September 25, 2017

The Power of Story!

"The one thing that you have that nobody else has is YOU.  Your voice, your mind, your story, your vision.  So write and draw and build and play and dance and live as only YOU can."
-Neil Gaiman

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This week's library classes focused on the magical and transcendent power of storytelling, and how it has evolved and progressed through the ages with the help of technology during many historical eras.  

Beginning with the "Oral Tradition" of storytelling by cave people, on through symbols soon added to their walls, and the "Written Tradition" of clay tablets, hieroglyphics, and ink and woodblocks (to name a few) that followed, the art of story and storytelling has been evolving and growing ever since.  Dan Yaccarino's I Am A Story beautifully reinforced this concept and acted as a perfect mentor text to depict my favorite method of storytelling; art and text woven together in picture book form.

Next, I read Kate Messner (text) and Mark Siegal's (art) How To Read A Story, which outlines ten steps for optimal storybook reading enjoyment.  It also was the perfect text to enjoy before we made our selections for the week.  

Most learners seemed to really enjoy the lesson's focus and new understandings; a few of my own stories told with guitar; and the chance to select their own books to borrow for the week despite the sweltering heat we've been experiencing as of late.  Stay cool, everybody!  

September 16, 2017

Action, Adventure, and Mystery... in the Refrigerator!

The selected texts for this week's library lesson were filled with a dash of creativity, a pinch of humor, a dollop of breakfast food deliciousness... and maple syrup!

  

Josh Funk's Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast and The Case of the Stinky Stench acted as a great way to introduce K-4 learners to the concept(s) of CHARACTER, SETTING, and PROBLEM inherent in all stories (links to Josh's website and book trailers above).  Everyone, students and adults, seemed to enjoy the humor, rhyming, and wonderful illustrations in these two creative tales.  

After the stories, learners were given time to choose their own book(s) to borrow for the week, to color a picture of Lady Pancake and Sir French Toast, or to complete a few enriching activities from the stories (pictures below).  All in all, it was another great week in the library! 

        

September 8, 2017

Back to School!

"Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well." - Philip Dormer Stanhope

School is back in session, students are smiling, and the library media center is abuzz with activity!  It has been such a joy to reconnect with returning students, meet and get to know new students, and return to the routine of the school day.  I really feel like one of the luckiest people alive to be back in the library for year two!

 This week's library classes centered around the beginning of a new school year - a walking tour of the library, how to use the OPAC (online public access catalog), class expectations, getting to know each other and of course... selecting BOOKS!  

There are some new staff additions to the library this year - and we are truly excited about them.  Mrs. Allerton has joined our library media team as an assistant.  Her knowledge of cataloging, love of literature, and kindness toward all who enter the LMC have been on full display.  She comes to us from the public library, and we are lucky to have her at SATEC!  Also, Mr. Galle, the new tech-integrationist is off to a smashing start.  His expertise on technology and art will really benefit SATEC learners coming into the LMC. Also, it's great having him here; as we have known each other a long time and are excited about finally getting to work together!  

   

June 9, 2017

Summer!

"Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August."   — Jenny Han

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As hard to believe as it is, we are winding down library classes for the year.  Students are now returning books (thank you!) and no longer checking them out.  But not to worry, we will be open and ready for the first day of school in August!  

I want to thank everyone (students, staff, administration, and the SATEC community) from the bottom of my heart for working together to make this such a memorable and inspiring first year in the library!  I especially want to thank and bid farewell to Mrs. Good, library assistant, and Mrs. Gallagher, technology integrationist.  Both of these amazing teammates and colleagues are moving on to other adventures after next week.  Their support and presence has been felt all year, and it will be difficult to replace them.  

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer of adventure, learning, fun, and reading!

June 2, 2017

Citizenship & Activism

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." 

-Margaret Mead

After the extended Memorial Day weekend, and reflecting on the impact so many brave American armed-service men and women (relatives, friends, and strangers) have had on all of us and our country, I wanted to impress upon students how each of us can individually contribute to making our school, community, and world a better place too.  After a brief video on Citizenship in the Community - we then shifted into our three mentor texts (depicted above).  

We learned that some engaged citizens go above and beyond, and maintain an active involvement in various ways in their local community and around the world.  Many students were surprised that "American ideals and values" are not shared in each community, or state, around the world.  Malala: A Brave Girl From Pakistan certainly opened our eyes about how lucky we are to live in a free nation that provides a public education to all of it's citizens (grades k-12).  Malala's unwavering courage and resolve to bring change to her community in Swat Valley, despite violent threats and eventual physical harm, serve as an inspiration that we are all capable of making our voices heard.  As she proclaimed in a famous speech to world leaders on her 16th birthday, "They thought that bullets would silence us, but they failed... One child, one teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world."              

May 26, 2017

Oliver Jeffers:  Painter, Writer, Reader, Creator!

                     

"Henry loved books.  But not like you and I love books, no.  Not quite..."

-Oliver Jeffers

It had been awhile since library classes conducted an "author study."  So, this week we narrowed in on the tremendously talented, hilarious and just plain cool, Oliver Jeffers.  Hailing from Northern Ireland, young Oliver grew up loving drawing and art.  It's no surprise that he went on to become a wildly successful children's picture book creator (among other things).  

He had his first book published when he was in college - a reminder to all that if you work hard at something you're passionate about, age is no factor!  Along those lines, the imbedded inspiration for learners this week was that it is never too early to get started on a lifelong passion - and it just may be the hobby or endeavor that leads to a fulfilling career... just like Mr. Jeffers.  

   

Who is Oliver Jeffers?

May 19, 2017

Curiouser and Curiouser

 

“It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

-Alice, from Alice in Wonderland

Building off of last week's lesson on the Beatles, I decided it made sense to create a fantastical, magical, mystery class of our own. 😉 Lewis Carroll's 152 year-old fantasy on Alice, and her adventures in Wonderland seemed to be the perfect fit. It also worked well as a version of this classic story was this year's theatre production here at SATEC.

The history and origin of Alice in Wonderland also reinforced our year-long theme on storytelling; and the myriad ways stories are told and shared. Therefore, prior to diving into this week's mentor texts we looked at a few other examples of how this story has been told and expressed through the years.