Recently @ Hills Elementary Library
May 2016
LIBRARY LEARNING
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Kindergarten and First grade students finished out the school year with building some listening stamina and enjoying Newbery Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo! We read the first three books in the Mercy Watson series - books about a pig named Mercy who lives with her (human) family and who LOVES hot buttered toast. Students love her and they really think she is a "Porcine Wonder!"
Second, third, and fourth grade students have been spending quality time in the computer lab to learn the art of typing with all 10 fingers! By playing Typing Club.com, students learned how to sit up straight, where to place their fingers on home row, and got started earning badges for speed and accuracy. As students get older, they will be writing more and more often, and more frequently using technology. Though we recognize that keyboarding skills are necessary at this point, most students don't get much practice - there just isn't enough time in the day! Summer is a great time to practice - you can find tons of fun games online! Try ABCya for Alpha Munchies, Typing Race, and Typing Rocket. Or, try DanceMat typing - starring a British goat!
Fifth and Sixth grade students have been working hard to create their own create screencasts to teach others how to use Google or Chromebooks. First, students had to watch videos to see what makes them effective, then plan their own step by step. Using the Chromebooks and extension called Screencastify, they recorded their voices and actions and turned them in using Google Classroom! Check out their videos!
Creating a Culture of Readers
Part of the library’s mission is to create a culture of readers and instill a love of reading and learning in our students, even when school is not in session! To support this mission, students will each visit with their classes to fill up a bag with 10 books for their summer reading enjoyment during the last week of school.
Books can be returned any day the school is open this summer, or can be returned once the next school year starts. Students can even return them to other libraries in Iowa City!
6th graders are invited to visit their future Junior High to select books as well! The libraries at NWJH, SEJH, and NCJH will all be open for two days over the summer from 2-5pm.
Be sure to bookmark this page for a ton of great Summer Reading options!
A Year in Review
A new chapter for Ms. Sims
I have accepted a teacher leadership position in the school district. Though I will remain a half-time librarian at South East Junior High, my other half time will be spent in the role of Instructional Design Strategist of Innovation and Technology. It's a mouthful, but it basically means I will work with a team who travels around the district to help teachers include exciting innovative teaching practices and technology tools in their classrooms. This is something Teacher Librarians have always done, but this new job will give me more time to work directly with teachers and students across the district to implement these ideas.
I will miss my fantastic students and my amazing colleagues here at Hills, but I look forward to this new work. Thanks to everyone who has helped me learn and grow alongside my students, and thank you for supporting our library program!
Thanks for supporting your students and their library program!
Website: http://www.edline.net/pages/Hills_ES/Library
Location: Hills, IA, United States
Twitter: @MsSimsICCSD