Goldfinch Book Pairing

All of our K - 2 students participate in voting for the Iowa Goldfinch Award in March, so we take time at the start of the new year to read aloud as many nominees as we can. A recent pairing of nominees was The Story of Fish & Snail by Deborah Freedman with Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems.

Both books feature friends who tell the story, and both feature decision making. Elephant and Piggie are long-time favorites of our students, and they were excited to meet Fish and Snail once we shared that the pairs are similar. 

After reading The Story of Fish & Snail, we talked about bravery and moments when we have been brave ourselves. Using the hashtag #BeBrave, students shared personal stories of bravey, which then became part of a display.

This display also included a word cloud generated from student responses to the question, "Where can someone show their bravery?" 

Second graders took to Padlet to record their thinking about times in their own lives when they've shown bravery.

Our work wasn't exclusively about bravery; we also approached Should I Share My Ice Cream? from that approach that everyone has a favorite flavor, so students designed their own ice cream scoops so we could put our "ice cream cones" in a display as well.

Stay tuned for more Iowa Goldfinch Award book pairings and examples of student work!

A Quick Follow-Up:

Usually, we post our blog updates on Twitter and link the new post to the tweet so others can see what's happening in our libraries. After doing so for this post, author Deborah Freedman replied to us!

Mystery Book Character Google Hangout

Before Christmas our friends in Mrs. Washington's 2nd grade class participated in a Google Hangout with their 5th grade buddies in Mrs. Updike's class for the second time. (You can read about our first Hangout here.) This time we held a Mystery Book Character Google Hangout!

Before the Hangout each class worked in small groups to choose a well-known book character and establish three clues to share with the other class. Mrs. Updike's classes' clues appear below:

On the day of the Hangout, a 5th grade small group met a 2nd grade small group, introducing themselves and sharing their group's clues. The other group then made a guess; if they were unsure, the group could ask one clarifying question before making a guess. 

Once groups shared their clues and made their guesses, students in both classes returned to their tables to work on the handout "My Favorite Book Character."

You can access the handout HERE.

Below are a few examples showing some of the 5th graders' favorite book characters:

Students' handouts were delivered to one another's classrooms so we could talk about favorite book characters. Our second Google Hangout was another success, and we're eager to continue our friendships with our friends at South Prairie Elementary!

DC Elementary: A Year in Review

Happy New Year! Here on January 1, 2016, I thought we'd take a look back at some of the statistics from the Dallas Center Elementary library during the 2015 calendar year:

Created using Canva

Some other stats that didn't make the infographic:

• The top 10 titles for 2015 were checked out a total of 369 times.
• The number of items available for circulation total 6,794.
• A total of 694 school and district patrons checked out materials from the DC Elementary 14,605 times!

Enjoy the last few days of the holiday break--and when we return, let's get back to reading!

Author Julia Cook Visits DC Elementary

With a generous grant from our PTO, Dallas Center Elementary secured an author visit on Tues. Nov. 24, 2015, with award winning writer and former guidance counselor Julia Cook.

Julia's schedule that day allowed her to speak with our 3rd - 5th graders for approximately 60 minutes. She talked about how she became a published writer and read three of her books to the students.

She also talked with the students about managing their time, especially when electronic devices and activities can take up so much of their time.

Using two staff volunteers, Julia also talked with students about the importance of face-to-face communication. She used the example of tossing a ball back and forth: when we tell our partners or show them where the ball is going, the likelihood of catching the ball increases. When we don't communicate face-to-face, catching the ball becomes much more difficult.

Julia also introduced the students and staff to one of her popular characters, Kirby. She is one of the featured characters in the book I Want to be the Only Dog, a story about sibling rivalry.

Julia Cook also took time that morning to talk with our students in grades K - 2. Using a similar format, she shared her writing journey and read books, including Soda Pop Head, a story about controlling one's anger.

Later in the day, Julia spoke with students in small groups. Students were able to ask questions about her life and books, as well as her writing process. Kirby also returned to make an appearance!

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:

We're Using Destiny Quest!

Our online catalog features a social/visual component called Destiny Quest.

Once students are logged into their Destiny Quest account, the system allows them to:

• search the online catalog
• place books into virtual bookshelves--Now Reading, Have Read, Want to Read
• send and receive friend requests from other DCG students with accounts
• recommend books to friends
• view similar read-alikes
• write book reviews

Recently, all students in Grades 3 - 5 at Dallas Center Elementary created and then accessed their Destiny Quest accounts to see everything it has to offer. On the QuestHome page, students can see the Top 10 books based on current checkout statistics, browse different public lists for reading suggestions, and see what books have most recently been added to the collection.

To access Destiny Quest at home, please refer to this bookmark:

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS ONLINE

Dallas Center Elementary students used Destiny Quest during library lessons earlier in October. Be sure to ask them about it!

New Release--Elephant & Piggie

Our friends Elephant & Piggie are in a new book to be released on Oct. 27, 2015. Are you ready?! The new book is called I Really Like Slop!

The author Mo Willems is featured in a book trailer for the book--check it out:

Be on the lookout--we'll be adding the book soon to our libraries! Happy reading!