GCS School Library Media News
February 2017
Book Love at Chavis Middle
It is February and love is in the air. Love for books, that is! Our bulletin board for the month states that "books are candy for the mind." Our students are having a great time stapling candy hearts with the names of the books they love onto the board. More are coming in every day, we might need to make our board bigger! What book would you put on our board?
We are also promoting our new books by placing them as "blind dates" around the library. The only information they are given is the AR reading level, point value, and interest level. The color of the heart tells them if the main character is a girl (pink) or boy (white) or a group (yellow). Not only does this get the new books into student hands, it also causes many students to try something new and different from what they normally read!
Submitted by Terri Hoyle, SLMC John Chavis MIddle
Book-A-Lunch
Food and drink are usually a no-no in the library, but that has changed on Friday afternoons at Rankin. What started out as a single lunch with a student last year has turned into a weekly tradition. I had so many students coming by and asking to have lunch, that I set out a Book-a-Lunch box. Second through fifth graders can leave me a slip with their name and lunch time. I pull out the name of a new lunch buddy every week. The student selected brings along a friend. It is a relaxing and fun time getting to know these amazingly diverse students. This has been a great opportunity to not only discuss book interests and school events, but to get to know my students and their lives and hobbies outside of the classroom. I can now help them find books and school clubs that highlight their interests and talents. Other teachers are now taking time to have lunch with small groups in the media center too. A little down time with students goes a long way to fostering mutual respect and kindness in the school community.
Warm Up with a Good Book
Submitted by Shaunda Camp, SLMC WB Beam Intermediate
Celebrating Reading
McAdenville Elementary had their 2nd 9 weeks AR Party on January 27, 2017. All students who made their AR goal for the 2nd 9 weeks were treated to a light snack and an afternoon of BINGO. Prizes included watches, tote bags, arts and craft items, as well as candy! Wesley the Wildcat the school mascot even made an appearance and played a round of BINGO with us!
Submitted by Kirsten Marett, SLMC McAdenville Elementary
Putting Some “Pow” in Your Presentations
If you and your students are bored with the usual presentation software like Powerpoint and Google Slides, give Powtoon a try. Powtoon is a cloud based presentation software that is fun to use and offers some really cool animation, narrator voiceover and audio options. It allows you to layer photos, clipart, videos and much more. Powtoon can be used for the same types of projects as Powerpoint but it is much more aesthetically pleasing, user friendly, and fun for students (and teachers)! I can think of so many neat ways to use it. A few right off the top of my head are:
creating commercials.
introducing yourself to new classes.
book reviews.
animated video lessons.
how to lessons.
debate presentations.
review games.
informational presentations.
For anyone who has never used Powtoon, I’ve shared my directions with screenshots, as well as, the schedule I follow to teach Powtoon. The Powtoon lessons follow research in the media center so it does take several days for the students to complete the projects. Depending on the teacher’s timeframe, I usually allot 1 ½ -2 weeks for research and creating the Powtoon presentations.
Students Connect With Authors
Submitted by Ann Davis, SLMC Bessemer City Central
Students are Chllin with a Good Book at Beam Intermediate