what’s going on
Are you curious about how exactly to use our school library? The possibilities are as varied as the subjects taught and the faculty teaching those subjects. To borrow an old car slogan, this is not your father’s school library. So….
what’s going on… …in our school library?
March 11, 2009 & April 3, 2009 – Ms. Jackson’s 7th Grade Math Class in the library
Ms. Nikki Jackson brings her classes to the library to engage them in some challenging, but fun, TCAP Prep! Notice in the second photo that she’s using my newly painted dry erase board and mimeo! The students were engaged and learning!
February 26, 2009 - Our Book Club
Read about our book club in my March 2nd blog post!
February 6, 2009 – RIF in the library
Here’s a peek at our 2nd RIF distribution for this school year…
January 27, 2009 – PLCs in the library
Teachers, you can use the library, too!
Wireless… Coffee… It’s like a Starbuck’s that lets you borrow its books!
December 10, 2008 & January 16, 2009 – Ms. Jackson’s 7th Grade Math Class in the library
Decimals? Measurement? Geometry? How can you make connections between math and reading books?
If you are Ms. Nikki Jackson, it’s a connection you’ve made all year long. Ms. Jackson has brought her 7th grade math classes into the library on a number of occasions. Her students have reviewed the concept of measurement and converting centimeters/inches as they measured library book spines. They learned that they can find the measurement of a book’s spine on it’s library catalog record. This information may be helpful in determining what size book you are looking for on the shelf.
In addition, Ms. Jackson’s class reviewed the concepts of area and perimeter in a lesson in the library using pentominoes. Pentominoes are featured prominently in the book Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. A short excerpt of the book was read to the students to get them familiar with pentominoes. The students were then given sets of pentominoes to work with in groups to see if they could make a rectangle. One group used all 12 pentominoes to make one rectangle. Incredible job, girls!
November, 2008 – Reading The Bully by Paul Langan
South Side Middle is very grateful to Townsend Press for their generous offer to give Bluford Series books to all of our students. We agreed to read the first chapter of one of the series books, The Bully by Paul Langan, to all of our students. In exchange, Townsend Press sent eight additional books from the series to all of our students! Thank you, Townsend Press!
Thank you to Mr. McCarver, our guidance counselor, and Mrs. Cole, our PDSCC, for reading to our students!
October 31, 2008 – Dia de los Muertos in the Library
Mrs. Mulugeta brought some of her Spanish classes to the library to learn more about Dia de los Muertos. The students watched a selection of informative videos from the University of Central Arizona website. In addition, they made traditional masks to help celebrate the holiday. Check out the short video clips from our day!
October 29, 2008 – Sixth Graders Checking Out Books
Although we have a flexible library schedule, we have reading and language arts teachers who regularly bring (or send) their students to the library to check out books. Our students don’t have time between classes to visit the library and are not allowed to come during lunch so it’s these teachers who provide their students with the opportunity to check out library books. I’m so grateful for these teachers!!!
I’ve just received a Flip video camcorder (for my birthday!…Woo Hoo!!) and decided to try it out today when Mrs. Spencer brought her 6th graders to check out books. I’m a rookie filmmaker but as you watch the following video keep in mind that I intentionally filmed most of the students from the chin down. I didn’t want them to “strike a pose”. Also, in the second little video you’ll see small white cards laid out next to the circulation desk. Those are the students’ library cards which really speed up the check out process! Click on the link below to view the movie.
September 30, 2008 – Ancient Civilization Bingo!
Mrs. Davis brought her 6th graders to the library today for the 4th annual Ancient Civilizations Bingo lesson. Mrs. Davis and I have tweaked and improved this lesson over the past four years, but the basics haven’t changed. The students watched a Discovery Streaming video called “Ancient Civilizations Legacies” that highlights inventions/contributions of ancient civilizations that are still used today (examples: sewing needles, silk, levers, bikinis (yes, bikinis!)). While watching the video, students marked these contributions on their “bingo” cards as they appeared in the video. Each card was different so students didn’t all achieve “bingo” at the same time.
Students not only got a fun review of the benefits we’ve received from ancient civilizations but we also discussed the contributions of the last century that might be taught to future students a thousand years from now.
