Wescott LMC

News for Week 1: 8/21 – 8/25/17

Welcome back to school!

I am so happy to be back as the librarian at Wescott for my 3rd year.  Last year was so much fun, and I have even more fun planned for 2017-2018!

A new look to the library:

A lot has been happening in the library over the summer!!!

We have made quite a few updates to our look! The old wall of bookcases on the teaching side of the library has come down and has been replaced with cabinets and a giant white board. The old rickety picture book carts have been replaced by new, moveable browsing bins! We also have 9 new colorful stools for students to sit on while they are reading. They no longer have to all squeeze into the 4 comfy chairs!

I can’t wait until you all see it the first week of school! Check out the picture for a sneak peek.

Library lessons:

This week all grades will visit the library for a 15 min period to review the behavior expectations for the library.  We are discussing what the Wescott Way looks like in the library, and giving examples of how to Be Safe, Be Caring, Be Here & Ready.

Starting on Friday 6/3 and extending into the last week of school, classes will come to the library for a 50 minute period. We spend the fist half of the period constructing items for our camp out of paper and recycled materials. Then we turn out the lights and read camp stories around the “fire.” (We could use guest storytellers – let me know if you want to do it!) Afterwards, the kids go into their tents and read by flashlight.

In honor of National Poetry Month, students and staff are invited to the library during Poetry Cafe to read a favorite poem or two. The library is decorated like a cafe, complete with jazz music (sometimes live jazz music by Mr. Brown)!

And the winner of Book Madness 2017 is  …

The Percy Jackson series!  Thanks to everyone who participated.  To see details on the voting, go to the Book Madness Website.

Author Jeffrey Brown will be visiting Wescott on the afternoon of 4/12 for grades 1-5, so mark your calendars! Brown’s Jedi Academy books are very popular with our students. The visit is courtesy of Scholastic Book Fairs. The presentation will begin around 1:15 and will last about 40 minutes. Afterwards, students who purchased a book will be invited to the library to meet the author and have the book signed.

We are excited to announce that The Book Stall is sending us debut author Jack Cheng on March 13th, for his novel See You in the Cosmos. It is recommended for grades 4-5. The visit is scheduled on 3/13 from around 9-10:30 in the MPR.  Book order forms went home last week.

See You in the Cosmos is getting a lot of praise. See below for some quotes.

• “Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.”—Kirkus, starred review
• “Cheng’s poignant and funny first novel . . . is a propulsive stream-of-conscious dive into Alex’s life. Alex’s strong voice drives this compelling personal journey with resonant themes of family, friendship, and resilience.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
• “Exuberant and utterly believable.”—Booklist

Last week in library, 1st graders read the book Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty.  This week, we used many different building materials to do some engineering of our own!  We documented our creations in our own First Grade Engineer books using the Book Creator app.  Check out our books below!

1st – Williams

1st – Grossheusch

1st – Latek

Book Madness is back! Organized by me and Mrs. Sislow, Book Madness is a tournament of the most popular books for 3rd-5th graders. Nominations for the tournament open next week.

3rd-5th grade teachers, we will be placing a QR Code in your mailboxes. Please hang it in your room so your students can participate in March Book Madness. Students can nominate books through the Book Madness Website starting February 13th, through the end of the week. Once we have all the nominations, we will post the books in the brackets. We will notify you on voting days, and the kids can select their choices to move to the next round. There will be a physical bracket outside the library, as well.

Voting will begin the first week of March, with kids voting once a week, until Spring Break. We will leave for break without the final vote so that students can read the two finalists over break if they choose.

Back by popular demand, our maker space project for the month of February will be DIY a graphic novel! Students may choose from several different templates to create their own graphic novel, or use the Book Creator app on their iPad to create a comic.

Graphic novels have been making their way into libraries and classrooms as educators see their ability to reach reluctant and struggling readers, as well as challenge advanced readers with complex plots and images. In recognition of this powerful tool, and to support students’ visual literacy skills, I have been adding many titles to our graphic novel collection. To learn more about the educational power of graphic novels, check out this article from Scholastic, this list of resources from Edutopia, or follow my Teaching with Graphic Novels Pinterest page.

All the big book award winners were announced Monday morning from the American Library Association Mid Winter Conference and I am SO excited! And the winners were …

• Caldecott (best illustrations): Radiant Child (on order for Wescott)
• Newbery (best book for children): The Girl Who Drank the Moon
• Sibert (best informational book): March Book Three (we do not own)
• Coretta Scott King book award (for an African-American author): March Book Three
• Coretta Scott King illustrator award (for an African-American illustrator): Radiant Child
• Giesel Award (beginning reader): We Are Growing

Pictured here: the 2017 Newbery Winner, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. To see the full list of award winners see here.