Have you ever heard of a pentomino? It is a two-dimensional geometric figure formed by joining five equal squares edge to edge. There are twelve pentominoes in all. They are used in math to solve puzzles and problems. This week’s library competition was to solve the same pentomino puzzle two ways. It only takes two pieces to solve the puzzle, but the puzzler has to flip and rotate the pentominoes when trying to make them fit! All papers with successful solutions were entered in a drawing for a jump rope and a water bottle. There are three winners: fourth grader Nevaeh, fifth grader Julia, and sixth grader Quintin. Each wins a water bottle and a jump rope.
Pentomino puzzler
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Genre exploration
Mrs. LaPointe’s fourth graders began a unit on historical fiction this week. Every student was required to check out a book in that genre during their visit. To assist them, I presented information about the three main types of historical fiction and themes that are common in that genre. I also demonstrated how to locate historical fiction in our library. Many historical fiction novels have a genre label on the spine so one can spot them while browsing. A reader can also use “historical fiction” as a search term in Destiny Quest to see what books there are in our library collection.
Pull tabs
How many aluminum pull tabs fit in a large plastic container? Lots! This week’s library competition was an estimation contest. The container held 7,526 tabs! The closest estimate was 7,693 and it was made by fourth grader Carter What good estimating!
The library continues to collect pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald House in Portland. Donations are welcome!
What a week!
Two snow days and MEA testing morning and afternoon really impacted our weekly schedule! For nearly four weeks, small group and individual testing takes place in the library each morning and afternoon so many classes are cancelled. Here’s what we managed to squeeze in this week:
- Dillane and Mrs. Carlisle’s kindergartners listened to two Chickadee Award nominees this week: Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate and Dragon’s Extraordinary Egg by Debi Gliori. After the stories, we briefly reviewed all ten Chickadee books and the students voted for their favorite. The children got to take home their Chickadee Award booklets after circling their favorite book.
Bemis’ first graders heard their last Chickadee Award book: Dragon’s Extraordinary Egg by Debi Gliori. After the story, we reviewed the ten nominees and the children voted for their favorite.- We managed to fit in a few class book exchanges, too. Gallagher and Mrs. Paradis’ fourth graders, Miss Mallon and Mrs. Sullivan’s second graders, and Ms. Oakes’ fifth graders got to exchange their current check-outs for new (or renewed) books.
Big6 update
This week Mrs. Gallagher’s fourth graders explored the delights contained in dictionaries. They discovered a wealth of information 
accompanying each entry: definitions, pronunciations, parts of speech, plural forms, word origins, words in sentences to show meanings, idioms, and an occasional illustration! A dictionary, whether print or online, is valuable information source.
Ms. Oakes and Mrs. Bradbury’s fifth graders and Miss Spinney’s sixth graders learned about primary sources during their lessons. 
First the students were shown examples of primary sources pertaining to World War I: a photo, recruitment poster, a soldier’s diary, a newspaper, an autobiography about the Red Baron, and a letter. Then they explored the Library of Congress’ iBook Children’s Lives at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. They explored the iBook’s collection of primary sources (photos, children’s books, a game, and a film) to learn what school, work, and fun was like for children around 1900. My, how things have changed!