Fifth grader Andrew B. shares his poem with us…
Winter
Winter stinks winter’s cold it will come
Until I am old
When you get all you gear on you feel
Like a sack and when I walk on the ice I
Fall and break my back.
I get up and play and get injured some
More it’s not so fun much my play time is
Done then my mom calls, “It’s time to
Come in.”
I get to her fast before my time pasts.
by Andrew B.
Question: What is the title and who is the author of the 2007-2008 Maine Student Book Award fantasy about little people that give dreams to sleeping people?
Hint: Use the Maine Student Book Award Nominees link under “Good Reads” in the column on the far right to find a list of the MSBA books. You can sort the books by genre to help narrow your search. Happy browsing!
Mrs. Gagne’s second graders are learning about the seven continents. Their first continent was North America. When learning about our country, they selected six national landmarks that they would like to visit. Since a field trip of that magnitude is not possible, Mrs. Miliano put together a virtual tour using Google Earth. The students boarded their plane in the library and began their trip by zooming in on CJL. They flew west to Niagara Falls and viewed a brief video about the three Falls and some spectacular snapshots. Next the students flew across the state of New York to Liberty Island for a close-up view of the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is huge! It was not long before the children sped to Kentucky to explore Mammoth National Park, home of the world’s largest cave system. Did you know there are fish in the caves that have no eyes? (Not enough light in the caves) Mount Rushmore was the next stop on their itinerary. Through another brief video, the second graders learned the history of the gigantic sculpture and viewed it from many angles. A few minutes later, the students were zooming west to Yellowstone National Park. They got an overview of the park’s famous sites through another video clip. Old Faithful is really amazing! The group’s last stop before heading home was the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. They were impressed by the panoramic views seen from the top of the Space Needle, but the revolving restaurant really caught their fancy. The class returned home safely and wrote about their favorite parts of the trip in their journals. What an experience!
Fourth grader Kristen B. wins our fifth online contest! She submitted a list of 61 words using just the letters in the word THANKSGIVING. Fifth grader Lindsey W. deserves an honorable mention for her list of 56 words. Good work, Girls!
The first graders are currently involved in a four-week interdisciplinary unit that introduces many skills. The unit began with an introduction to author/illustrator Lois Ehlert. Mrs. Miliano briefly introduced all of the library’s copies of Lois Ehlert books and read two, Fish Eyes and Top Cat. While introducing the books, the terms title, author, and illustrator were reviewed. The term book jacket was introduced and the students were shown that the book jacket flaps often tell about the book and its author. The children also learned that books in the picture book section are organized in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. After locating where Lois Ehlert’s books are shelved (in the “E” section), the children took turns finding the place a picture book they wrote would be shelved. The first session ended with an art project. Imitating the art work in Ehlert’s Color Zoo, the children made a fox out of pre-cut shapes.
In the second session, the children reviewed the information introduced in the first lesson and learned more about author Lois Ehlert. After recalling that information about an author is usually found on the book jacket flaps, the children were shown that websites are another source of information about authors. The children visited a few websites to see photos of Lois Ehlert and to listen to part of a video interview of her. Afterwards, the children enjoyed the Ehlert book, Nuts to You! The jacket of this book reveals that the author’s inspiration for this story about a squirrel that sneaks into an apartment came from a real experience she had. The lesson ended with the class reading a poem called “Squirrels” and coloring paper squirrels.
The first two lessons focused on author/illustrator Lois Ehlert and fiction picture books. The third lesson introduced nonfiction books and the nonfiction section of the picture book area. The children learned which bookcases house information books and which two shelves have books about wild animals. They were told that the nonfiction books are organized by subject rather than by author. Mrs. Miliano demonstrated how to use a shelf marker (a paint stick) when browsing for an information book. Before removing a nonfiction book from the shelf, she put a shelf marker next to the book. She looked at the book and decided not to check it out. She was able to return the book to its correct spot because the place was marked by the shelf marker. As a companion to the fiction story Nuts to You! which was read in the previous lesson, Mrs. Miliano read the nonfiction book Busy, Busy Squirrels by Colleen Stanley Bare. After the read aloud, each child recorded at least one fact about squirrels on paper. Mrs. Miliano collected the writing for use in lesson four.
The final session will review the terms fiction and nonfiction and have the students practice sorting books into those categories. The children will compare a fiction and nonfiction book and identify how they are alike and how they are different. Then the students will illustrate typed copies of their squirrel facts. The facts will become a class book to be shelved in the library’s nonfiction collection! As a closing activity, the students will use their paper squirrels (colored in lesson two) to act out the poem “Squirrels.”