his life. Did you know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart learned his first piece in only a half of an hour and 3 days before he turned 5? That he wrote his own first composition later that year? That by age six he could play the harpsichord, violin, and organ and was touring Europe as its latest child sensation?

An interesting fact is that his sister also was a musical genius and toured with him, but she is usually not remembered. I believe it is because Mozart composed so many (over 600) pieces of music of which some are sung or listened to still every day.

He wrote the song that people have put nursery rhymes (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & Baa Baa Black Sheep) and the alphabet to.

Thanks Peter Sis for an excellent book and thanks Mozart for all of your hard work.

Martin Luther King

2009-01-13T08:10:00.000-08:00

I thought I would post to anyone that doesn't know...the book Martin's Big Words has been made into a 10 minute video on emedia. I like it because at the end it has the actual audio of the "I Have a Dream" speach. I think it's really powerful for the kids to hear his voice.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUE!!!

2009-01-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

To our media goddess...happy birthday! Hope it is wonderful!

2008-12-02T12:01:00.000-08:00

TOP 10 THINGS WE'RE THANKFUL FOR

10. That we have a job
9. Work parties
8. Insurance
7. Computers (?)
6. Holidays and weekends off
5. Librarians
4. Education
3. People we work with
2. Books
1. The Last Working Day of the Month

2008-11-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Check out the great bulletin board by Gina Christensen.

✮☠✮HALLOWEEN SPOOKS!✮☠✮

2008-11-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

2008-10-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you all have an idea for your school regarding the elections. This is from Andrea Chapman at Fox Hollow and has a twist that will get the students to judge a book by its content, not the cover.

For younger grades (K-2)
I tell the kids that an important event is coming for The USA. We talk
about what it is to vote (for younger kids, to make a choice between a
few options). I tell them that this year it is for the President and
also local leaders. I tell them that in USA we are lucky that we get to
have a choice. I tell them how you vote...you go to a designated place
from where you live, kind of like since you live here you go to this
school. Then how the booth is set up and how it is done.

Then...WE HAVE A VOTE! I had them close their eyes and put down their heads and vote between 2 books.

I explain that every vote counts and can be private. After, if some of the kids are disappointed, I explain that even if you didn't get the result you wanted it was still good to make a choice. The books were "Big Pumpkin" and the other was "Wolf's Coming".

Wolf's Coming by Joe Kulka was perfect for Halloween but also helped me explain that you can't judge a book by its cover! I told them to choose a book to check out that the cover didn't interest
them but the insides did!

For grades 3-6
I start by asking the kids what important event for the USA was coming up. Some said Halloween...:)
When they finally say the elections, we talk about it for a few minutes. Same as above but they ask more questions, so its fun to have that dialog with them.

With older grades, its fun to have a ballot that they fill out (for next weeks book) and have the teacher tally them during that library time.

For our VOTE I had the kids decide if THEY wanted a chance to read the book or if they wanted ME to read the book. After the story was over and they were surprised by the ending, I told
them you can't judge a book by its cover and related that to candidates for office. (doing research on candidates)

One child asked "WHO ARE YOU VOTING FOR?" and another yelled out "THAT'S PERSONAL DUDE!" So, for the rest of the week if anyone asked, I responded "that's personal, dude!"

It was really fun and the kids really got into it. Most kids knew who was running for President and were pretty informed (in upper grades).

Emedia

2008-09-19T10:17:00.001-07:00

I've always had trouble downloading videos from emedia - the file format isn't correct and my computer wouldn't play them. Well, I figured out that if I use Safari instead of Firefox it works. So, I have started downloading different videos that I can use and saving them to a flash drive. Then, I just pull out the drive and play them whenever I want. I can also lend the flash drive to teachers. It works great!

2008-09-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Making a magic bag is easy. Stack 3 pieces of fabric, 1 foot square, on top of each other. Sew through all three thicknesses on 3 sides. Leave the top open. After sewing around three edges turn it right side out. You now have two pockets. A front one and a back one. Sew a strip of velcro on the middle and front & back. The picture of the open bag doesn't show too well but there is a middle section that has velcro on each side and then velcro on the front and back. Before the students come into the Library fill the back pocket with the items the "magic will create". Put items you want to "magically change" in the front pocket with the students help or at least as they watch you. Close the front pocket and say the magic words. Rip open the pocket again and "presto" you have done a magic trick!! Secretly you have ripped open the back pocket the second time. The ripping noise distracts them somewhat. I dress Dandlion by Don Freeman or make a rainbow for the Storm Book by Charlotte Zolotow. I have more instructions if you want them let me know. Jennilynn@Scera Park

monkey theme

2008-08-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

here's pics of my monkey theme i mentioned earlier...

jeana haymond, cascade elementary

Great resource for series and sequels

2008-08-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

I was using this link the other day and thought I would pass it along to any new people. I use it all the time and it saves my life whenever a kid comes up and asks "Whats number 4 in this series?"

Does This Job Wear Scott Out?

2008-08-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Scott Schroeder at East Shore High School
(Sleeping on the Job?)

Poor Scott has to crawl on his hands and knees to see some of the books in his library. I wonder if he could get a skate board to sit on and cruise around?
Sue@AIMC

2008-08-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, this looks like it will be fun & helpful. I hope everyone shares. Ask Vickie Hovik how she likes using my magic bag idea. I gave her the instructions. Anyone else want to try it??
Jenny@Scera Park

2008-08-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those who looked and posted comments. Just to clarify things - if you call or email me I will give you the username and password so you can create a new post, not just post a comment. I'm anxious to have ideas, pictures, music and videos you add. If you need help let me know. I'm a newby but have done a little blogging, I'm sure some of you have much more experience.

2008-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

This is the first post for our Media Blog. I really hope the librarians of Alpine School District use this as a tool to develop and exchange ideas. If you will call or email me I will give you the username and password so you can add your post to this site!

Sue
"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island...
and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life."
Walt Disney