ABC Order in the Library

Our first graders at Dallas Center Elementary have been talking about using ABC order in the library. For several cycles we've been reading ABC books, talking about the arrangement of books in the library, and practicing using ABC order.

We began with ABC books like Bad Kitty, Superhero ABC, and LMNO Peas.

         

After talking about spine labels and their connection to ABC order and the arrangement of library books, students created their own spine labels, using themselves as the authors of the books. They then stood themselves in alphabetical order so we could put their "books" on our hallway "bookcase."

Even with the book fair in our space, first graders were able to continue their ABC work by using different apps on the iPad to practice ABC order.

And we wrapped up our work with ABC order in stations: 1) LEGO station, 2) coloring sheet, 3) magnetic words, 4) book characters, 5) seasonal items & animals, 6) book spines, and 7) cup stacking.

Our assessment for this work was to create a short video on ChatterPix. Students took one another's pictures, then used the app to tell why ABC order is important in the library. They could also edit the project as they wished. A few of their videos appear below:

Picture Books & Personification

During Poetry Month, 5th graders have been looking at examples of sensory detail and alliteration, and today they continued their work by looking at personification. We began with a clip from Disney's Beauty and the Beast; students watched the clip, then talked in table groups about what they believed personification might be based on what they saw.



One we established a working definition, we moved on to examining personification in children's picture books. Many great examples are out there to use, but below are some of the books 5th graders used:

Students worked in groups to browse the books at their tables for examples of personification. Their task was to find at least two examples, photograph them, and describe it as an example of personification. All of this would be done using iPads--the camera and the app PoppletLite specifically.

Some examples of the students' work appears below:

Goldie Socks & Goldilocks & 3 Bears. . . and Dinosaurs!

With our second graders, we've been spending some time talking about different Goldilocks stories as we work on the Core standard RL.2.9: Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

We began with Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians by Jackie Mims Hopkins.

We even have our own "gold-y socks" to wear with this lesson! :)

This book also gives us the opportunity to talk with students about Just Right books, and they completed a ticket out the door to tell us about the Just Right book they just checked out.

When we came back to the lesson on the next cycle, students listened to two more Goldilocks stories--Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall and Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems.

Students reviewed how to complete a Venn diagram, and then they completed a Venn diagram--either of their own or as a full class--to compare and contrast any two of the Goldie Socks/Goldilocks stories.

Click HERE for a link to the template.

Readers ARE Thinkers!

Last year we discovered this really magical video called "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore". It is a video that encourages thinking and connections, explores the power of reading and books and also the importance of stories, and leaves all viewers with a sense of something magical. Here is the video below:

After the success of this short film--it won an Academy Award--it was turned into a book- which is equally wonderful:

 Here is how we incorporated it into our library lessons for our 4th graders.

Session One: We talked about how readers are thinkers--and that same type of thinking can apply in another area of our lives: viewing. This video will have kids asking questions and making connections right from the start, so while we are watching, we have them jot down thoughts on a sheet of paper of their CONNECTIONS, QUESTIONS, and INFERENCES (things they notice) as they were watching.

Session Two: Share the app. The app that goes along with this book is the most interesting, engaging and interactive app I have seen for a book yet. I used Reflector to reflect the app from my iPhone as I projected it up to the screen. As we walked through the book with the app, we talked about the connections, questions and inferences we had from the week before. Here are some pictures:

Ticket out: As a table group, students wrote an inference, or new learning that they had from the video and book. I had them write it on a sentence strip. See below for some examples.

It was one of those lessons that I'm pretty sure will stick with the kids, and it reinforces the importance of reading and all of the stories we have for them in the library.

Kindergartners & Book Care

The kindergartners have been talking about book care expectations. We read a book from the blog Kindergarten. . . Kindergarten; it was called Forest Friends go to School by Kathryn Warner, and it featured several pages of book pages that have been mistreated.

After reading and talking about the pages in the book, kindergartners created a class T-chart showing ways that we should treat our library books and the ways we should not treat them.

Marion the Hedgehog and Book Care

The book care lessons continued with our second graders reading and talking about Marion in What Happened to Marion's Book? by Brook Berg.

We first visited the National Geographic Kids website for hedgehog information. We learned about what a hedgehog looks like, where they live, and why it has spines. We even watched a video of a hedgehog!

Marion the Hedgehog, the main character in our story, is based on a true story, so we also visited Marion's official website to learn more about her past and her role as an author.

Finally, students worked in pairs to write a book care expectation on a hedgehog spine that later became part of a library display. Check out some of the students' work below: 

And their finished products: