I can not believe how the fast the end of the year is approaching. We just have 4 more weeks with the kiddos and one of those is spring book fair week. I have so much going on in the next 4 weeks, I hope I can keep my head on straight. Of course more teachers are scheduling research time which fills my day.
This past week I had 6 extra library sessions planned as well as a huge influx of students working on research for the classes that had visited the previous week.
In my elementary classes, I usually slow down on lessons the last weeks of library – we spend more time reading.
With my “littles,” kinders, and first graders, we read 2 more books from the Land of Enchantment Roadrunner list. We read They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel and A Perfect Day by Lane Smith. No lesson – just time to color after they voted for their favorite of the 4 I read from the list. I read the same books to the second graders, but because their class time is a little longer we had time for a short lesson on the Index of a book. I had them complete a page from Teaching Library Media Skills in Grades K-6. When all the votes were in They All Saw a Cat was the MVCS Roadrunner winner. I will be submitting all the votes. I tell the students that even if their choice doesn’t win at MVCS, maybe it will win at the state level.
With my third and fourth graders, I had a lesson planned but we did not get to it. I read another book from the Land of Enchantment Coyote list and it took all of our time with very little left over for book check out. This week we read Ben’s Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick. We still have one more book to read before these students can vote.
My fifth graders and I continued reading Best Family Ever by Karen Kingsbury. We were able to complete 3 chapters this week, but we still have a ways to go. I think the students are enjoying being read to.
Every year our regular English 12 teacher does a Children’s Literature unit. Part of her purpose is to introduce these future parents to what is available and the importance of reading to children. Another part is to give the students examples as part of the unit is writing their own children’s book. I love watching these big kids share books with each other. I also enjoy sharing with them. This year, one senior came up to me – “I picked this book but I can’t use it. It doesn’t have any words.” I was able to share with him how to use the book with a child and the importance of wordless books in language development.
My second graders visited twice. They are doing Animal books for their Young Authors Day project. This was a good opportunity to teach them how to use the online catalog and the process of finding books. They also got excited because they were able to check out a third book – something that only happens when there is a research assignment.
Fifth grade also came twice. The first time they were exploring Poetry. The teacher had very specific instructions for what they were to do. They explored many of the books mentioned in these Poetry Month blog posts. Their second visit was to continue their research of little-known members of the field of STEM.
I really do enjoy helping the students with research and exploring literature. I believe those are both part of the process of developing life-long learners.
When you find a book on Library Lady that you would like to purchase, I hope you will use the purchase links provided. When you make a purchase through our affiliate links, you support this school librarian blog. I am grateful for you. Thank you!
Amazon Affiliate Links
A Perfect Day
They All Saw a Cat
Ben’s Revolution: Benjamin Russell and the Battle of Bunker Hill
Best Family Ever (A Baxter Family Children Story)
Teaching Library Media Skills in Grades K-6: A How-To-Do-It Manual and CD-ROM
