April 2014
HMS Library Media Center Update
Busy, Busy, Busy!
Students Lining Up to Join the Shelf Challenge
Mrs. McGee's Shelf Challenge List
Mrs. Roy's Shelf Challenge List
Shelf Challenge
On Twitter I read that librarians and other adults in the country were taking the #shelfchallenge during the month of April. This means that adults are choosing one section of the library (for example, the 300s or the Fiction section with "L" last name authors ) and are trying to read a book from that section of the library every day in the month of April.
I changed it up a bit to meet the needs of all the students and adults at Hampden Meadows by challenging everyone to pick up a new book every day (the book could be from the school library, the classroom library, your home, the public library, etc.) and read the book jacket and/or back cover. Once you've done that you record the title on a Shelf Challenge sheet.
Why would we do this? Well, the hope and intent is that by putting a new book in your hands every day during the month of April you'll find a few whose book jacket/back cover summaries intrigue you enough to want to read them. Many adults and students reported that this happened to them quite often.
Some teachers made the Shelf Challenge part of their students' homework for the month. Some adults chose to post their Shelf Challenge lists publicly to remind students and adults that we as a community of child and adult learners value literacy.
Many students have chosen to do the Shelf Challenge because they thought it would be fun. It has certainly generated some excitement about books over the past month and for that I am grateful!
Fifth Graders writing a Review from their Top Ten List
Grade Five Favorite Titles
Grade Five Favorite Titles continued
Grade Five...last one!
Grade Four Favorite Titles
Grade Four Favorite Titles continued
Reading Week "Experiment with a Good Book"- April 7-11
HMS Reading Week was chock full of activities. Our loyal school mascot Paws greeted students on the playground to celebrate their first day of Reading Week. Every student received a Reading Week pencil courtesy of the HMS Student Council. Each morning a teacher read a trivia question over the intercom and winners were announced at the end of each day. Winners of the trivia contest won gift cards generously donated by Barrington Books. Student winners of the science poetry contest read their poems aloud each morning over the intercom. Fifth graders wrote book trivia questions for online trivia questions each day. Every class generated their own "Top Ten Titles" every student should read. Fifth graders even wrote reviews for their books. All of these lists can be found at http://hampdenmeadowslibrary.weebly.com.
Students shared animoto book trailers and book reviews from their blogs on the big screen during all lunches. Some classes walked over to Sowams School to read to students in the K-3 grades. Many classrooms invited "Mystery Readers" to come in each day for a read aloud session. Students enjoyed guessing which parent was coming based on the three clues they provided the teacher to share with the class. Many students came looking to take out titles that were shared by a parent during read aloud.
We are very lucky to have a community (both within the walls of our building and outside the walls) that eagerly shares in the excitement of Reading Week to make it such a memorable event for our students.
Blackout Poetry
Spine poetry
Poetry Display
Haiku poem for Math and Science Night
Fifth graders working on their Haiku poem
Haiku poem for Math and Science Night
April is Poetry Month
Poetry is a form of writing that can be enjoyed by people of any age. If you don't believe me, just ask Mrs. Cavaco, one of our fabulous teacher assistants. She had just as much fun as the kids creating spine poems!
We experimented with three different forms of poetry this month.
Spine Poems- You search the shelves for interesting messages on spines that you can put together for a unique poem by stacking the books one on top of the other. The kids had an absolute blast trying this! The library was a complete mess but kids put their hands on titles they normally would not have picked up. Many students ended up checking out titles after this informal "book look."
Blackout Poems- You search through a photocopied page of text for words that stand out to you. You either circle or box in those words to create your own poem. You "black out" the rest by coloring over the other words so your chosen words stand out. It is fun to see how many different poems you can get from the same text.
Haiku- Haiku is an ancient Japanese form of poetry usually written about nature. It is very specific in that it has 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third line. This means that when describing your nature topic you must be smart and strategic with your words. Haiku was a natural fit for displaying math and science books in the library for Math and Science Night. Students had the opportunity to choose a book of their choice, do a picture walk for inspiration, and create a Haiku either with a partner(s) or independently. Again, many students chose to check their book out at the end of the period because of this informal "book look."
Letters About Literature Winners
New Titles This Month
Special thanks to the HMS PTO for providing us with new graphic novels, additions to well-loved series, and a brand new series to the library.
Eggs with Peer Recommendations
Library Statistics
Between April 1 and April 25:
Total Books: 11,672
Total Circulations: 1,379
Total Holds Placed: 112
TitleAuthorCall #Circulations
1. International wildlife encyclopedia Burton, Maurice, 1898-REF 59022
2. Because of Mr. Terupt Buyea, Rob.F BUY17
3. Greetings from nowhere O'Connor, Barbara.F OCO14
4. When you reach me Stead, Rebecca.F STE13
5. The Fantastic Secret Of Owen Jester O'Connor, Barbara.F OCO12
6. Finally Mass, Wendy, 1967-F MAS11
7. Sidekicks Santat, Dan.741.5 SAN11
8. Hatchet Paulsen, Gary.F PAU9
9. Amulet. Book five, Prince of the elves Kibuishi, Kazu, 1978-741.5 KIB8
10. Amulet. Book three, The cloud searchers Kibuishi, Kazu, 1978-741.5 KIB8