Making a Snowman

Winter is almost here and class K-4 had a great time talking about some of their favorite things to do when it snows.  They talked about having snowball fights, making snow angels and building snowmen.  I read All you Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle and then the students showed me they know how to follow directions.  They were able to complete a "Making a Snowman" worksheet in which they had to listen to my directions as I requested that they draw different items on 3 different snowmen.   All of their snowmen pictures were hung up on the bulletin board so everyone could see how well they can follow directions.  Afterward, they had the chance to use the Smartboard to create a virtual snowman at the Build a Snowman website. Click Here and give it a try.

Holiday Celebrations

Class 1-3 has been learning about different cultures and the traditions they follow when they celebrate specific holidays.  Ms. Isaacs has taught her class about Christmas and Hannukah and today they learned about Kwanzaa in the library. They listened to a uniquely written book called Celebrate Kwanzaa with Boots and her Kittens by Alma Flor Ada.  In this story there is an African American family all set to celebrate Kwanzaa when they realize their cat is missing. Throughout this fictional story we are taught about the 7 principles of Kwanzaa in an entertaining way.  At the very end of the book there is an informative section about Kwanzaa as well.  After reading the story the students compared the different holidays. 

Online Posters

Animal Characteristics as described by Class 4-2 on Glogster.EDU

Anansi Completed Projects

Class 3-1 have finally completed their work on Anansi the Spider.  They all did a great job working in groups to complete their projects and today we had the opportunity to watch the 3-1 Anansi Theatre Group perform their own remake of Anansi and the Seven Yam Hills by Elizabeth Lane. As you will see in the video, their version is called Anansi and the Six Potatoes and Anansi is up to his old mean tricks.



Class 3-1 is full of students who are anxious to learn everyday.  This ELL class spend a couple of weeks in the library listening to Anansi stories and sharing what they learned about Anansi tales.  This particular group performed their own remake of an Anansi tale in which Anansi tricks all the animals...until he meets Ms. Nancy the goose.

Anansi the Spider Has Arrived in the Library

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Class 3-1 has begun their African unit and have decided to focus their studies on the West African folktales of Anansi the Spider.  After learning some basic facts about Africa, Ms. Sosa and I read some of the more popular retold stories about this little trickster.  In each of the stories they learned that Anansi was a lazy, mean, and greedy character.  Students listened to:
Anansi and the Magic Stick by Eric Kimmel
Ananse and the Lizard by Pat Cummings
Ananse's Feast by Tololwa M. Mollel

They are currently working on group projects that include acrostic poems, 3D Anansi, Anansi and African animals, as well as remake performance of Anansi and the 5 Yams Plant with a class 3-1 twist.  Be on the lookout for some of the final projects soon, in the meantime check out the work in progress below:

Top Books

For the past 2 months students have visited the library in search of their favorite books of interest.  Here is a list of the top ten books that have circulated this school year so far.  Is your favorite book on the list? 

1. Goosebumps: My Friends Call Me Monster	Stine, R. L.
2. Diary of a Wimpy kid : The Last Straw	Kinney, Jeff.
3. Goosebumps: Phantom of the Auditorium	Stine, R. L.
4. Franny K. Stein: Attack of the 50-ft. Cupid	Benton, Jim.
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Greg Heffley's Journal	Kinney, Jeff.
6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid : Rodrick Rules	Kinney, Jeff.
7. The Baby-sitter's Club. [2], The Truth About Stacey : A Graphic Novel	Telgemeier, Raina.
8. Diario de Greg : Días de Perros	Kinney, Jeff.
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days	Kinney, Jeff.
10.Dragon Ball Z. Vol. 18	Toriyama, Akira

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Have you seen the Leaf Man and all the leaf characters blowing in the wind? Lois Ehlert creations using all types of leaves makes The Leaf Man very appealing to our students.  Today Kindergarten students listened to the story and found a bunch of characters made with real leaves in the pages of the book.  As they went on a journey for miles with the Leaf Man, they found cows, turtles, fish and even turkeys.  Each student colored leaves and then shared their own thinking about where the wind would blow their own leaves this Fall season.

Have You Met Dewey?

Class 5-2 and 5-3 have learned how the non-fiction section of the library is organized.  They now know that Melvile Dewey created the Dewey Decimal System many years ago in order to organize non-fiction books by a subject's category.   All non-fiction books are separated into 10 different categories, making it easier for students to locate non-fiction books for their research projects.  However, they should not forget how important the call number of books can be as well.  After using the OPAC to search for specific books in our library students can now pinpoint the category and reduce the amount of time spent searching the shelves.

If you come to the library just look for the signs that will help you identify each of the categories listed below:

000-099     General Works
100-199     Philosophy and Psycology
200-299     Regilion and Mythology
300-399     Social Sciences 
400-499     Languages
500-599     Natural Science
600-699     Applied Science
700-799     Arts and Recreation
800-899     Literature
900-999     Geography and History

Elephants and Piggie

They're funny!
They're silly!
They make me laugh!
They are best friends!

These are the words that some kindergarten students used to describe a couple of my favorite characters, Elephant and Piggie! This week they got the chance to hear two of Mo Willems' books, Elephants Cannot Dance! and Can I Play Too?  They quickly learned that Elephants can dance and snakes cannot catch a ball. What really made these stories fun was when the students acted out Elephant dancing and when they tried to catch a ball without using their hands.  Such simple actions caused a lot of laughter! Totally fun!

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Google image

Just in Time for Halloween

Class 5-3 completed their "How To" projects just in time to share with other classes this Halloween.  After choosing a Halloween related topic, they were able to make some really attractive Powerpoint presentations.  During this project they learned how to use clip arts, audio clips, background designs and slide transitions to present  the audience with some basic steps in creating a variety of Halloween items.  Some students used the internet to research their projects and others used plain old imagination. Below you will find a couple of the completed projects.

Grade 4 Glogster Animal Project

Students in Ms. Desousa's 4th grade class have begun researching animal groups with Ms. Loomis.  After completing additional research in the library they are now ready to present what they have learned.  Each student has a special online space to create a very new type of presentation using a great 21st century tool called Glogster.

GlogsterEDU allows students to create their own online poster which displays the information they researched.  Today students have started to transfer their information onto their own personal Glog page by using text, photos, drawings, sounds, and/or videos.  Their final poster presentations will be completed by the beginning of next month so come back then to see what they have accomplished.

Supporting PreK Students

Through the Tools of the Mind program PreK students are learning how to actively engage in play by using real life environments, like the doctor's office and restaurants.  In the library I have tried to support what  they are learning in their class by reading stories about these environments.  This month Ms. Singleton's students are learning about restaurants so naturally I chose to read Manners at the Table by Carrie Finn.  Together we  created a list of good manners that should be used at a restaurant.  We also discuss all the different things we would find in a restaurant.   After learning about what belongs in a restaurant, PreK students used the "Nina Loves to Name Things" website to drag restaurant items into a box.  They were amazed to see how they were able to move the items just by using their finger.

Click Here to visit the website

Some Spooky-Funny, Funny-Spooky Halloween Stories

Los Gatos Black on Halloween by Marisa Montes is part of our bilingual collection of books.
On Halloween night the vampires, ghosts and all the Halloween characters are ready to attend the yearly Ball in the huge Haunted Hall up the hill.  They arise from the ground, fly on their brooms, and stagger across the cemetery just to dance to their favorite Halloween tunes.  As soon as the fun begins the knock on the puerta (door) has even the scariest looking characters stare at the door in fright.  You will never guess what los catos black (black cats), las brujas (witches), las momias (mummies), and even the esqueletos are most frightened of...Come to the library and find out?

Kindergarten students had the opportunity to meet Splat the Cat again in Rob Scotton's book Scaredy Cat, Splat.  This time Splat the Cat just wants to be the scariest cat at cat school on Halloween day, but he is just too much of a scaredy-cat.   He's afraid of a little spider and when his teacher tells the class a ghost story he jumps into the air and all the jack o' lanterns go flying.  When the lights go back on there is a scary looking, furry creature with a pumpkin head making the scariest sound.  Whooooo could it be?  The kindergarteners enjoyed this little Halloween story with a cheerful ending.

Halloween How To

Halloween will be here before you know it.  Do you know how to make a mummy costume, spooky cupcakes or even a witch's potion?  Ms. Sarjeant's 5th grade class has begun researching how to make Halloween related items.  The goal of their project is to take the bland old How To Report and create a much more exciting How To Powerpoint presentation.  Students are working in pairs and planning to include information they learned about their Halloween project.  Pretty soon their presentations will be shared with other classes visiting the library.  The scary deadline will be here on October 31st, Halloween Day! Be on the lookout for completed projects in a future posting.

The Librarian from the Black Lagoon Does Not Work Here

Author, Mike Thaler has a series of books called the Black Lagoon series.  Today 3rd grade students met the meanest librarian ever...The Librarian from the Black Lagoon, or so they thought.  Some scary rumors were going around in school that the librarian, Mrs. Beamster likes to laminate children who even whisper in the library. Could you imagine that?  Students also say that she doesn't let students do anything in the library.  The books are bolted to the shelves and she puts glue on the chairs to keep the children from wiggling around.  It doesn't sound like a very inviting place to be.  Will the students be surprised by what they see when they finally make a library visit and meet Mrs. Beamster?  You will have to come to library and check out The Librarian from the Black Lagoon yourself.  

Scary Mrs. Beamster, the Librarian

Call Numbers

Did you know every book has it's own address?  That's right...every single book in a library has a special place where it lives while it waits for an interested person to check it out.  The CALL NUMBER is the key.  This week, 4th and 5th grade students completed the "Drag and Drop the Call Number" activity using the Smartboard.  Students were required to come to the Smartboard  to drag and drop sets of call numbers to the proper section of the library drawn on the board.  Afterwards, they had to explain that the first section of the call number represents the section of the library and the second part of the call number represents the first 3 letters of the author's last name.  It was a great way for students to show they understand how the call number can help them find the books on the shelves.  

Promises, Promises! They Mean Something

Students couldn't believe what they saw with their own eyes...scribbling, bunny ears, unaligned spines, taped up pages, warped pages and even a torn cover. A basket full of promises unkept was presented to students during orientation. They learned that some of their favorite books like Pokemon and Bone have been damaged by students who did not take care of the books they borrowed.  Those books are no longer available to check out and students know that's a big" thumbs down."  This years book care promises will hopefully mean something now that they have seen that all students can suffer when books are not handled correctly.  All the signed library contracts will be our students way of saying they will make sure the books they borrow will return to the library in good shape.

First Week of Storytelling

This first full week of school was mostly dedicated to review sessions.  We went over library rules as well as the library policies and procedures.  However, students also had the opportunity to listen to some interesting stories about going to school for the first time, how to take care of books, and how important it is to be responsible.  Here are three of the stories I shared with some of the visiting classes. 

Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton

It's Splat's first day at Cat school and he is so scared and nervous he doesn't want to get out of bed.  He tries every excuse to stay home but once he gets to school he quickly finds out all the amazing things cats can do.  Much to his surprise he learns that cats chase mice.  His best friend is Seymour the mouse and he is hiding in Splat's lunchbox.  Doesn't it make you wonder if Splat is going to come back to school tomorrow? Only one way to find out...come visit the library soon!

Mr. Wiggles Book by Paula M. Craig

Oh no! Someone has done some terrible things to Mr. Wiggles books.  Someone wrote their name in a book, another person made a hole in the pages of a book,  and someone even spilled food on one of his favorite books.  No wonder Mr. Wiggle's is crying.  What can we do to make Mr. Wiggles happy again? Ready to make a promise? First we need to talk about it.

Beverly Billingsly Borrows a Book by Alexander Stadler

Beverly is finally responsible enough to get her own library card and she chooses her favorite books about dinosaurs in the Cretaceous Period.  She is so interested in her book that she doesn't realize it is past the due date.  The potential consequences of having an overdue book has Beverly feeling sick and having nightmares with dinosaurs yelling at her.  What is the right thing to do?  Do you know?

Welcome to a New and Exciting School Year

As the new school year begins it's time to refresh your memories about the policies and procedures of our library media center.  All classes will have the opportunity to visit the library this month and you will each be given the Library Policies brochure and a Library Contract.  In the meantime here are a couple of reminders:

-- Students in Kindergarten may borrow one book for a period of 2 weeks. However, books will be kept in the classroom

-- Students in grade 1  may borrow 1 book for a period of 2 weeks. Books may be renewed once.

-- Students in grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 may borrow 2 books for a period of 2 weeks. Books may be renewed once.

-- Students who do not return books may not borrow materials until all overdue books are returned.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Lost or destroyed books must be replaced at the expense of the borrower.  Anyone that still owes a book from last school year will not be able borrow materials until book fees are paid. 
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Don't forget to use our Library Website and our OPAC to search through our catalog and use our library resources online.  


I am looking forward to seeing your happy reading faces in the library once again this school year!

Happy Summer!

Have a safe and exciting summer everyone.  Feel free to use the resources we have used all school year.  Our  OPAC links can be found above!



Page Graphics

The school year is drawing to an end and what better story to share with students then one written by Julie Danneberg called Last Day Blues.  All the students are anxious for the school year to end but they are all worried about their teacher.   They believe Ms. Hartwell will be spending the whole summer just sitting around thinking about them and reading her old lesson plans.  Little do they know that Ms. Hartwell and all the teachers have completely different plans....surprise, surprise! If you'd like to see the teachers' reaction on the last day of school don't forget to check out Last Day Blues.

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Year End Book Returns

I would like to remind everyone that all library books should have been returned to the library last Monday, June 6, 2011.  Make sure you come to the library any time of the day to return your overdues or pay the lost books fees (you know who your are).  Inventory will begin soon and every book needs to go back home to live on the shelf for the next couple of months.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Summer Reading 2011

The end of the school year always means the beginning of Summer Reading.  Ms. James, the librarian from the Dekalb Library next door has dropped off some summer reading materials and links for all our students. Drop by the library to pick up your "passport" game.  You can use it to record research information about other cultures.  Students who submit the grand prize entry forms by the end of the summer will be eligible to win
This years Summer Reading Program theme is...

  

All students are encouraged to sign up and create an account at the SummerReading.org website. According to the website you can create  your own avatar, log in your reading materials, and even earn special badges.  You can search for books as well as music, movies, and games. 



Video can be viewed HERE as well.

DeKalb Library

790 Bushwick Ave. at DeKalb Ave.

Brooklyn, NY 11221

Phone: 718-455-3898




Sunday          Closed
Monday         Closed
Tuesday         10:30am-5:30pm
Wednesday    1:00pm-8:00pm
Thursday        10:30am-5:30pm
Friday            10:30am-5:30pm
Saturday        10:00am-5:00pm

Science Project Gone Wrong

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Can mutant slime be the best science project? Not for the little girl in The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate the School by Judy Sierra.  While searching for a project idea that would impress everyone, she found Professor Swami's Super Slime website and ordered her very own slime.  That was the beginning of a huge mistake. You"ll never guess what happens when the slime takes on a life of its own! Eeeeek! Here is a hint...check out the title! Students in the library had fun listening to this story and trying to predict what would happen next.  They also learned that the internet can be a great place to find science fair project ideas but they should never use unreliable websites.

Science Fair

Get your poster boards and experiments ready for our annual science fair.   Ms. Loomis will be collecting all projects on June 6, 2011.  Anyone interested in ideas on some creative experiments please stop by the library and check out our series of Science Fair Experiment books by Robert Gardner.  I am sure you will  be able to find the perfect experiment that will help you win this years Science Fair!


You can also find tons of science  fair projects ideas at the All Science Fair Projects website

Don't forget our Library Science Website also has Science concepts for Grade K-5.

Acrostic Poems

This past month students in Ms. Aguinaga's Class 4-1 created Acrostic poems.  It was a fun way to describe their classmates.  They brainstormed descriptive words, used an online thesaurus and finally created their poems in Microsoft Word.  Their acrostic poems were added to a Voicethread where they had the opportunity to recite their own poem.  Below you will find a sampling.



Tell Class 4-1 what you think about their poems by adding a comment below, just click POST A COMMENT.

Celebrating Our Authors

In previous posts we saw how Ms. Simon's Class 1-4 were able to visit the library and work on a research project about animals.  The final product was a wonderful book about different types of animals.  See those posts HERE.

On May 5th the classes' parents had the opportunity to visit the library and celebrate what their children accomplished....even some little frosted animal crackers joined our celebration.

To see the process in action click on the movie I created below.

All About Animals Book Project from Ms. LaLuz on Vimeo.

Library Schedule

So the time has come once again. It is time for all 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to take the NYS ELA and Math assessment  This means the library will be closed during the testing dates until 5th period. Remember that you can still access the links to some online resources as well as the OPAC's Webpath Express.  Just click on the OPAC tab at the top of this page to find an interesting link to all our resources.  Additional information can be found for parents on the Library Website, which also appears at the top of this blog.

Good Luck to all of you! You can do it!

Being Bullied is Not Cool, Not Even if You're an Ant

"To squish or not to squish?  That is the question students are left with at the end of Hey, Little Ant by Phillip and Hannah Hoose. 


Should the ant get squished?  Should the ant go free?
It’s up to the kid, not up to me.
They left that kid with a raised-up shoe. 
What do you think the kid should do?
Excerpt from the book


Discussions about being tolerant of all living things no matter how different they are was a natural follow up after reading this story.  Just the thought of the "kid" stepping on the poor little ant made students gasp and say "Awwww, that's mean!" We talked about being compassionate and treating all living things with respect.    


We also discussed how important it is to make decisions for yourself no matter how small they may seem.  In the story the kid's friends try to convince him to "squish" the ant, but our students know this is wrong.  Before they left the library each student had the opportunity to decide on the ending of this picture book.  Not surprisingly, they all chose "not to squish!"

Class 1-3 White House Project

Original Poem created by Ms. Simon

White House Project 2011 from Mildred LaLuz on Vimeo.

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The Dreaded Overdues

Choosing your favorite book from the library is pretty easy. Letting it go after 2 weeks....much more difficult! Here is what happens sometimes

Ms. LaLuz: I noticed your book was due last month but you haven't returned it. What happened?
Student: I left it home.
Ms. LaLuz: But the due date says it was supposed to be back in the library by March 23rd.  Remember your pinky promise.
Student: I know, but can't I keep it? I looooove  Babymouse.
Ms. LaLuz: Well, just remember that as much as you love that book there is always another friend dying to read BabyMouse too.

Don't Forget to Return Your Overdue Books

Happy Earth Day

If you are having trouble seeing the video just click here

Spring Break Library Connection

Our Library Media Center will not be open during Spring Break, April 18, 2011 through April 26, 2011.  However, you can still get to your favorite links of resources during the break if you need information for any projects.  Just go to our Library Website, our OPAC or our Library Portaportal and the information you've used in the library will be there.  


You can also visit our neighborhood public library. Click on the picture below to get information about any Brooklyn Public Library. 

Select the Dekalb Library Branch under Branch Information on the top right

Book Cover Projects

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Earth Day Project Part 2

The 2nd graders Earth Day Projects are complete and on Friday I will be taking their messages to the corner grocery store. Their "Save the Earth" messages are clearly decorated on each grocery bag and students are excited about their impact. Here is a sampling of what they have done.

Arianna 2-4	Maegan 2-4
Bryan 2-4	Class 2-3 and 2-4

Class 2-3 and 2-4

Class 2-3 and 2-4

Over in the Garden

Every garden has it's critters, some are beautiful and some are creepy. In the picture book Over in the Garden by Jennifer Ward, students were able to to see the most colorful mommy critters wandering in the garden with their babies.  Following the familiar tune of "Over in the Meadow" students met ten different types of insects and not only counted each one but also had to search for the hidden number on each of the 2 page spreads.  Were the first graders interested?  You bet! A little reading, a little math, a little singing and finally their own descriptions and illustrations of their favorite garden insect...What more can you ask for from a picture book.

The President Lives There

You guessed it....the White House! Ms. Isaacs' Class 1-3 is learning so much more about the White House. They started off by going on a virtual tour of the White House through the White House Historical Association's website. With each view of the different rooms they learned a little bit about the origins of the uniquely named rooms. Students are currently working in groups while they browse through non-fiction books, illustrate some of the rooms, and read through grade appropriate notes about the White House. All of their hard work will result in the creation of a non-fiction class book about the White House and a video clip of their class poem. We have started to document the process and will present it at the class celebration. Be on the lookout for a slideshow right here in our Library blog as soon as Class 1-3 finalizes their project. In the meantime here is a little trivia question:

When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1, 1863 what room was he in?

Researching and writing	Illustrating the Oval Office

Earth Day Project

Earth Day will be celebrated on April 22, 2011. Unfortunately, we will be out of school for our Spring Break. That doesn't mean we can't do something special on the 22th. Through the Earth Day Groceries Project some of our students will help spread the word about the importance of taking care of our Earth. This project is sponsored by a non-profit organization that is trying to promote environmental awareness across schools nationwide. It proposes that we help empower our students to spread the word about the importance of taking care of our Earth. All we need is a paper bag for each participating student and a neighborhood grocery store willing to help spread the student's messages.

Today I started working with Ms. Morodokhin's Class 2-3 on the Earth Day Groceries Project. After discussing some of the ways we can help conserve energy, conserve water, reduce trash, and/or reduce pollution everyone had the opportunity to look through some books on these topics. Students have begun writing messages on small grocery bags and decorating them with Earth Day images. Once all the bags are decorated I will take them to the nearest corner store. The clerk will then fill these bags with customers groceries on April 22th. Alas, their Earth Day messages will be traveling home with our neighbors.

Every Culture

The third grade classes are at it again. They are working hard at their Third Grade Research projects. This time they are studying the most beautiful cities and places in Europe.  Ms. Sosa's class 3-1 successfully found the books they needed in the 900 section and barely left any books for the other classes.  This is obviously a good thing for them, but not so good for the other classes.  But, No Fear.......

We are a Library Media Center!

When Ms. Tomao's class 3-4 visited the last couple of times each student had their own laptop to conduct their research. How great is that?!!! After searching through Ms. Tomao's recommended site at Every Culture I believe they are well on their way to completing their projects. I am anxious to see the final projects displayed on the third floor!

Be Happy

If you've ever rolled out of bed and felt grumpy the moment you got up, then you have to blame it on the "grouchies." Debbie Wagenbach's story The Grouchies gave Class 1-5 a perfect tale of how the grouchies can follow you around all day and make everyone miserable.  Through rhymes, which students identified right away, and a cute little chant by the "grouchies," we learned that we shouldn't listen to the grouchies if we want to have a good day.  Hopefully, the children will keep the smiley face clouds around them instead.

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Using Google Forms

gogI just learned how I can use Google forms to get our school communities' input on books they would like us to purchase for next year.  Now when someone visits our OPAC they can see the Wish List Form right on the homepage.  All they have to do is write the title, author or type of  books they are interested in and Google automatically generates a spreadsheet for me to look over at any time.  Now it's time to introduce this new feature to library visitors.

Mo Willems Never Dissappoints

Image retrieved from Amazon.com

Who can grab a PreK class' attention and keep a hold of it with very few words and hardly any pictures? You guessed it, Mo Willems. He is the fantastic author of a couple of my favorite characters, Elephant and Piggie.

 The four year olds in PreK-1 already know about Willems' pigeon on  "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," but today I wanted to introduce them to Mo Willems' other very entertaining characters. So I pulled "I Love My New Toy!" off the shelf and as expected....the children loved it.  Something about the way Piggie and Elephant express themselves with the simplest facial changes and body language, help even the youngest of the students understand how Piggie and Elephant feel about the "broken toy."

By the end of the story several students kept repeating "break!...snap!" in unison.  To continue feeding their interest we visited Mo Willems' interactive website. Click Here to have some fun.  Thanks, Mo Willems!

A Class Full of Published Authors

Finally Published!

Congratulations to Class 1-4!

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After spending some time in the library researching information about animals we have finally received a published copy of their class created "All About Animals" non-fiction book.


Students worked in groups of 4 and used a number of resources in the library. After discussing the characteristics of specific categories of animals they had the opportunity to learn more by browsing through our large collection of animal books. One of their favorite parts of the research process seemed to be when they used the PebbleGo database online. Not only were they able to record facts about their animal, they were also able to view little video snippets of the animal in action.


After a couple of months of researching in the library, Ms. Simon sorted and finalized all of the pages and then send them to be published. We used the Student Treasures Publishing company and they did a wonderful job binding Class 1-4's book.  Some students even purchased their own copy.  Now all we need is a celebration! Be on the lookout for that!

Ms. Simon reads "All About Animals" 

Everyone Loves a Treat

The NYC Department of Education’s Library Services Department has the most phenomenal staff. Not only are they supportive and constantly provide numerous workshops for school librarians, occasionally they offer us nice little treats to share with our students. Thanks to Ms. Dominguez, today I received a box of brand new Dr. Seuss books and all I had to do was explain in writing how our school community celebrates Dr. Seuss. As you can see from my past post right here in this blog our students deserve these new books because they are fans! I can't wait to share the books with them.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss

Everyone knows Dr. Seuss is one of the most entertaining authors of children's books.  Every year during the first week of March we honor Dr. Seuss by spending the day in our pajamas while reading his stories and taking part in a number of activities.  Students who visited the library were able to buddy up with a friend and find a cozy area to read a couple of his most well known titles like, The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.  I also read out loud one of my favorites, Bartholomew and the Oobleck.  Students had fun thinking of adjectives to describe oobleck and then created a list of objects that may have the same characteristics...a list that included some very common objects, like gum or clay and some "not so common," gross objects like....well I am sure you can only imagine. 

The only thing missing from the lesson was actually making "oobleck".  One library period is not enough time to create the sticky oobleck so I decided to have my ELL students from the Saturday Academy create "oobleck".  Ms. Chan and Ms. Vasquez were extremely helpful in making sure all of the ingredients and tools were available for the students.  It was a messy, but exciting activity for the students because they were better able to describe "oobleck" after they had the opportunity to touch it and see it for themselves. 

A Few Hours with An Illustrator

Just over a year ago Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake and we worked together to raise money for their relief efforts.  This year we were lucky enough to have the wonderful illustrator of the story written by Edwidge Danticat, Eight Days: A Story of Haiti. 

Artist/Illustrator, Alix Delinois, who lives and works right here in New York, shared his illustrating experiences with some of our 3rd-5th grade classes.  Mr. Delinois explained how he was given just a month to create the beautiful images seen throughout this inspiring story.  Through the use of acrylic paint he was able to capture the main characters memories of Haiti before being trapped in the rubble.  During Mr. Delinois' presentation our students were able to see his rough sketches and compare them to the final illustrations.  Students were well prepared with questions for Mr. Delinois regarding his childhood, his craft and how he chooses which books to illustrate.  After his presentation he personally autographed books purchased by students and staff.  Some students even stayed in the library and had pizza with Mr. Delinois.  

We all look forward to seeing his next project the story of African American slave, Elizabeth Freeman.  We also hope he will make a return visit next year with his newly illustrated published book.  

Christopher has his signed copy