April’s Top 20 Titles in the Merry Media Center
04 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: brod bagert, jennifer holm, National Poetry Month, nick bruel
- BabyMouse: Rock Star by Jennifer Holm
- Zita the Spacegirl: Far From Home
- Bone: Crown of Horns by Jeff Smith
- Giant Children by Brod Bagert
- Mal and Chad: The Biggest Bestest Time Ever
- Squish (#1): Super Amoeba by Jennifer Holm
- Stone Rabbit (4): Superhero Stampede by Eric Craddock
- Amulet (Book 1): The Stonekeeper by Kaza Kibuishi
- Amulet (Book 2): The Stonekeeper’s Curse by Kaza Kibuishi
- Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray by Nick Bruel
- Bone: The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
- Happy Birthday Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
- Missile Mouse: Rescue on Tankium 3 by Jake Parker
- Stone Rabbit: Pirate Palooza by Eric Craddock
- Super Diaper Baby 2 by Dav Pilkey
- The Adventures of Ook and Gluk by Dav Pilkey
- Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel
- Bone: Eyes of the Storm by Jeff Smith
Poem in Your Pocket Day
01 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Technology Tags: month of april, National Poetry Month, PIYPD, Poem in Your Pocket Day, Skype, Technology, video chat, writing
On April 26th, students all over the world celebrated Poem in Your Pocket Day (PIYPD). During the month of April, my students heard poetry read aloud to them and wrote their own poems in the media center.
As a culmination to National Poetry Month, 3 of the classes at HES (two 2nd grade classes and one 5th grade class) video chatted to share their poems with other schools through Skype. The students had a fantastic time sharing their own original poetry with a larger audience! When I asked my students who had fun with the video chat, every hand was raised!
Students could pick a poem for their pocket for Poem in Your Pocket Day from our poetry display.
5 Reasons Why I Read
15 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in All Grade Levels, Kidlit, Shelf Challenge Tags: books, Kidlit, literature, Reading, Shelf Challenge
My sweet sister and I like to tease that we are as different as night and day, particularly in the area of reading. I love to read, but my sister wouldn’t be caught with a book unless she had to read it for a class. She often teases that reading is bad for your eyes.
Here are a few of the reasons why I read:
1. Reading gives me something to talk about when there is a lull in the conversation.
2. Books give information that could come in handy if I’m ever on Jeopardy or some other game show someday.
3. Reading can be done in any place, inside or outside, on a roof or in a basement.
4. While waiting at a doctor’s office, reading helps the time pass quickly.
5. The setting of a book, if described vividly by the author, can transport you in an instant!
The stack in the picture above is what I have enjoyed reading during Spring Break. Most of the titles were read as part of the #ShelfChallenge.
Happy Reading!
Top Circulated Titles from March 2012
12 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Favorite books, Top Circulated Titles Tags: nick bruel, tedd arnold, Top Circulated Titles
Here is a list of the most circulated titles in the Merry Media Center during the month of March:
Little Red Riding Hood Lurks in an Unexpected Place
11 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in All Grade Levels, Book Review, Picture Book, Shelf Challenge Tags: #ShelfChallenge, Book Review, Picture Books, Shelf Challenge
Often in the Merry Media center, we receive requests for books that can be compared and contrasted. During last night’s reading for the #ShelfChallenge, I happened across a true jewel, Ruby by Michael Emberley. The red hooded mouse on the cover should have given me a clue that Red Riding Hood was lurking within the pages, but I was pleasantly surprised to find her when the story commenced. This title was well-written and had colorful, detailed illustrations. Ruby (Emberley) ended with a twist that students would enjoy! This will definitely be my recommendation the next time someone asks for two titles he or she can compare and contrast.
The Gingerbread Girl wins our heart!
09 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in All Grade Levels, Book Review, Favorite books, Picture Book, Shelf Challenge Tags: author, Book Review, gingerbread girl, Jonathan Emmett, Lisa Campbell Ernst, Picture Books, Shelf Challenge, zinnia and dot
Some of the latest books that I have read with my sweet 3 year old boy have been by Lisa Campbell Ernst: When Bluebell Sang, Zinnia and Dot, and The Gingerbread Girl. Our favorite of the three books was definitely The Gingerbread Girl! Within the last week, we have read The Gingerbread Boy, so it was nice to be able to compare and contrast the two stories. Rhyming words were incorporated nicely into The Gingerbread Girl, which helped to hold the interest of my boy. The other two stories were well-written, but didn’t resonate with us as much as The Gingerbread Girl. She won our heart!
Another title that we have shared was The Princess and the Pig by Emmett. This is a title that might appeal more to my first and second grade students. The illustrations by Poly Bernatene are exquisite! If you have students asking for princess books, this might be the right one for them!
Shelf Challenge: Spanish Style
06 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in All Grade Levels, Book Review, Shelf Challenge Tags: books, literature, Picture Books, Shelf Challenge
Recently, the Busy Librarian, Matthew Winner, challenged librarians and media specialists to get to know their collections a little better through a “shelf challenge.” Read more about the Shelf Challenge HERE.
For this challenge, I have chosen to focus on the Easy section of our school’s E author section. It is a small section and I thought it seemed a reasonable size to be able to complete it during the month. My thoughts are that if I am successful with the “E” authors, then I might even be able to start the “F” authors, too.
Each night I read a few of the books to my three year old as good night stories. Tonight we read Eight Animals Bake a Cake (Elya), Tooth on the Loose (Elya), and Adios Oscar! (Elwell). I was surprised to find that all three of these titles included some of the Spanish language: animals, greetings, and cooking items. For students who are learning basic Spanish phrases, these titles would harmonize perfectly. The two titles by Elya were very short and could be used together to teach rhyming words.
Adios Oscar! was a longer book that should probably be read separately. This book had a message that was wonderfully implied to the reader: don’t let what others think of you limit who you are and what you become.
Thanks Matthew Winner for starting the #shelfchallenge! Connecting titles that are similar can be extremely useful!
A Merry March for the Merry Media Center
29 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in 3rd Grade, All Grade Levels, Book Fair, Library Organization Tags: research
This month we have shared The Secret of the Silver Key, a Fribble Mouse book, with 2 of our third grade classes. Through this book our students have learned about using reference books and online resources to find information.
Our school book fair is currently in full swing! We have had a large number of parent volunteers, which has made all the difference! Our volunteers are greatly appreciated!
Right before the book fair started, we began the task of relabeling our shelves in the non-fiction and reference sections. The Fiction section is almost complete and our next area to label will be the Easy section. Our goal is to make it easier to find all of the books in the media center.
Another March activity that we have hosted in the media center has been a Skype project between a first grade class at our school in Georgia and a first grade class in Canada. Students in both classes are reading the same book and are ready to discuss the events of the book! We have enjoyed getting to know our Canadian friends in Ms. Gaudet’s first grade class.
The month of March has been great! It will be fun to see what April brings!
Top 20 Checkouts for February 2012
10 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in All Grade Levels, Favorite books, Top Circulated Titles Tags: green eggs and ham by dr seuss, lynn plourde, nick bruel, tedd arnold, Top Circulated Titles
Here are the Top 20 Book Checkouts for February 2012. Most of the titles are the regulars (graphic novels), but some were a little surprising (The Lonesome Pine). Dr. Seuss titles made the list as we led up to the celebration of his birthday on March 2nd.
1. BabyMouse: Rockstar by Jennifer Holm
2. Bone: The Old Man’s Cave by Jeff Smith
3. Valentine’s Day Disaster by Geronimo Stilton
4. Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel
5. Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray by Nick Bruel
6. Buzz Boy and Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
7. Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm
8. Happy Birthday Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
9. Amelia Rules: A Very Ninja Christmas by Jimmy Gownley
10. Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett Krosoczka
11. Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
12. The World’s Greatest Valentine by Terry Collins
13. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney
14. Dino Pets by Lynn Plourde
15. Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl by Tedd Arnold
16. The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
17. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
18. I Spy Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
19. I’m Too Fond of My Fur by Geronimo Stilton
20. The Lonesome Pine by Jane West
Our School’s Media Festival
27 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Media Festival; HES; All Grades
Judges View a Class Project
On Friday, five judges visited our school to view and rate our students’ multimedia projects for the Hubbard Student Media Festival. All of the students who submitted projects worked diligently and created interesting pieces. Our school had approximately forty media festival entries and twenty-six are advancing to the county level of the media festival, which will be held on March 14th.
Teachers guided their classes through the multimedia creation process. Small groups of students collaborated to develop their projects with assistance in the media center. Some students chose to create podcasts of interviews of famous historical figures and others recorded stories and added sound effects. Two student groups submitted animation projects. Both of the animation projects were fictional stories about animals. About five of the projects were live action, where students acted out a scene they had written. The majority of students and classes submitted sequential stills projects created with iMovie, PhotoStory3, and/or PowerPoint. Many of our students used cameras to take their own still shots!
We hope that many of our projects will fair well at the county media festival, so that they will be able to move on to the Georgia Student Media Festival (and possible the International Student Media Festival).
