Middle School Media Minutes
Volume 3 Issue 8 March 2015
Bolich Stats
Days of school: 15 plus one two hour delay
Days of testing in media center (room closed for part or all of the day): 9 days
Number of items circulated: 520
Before school visits: 19
Drop ins outside of scheduled classes: 96
Unscheduled classes: 7
Unscheduled groups: 11
Student assists outside of scheduled classes: 6
New items added to the collection: 105 books, 11 DVDs, 7 periodicals
Classes taught: 0
Roberts Stats
Days of school: 15 plus one two hour delay
Days of testing in media center (room closed for part or all of the day): 9 days
Number of items circulated: 394
Before school visits: 5
Drop ins outside of scheduled classes: 305
Unscheduled classes: 15
Unscheduled groups: 14
Student assists outside of scheduled classes: 61
New items added to the collection: 24 books, 1 DVD, 8 periodicals
Classes taught: 6
Notes
As you can tell, the short month and testing days has drastically dropped the use of the media centers. Bolich’s circulation has dropped by 65% while Roberts decreased by 60%. The loss of student & staff availability (due to tech support & testing) significantly impacted the number of classes taught: Bolich has dropped by 100% and Roberts by 71%. These declines affect reading skills, information literacy, media literacy and technology literacy skills.
Don’t forget: all district assigned iPads must be turned in over spring break for inventory. Please see Chris Van Curen, Ken Marquette or myself for more information and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, include your password so we don’t have to call you while you are sunning on the beach:)
New Resources
· DVDs
- The Science of Imagineering – Energy – Disney’s Imagineer’s reveal “the role energy plays in popular theme park attractions such as Epcot’s Test Track and the Mad Tea Party.” Potential and kinetic energy is also explored. (BO & RO)
- Food Truck Roadblock –by Izzit is a unique look at some of the issues food truck vendors must face in Chicago in order to operate. This nonfiction piece is great for units on economics, politics, entrepreneurship and so much more! (RO)
- Bill Nye the Science Guy: Fluids, Genes, Lakes & Ponds, Motion, Rivers & Streams, Rocks & Soil, and Time – per 8th grade science request (BO)
- Stossel in the Classroom 2014 & 2015: great DVDs which discuss many sides of current issues.
- 2014 includes: College Tuition & Campus Luxuries, Product Liabilities Lawsuits: Who Gets Burned?, High Speed Rail: Boondocks & Boondoggles, The Fracking Debate, Food Nannies: Who Decides What You Eat?, Entrepreneurs: Doing Good by doing Well, The Psychology Behind Political Campaigns and Taxi Licensing: Are We Being Taken for a Ride?
- 2015 includes: Overregulation: When Are There Enough Rules?, Moving Companies: Who Chooses Who Moves Our Stuff? Protecting Endangered Species: A Good Idea Gone Wild? Tough To Get a Lyft? Regulating Your Ride? War on Women: Fact or Fable?, Internship Regulation: Are Unpaid Interns Exploited? Reputation or Regulation: Which Provides Better Consumer Protection? And Electronic Surveillance: What’s Happening to Our Privacy?
- As you can see there are many hot topics here especially for the 8th graders who write persuasive essays. These make great sources for their projects! Teacher Guides in print and electronic formats are also available to use these in lessons. (RO & BO)
- Santa’s Magical Stories – Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Leprechauns’ Christmas Gold, Pinocchio’s Christmas, The Year Without a Santa Claus, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey, Jack Frost, A Miser Brothers’ Christmas and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July – because everyone needs a little break around the holidays. (BO)
· ebooks
- Discover Ancient Egypt, Discover Ancient Mesopotamia & Discover Ancient China – all part of the Discover Ancient Civilizations series, print and unlimited ebook access (ebook access currently only available at RO) allows an entire class to check the book out at the same time. These books include full color maps, pictures, timelines and diagrams as they cover basic information about each time period such as family life, government and art/culture. (RO)
- Algebra & Pre-Algebra It’s Easy – By Rebecca Wingard-Nelson print and unlimited ebook access (ebook access currently only available at RO) allows an entire class to check the book out at the same time. Covers manipulating integers, rational numbers and more with colorful pictures and diagrams to help support directions. (RO)
· Nonfiction
- Get a Job Helping Others by Ryan Jacobson – guides tweens & teens as they set out looking for their first paid job. Includes a section on social media, parting words, a glossary and more. (BO & RO)
- Biological Engineering by Melissa Abramovitz - Readers learn everything from bio engineering’s past to current state (good and bad) along with its projected future. Includes full color pictures, graphs and illustrations, projects, source notes, additional resources and more. (BO & RO)
- The Best Teen Writing of 2014 Sponsored by The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, this book is a compilation of middle and high school award winners from across the country. Showcasing memoirs, poetry, persuasive pieces and almost every genre you can think of these young writers will someday be the authors you find on library & book store shelves. These short installments make great examples of what you are looking for in your assignments! (RO)
- Frozen in Time: Clarence Birdseye’s Outrageous Idea about Frozen Food by Mark Kurlansky Learn about how Birdseye’s interest in food preservation lead him to develop and patent his ingenious frozen food process which we all benefit from (and use) every day. A great read for those looking for your next biography, career choice (business/science/many others he enjoyed), or science book. (BO & RO)
- Matters of Opinion: Cheating by Bonnie Szumski covers not only what cheating is, but society’s role in it as well as how to write your own essay on it. Includes notes, a glossary, bibliography, index and about the author. Everything students need as a great source for a persuasive writing piece is included here. (BO & RO)
· Fiction
- The Crossover by Kwame Alexander – the 2015 Newbery award winner – this wonderfully written story in verse takes the reader through JB’s middle school story as he and his twin brother lead their basketball team on the court. Complete with first time girlfriends and parent health issues this beautifully crafted and humorous multicultural novel will draw readers in and keep them reading. My pick for the Book Brackets winner at Bolich! (BO & RO)
· Professional
- Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work by Richard & Rebecca DuFour et al. As requested by the Roberts PLC committee, this book assists educators with “transforming their schools into professional learning communities”. (RO)
· Reference (Not to Circulate)
- Superman the Complete History by Les Daniel– Beautiful! A great addition for comic book lovers! (BO)
- Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross by Chip Kidd & Geoff Spear– covers tons of characters in various art forms (sketch, comic, statue, photography, textile etc.) from creation through what we know today. (BO)
Did you ever try to access the district website at Cfalls.org from home and receive an error? Try accessing it from our old site: http://www.cfalls.summit.k12.oh.us/ often works in lieu of the Cfalls address.
Charts, Graphs & Stats, Oh My!
Want to give your kiddos more practice with real life graphs, charts or statistics? The master of numbers (our own Federal Government) has several sites you can search for just the right one:
- · Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/ - releases statistics on everything related to the workforce, the economy, spending etc. since records first started. They cover all sectors of the country as well as all types of employment and employees.
- · Government Printing Office: http://www.gpo.gov/ contains stats and information on all types of government business including budgets, congressional hearing and more. There is an option to receive paper copies from this office also.
- · Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/ one of my favorites because the Library of Congress includes original primary documents for kids to analyze and interpret.
- · Census: http://www.census.gov/ this site includes information on geography, populations, government budgets and much much more. Options include infographics, maps, blogs and more.
The Kindles are Finally Ready to GO!
They circulate for two weeks with no renewal periods. Users must have a signed Kindle Agreement on file prior to checking any device out.
Roberts 1, 2 & Bolich 2 contain: The Maze Runner & The Eye of the Minds – both from James Dashner
Bolich 1: The entire Maze Runner Series by James Dashner (The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, The Kill Order), Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, The Cay by Theodore Taylor, Stone Fox by John Renolds Gardiner & The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis.
Content is currently being funded through recycled ink cartridges so please be kind to both the ereaders and the land fill by recycling those in both media centers. We will add more content based on funding and demand.
Karen Gedeon
Middle School Media Specialist
The Media Center - The Heart of Every Successful School
Check out a review of every book I've read at:www.shelfari.com/kgedeon2
Email: cf_gedeonk@cfalls.org
Website: cfallsmsmediactr.weebly.com
Phone: 330-926-3809 502414