What's Been Happening in the Library?
This April and early May, we've been busy working with teachers and students on a variety of interesting projects. We've worked with...
- English and creative writing students for a poetry stations activity. In honor of National Poetry Month, students learned about different types of poems and practiced creating them at a variety of stations: book spine poetry (using a rolling cart of intriguingly named library books), found poems (using a ginormous stack of old library magazines), magnetic poetry (using our magnetic poetry board), and concrete/shape poetry (guided by some great examples).
- All five 7th grade English teachers for a reference resources review activity. This lesson was designed to prepare students for SOL questions about the use of atlases, almanacs, thesauruses, dictionaries and encyclopedias. After reviewing their use, looking through book reference resources and comparing and contrasting them to their online versions, students participated in an online interactive Socrative activity to evaluate their understanding.
- Ms. Layton's 7th grade English classes on a multi-media project to showcase their independent reading books. Students were introduced to Adobe Spark Video, and they learned how to search for copyright-friendly media and create storyboards.
- Ms. Mulqueen's 8th grade students for their independent reading book trailer project. Students in this class are also using Adobe Spark Video-- to create short promotional videos for their books. The best book trailers from each of Ms. Mulqueen's classes (according to her students-and us!) will be featured on the library website.
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| Callie's older sister, Tess da Costa, was revered as a saint by her small town due to a series of miraculous-seeming predictions and occurrences. After Tess's untimely death, it seems like the case for her sainthood is a done deal. Callie doesn't buy it. She knew the real Tess, and she's out to prove that, while Tess was a wonderful person, her sister was no saint. Find out more about the book on Amazon. This character-driven mystery will appeal to readers who enjoy a slow burn story with a unique mystery. ***1/2/***** | Since she was born, Maddie has possessed an unusual and disconcerting ability--she can see the death date of every person she meets. This unique skill has always made her an outsider among her peers. More recently, it has landed her in hot water with the local law enforcement after some of her clients start turning up murdered. Find out more about the book on Amazon. I enjoyed the unique premise of this murder mystery, and I think that it would appeal to a wide range of readers. ****/***** | "Ever since she and her brother were abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman sultan’s courts, Lada has known that ruthlessness is the key to survival. For the lineage that makes her and her brother special also makes them targets...The first of an epic new trilogy starring the ultimate anti-princess who... [will] stop at nothing to keep herself and her brother alive..."~Amazon I just picked up this book--review will be forthcoming. It has been selected as one of next year's Virginia Reader's Choice books for high school students. |
This character-driven mystery will appeal to readers who enjoy a slow burn story with a unique mystery. ***1/2/*****
I enjoyed the unique premise of this murder mystery, and I think that it would appeal to a wide range of readers. ****/*****
I just picked up this book--review will be forthcoming. It has been selected as one of next year's Virginia Reader's Choice books for high school students.
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| This former Virginia Reader’s Choice nominee by Gary D. Schmidt is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming, with strong and belieavable character development of a boy navigating life as the new kid in a small town in the late 1960s, with an older brother away fighting in the Vietnam War.****/***** Find out more about this book on Amazon. | The story has an intriguing beginning with the main character Fabiola lost and confused when her mother is detained by immigration on their journey from Haiti to Detroit to stay with her aunt and cousins. Her cousins and their associates are colorful characters and the book has an engaging ending, but the buildup takes a while to move forward. ***/***** Find out more about this book on Amazon. | The sequel to the humorous mystery Space Case by Stuart Gibbs, one of this year’s Middle School Virginia Reader’s Choice books. Dashiell is still on Moon Base Alpha, and this time the commander has gone missing. While the story was as witty and charming as the first, the sequel lacked the edge-of-your seat mystery of investigating a murder in Space Case. ***/****** Find out more about this book on Amazon. |
This former Virginia Reader’s Choice nominee by Gary D. Schmidt is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming, with strong and belieavable character development of a boy navigating life as the new kid in a small town in the late 1960s, with an older brother away fighting in the Vietnam War.****/*****
Find out more about this book on Amazon.
Find out more about this book on Amazon.
Find out more about this book on Amazon.
Jennifer Polidoro
Lisa Hoyle
This is Lisa Hoyle's second year as a librarian at Longfellow Middle School. Lisa has an MLS from the University of Maryland. In her free time she loves reading, traveling, listening to music, and yoga. Some of her favorite books include Harry Potter, The Giver, and The Lunar Chronicles.
