Learning Commons Updates
October 2019
Lunch Bunch Book Clubs for Grades 3, 4, and 5
Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 have been invited to participate in a Lunch Bunch Book Club. Our first theme is Mystery/Suspense.
- Grade 5 - November 12
- Grade 4 - November 13
- Grade 3 - November 14
According to Jeffrey Wilhelm, “Pleasure reading is a more powerful predictor than even parental socioeconomic status and educational attainment” (Wilhelm). The social pleasure gained from participating in a book club increases students’ capacities to experience different perspectives, to learn from others, and to feel empathy for and connections to others within the learning community (Wilhelm).
I hope to promote reading for pleasure through the facilitation of this monthly themed book club. A list of students participating will be provided to teachers prior to each meeting date. If you have any questions, or would like to participate, please let me know!
Clifford's Fairy Tale Set
There Was An Old Lady Set
What if You Had . . . Set
Girls Who Code Club
I am excited to launch our first EKD Girls Who Code club and to invite 20 fifth grade girls to participate in this inaugural group. This is a great opportunity for girls to explore computational thinking through coding. Participants will engage with others who are passionate about coding and technology!
Girls Who Code offers a chance for girls to read, discuss, and solve technology challenges that can be done online or offline, and we will definitely be embracing the online format for our club! We will be using Scratch and Scratch Jr. for our coding along with a variety of robotics devices we have here in Learning Commons.
The following passage from the Girls Who Code website will help you better understand the GWC mission:
We are an international nonprofit seeking to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities. Girls Who Code has served over 185,000 students across the U.S. and Canada since launching in 2012. Our alumni major in Computer Science and related fields at a rate 15 times higher than the national average. Half of the girls we have served are from historically underrepresented groups.
We will be meeting on Mondays from 11:35 to 12:35 during the fifth grade lunch/recess block. Participants must be willing to bring their lunches to the Learning Commons and return to their classrooms after recess for 10 Mondays. The club will run from November 11th through January 27th.
Stop by and check out what these girls are up to in the Learning Commons on Mondays!
Professional Resources Added
Also, thanks to our book fair success, hard copies of this series are also being added to our collection for student circulation.
Database and Resource Access
Databases
- CultureGrams (wctys7 | emmak)
- PebbleGo (wctys7 | emmak)
- PebbleGo Next (wctys7 | emmak)
- SIRS (including SIRS Discoverer and Knowledge Source) (wctys7 | emmak)
- TeachingBooks (no username | WCPS1)
- World Book (wctys7 | emmak)
- Safari Montage Students and staff log into Safari Montage using their email address and password.
Other Digital Content
- Capstone Interactive (wctys7ci | emmak)
- Flipster Student Titles (wctys7 | Emmak@20)
- Flipster Professional Titles (wcps | wctys@20)
- Ebooks in our collection (including Lightbox Science titles) can be accessed by teachers and students by logging into Destiny Discover using your username (5/3 combo) and password.
New for 2019-2020 from WCFL and SAILOR!
The public library system and SAILOR have changed their purchased online resources for the 2019-2020 school year. As of July 2019, a variety of Gale products, and Mango Languages, are now available for users across the state. More details are available from your library media specialist and direct links to these resources are available from your school library’s portal page. To access GALE Cengage Databases, use emmak to login.