Spring Library News
Susan Anhold, Librarian
Virginia Readers' Choice
Kindergarten
First Grade
Second Grade
We read about animals who have helped each other in great times of need in the books Owen and Mzee by Isabel Hatkoff and The Two Bobbies by Kirby Larson. We learned all the ways an oak tree can give back to us in Alvin Tressalt's The Gift of the Tree and how one boy created his own society based on one plant in the fiction book Weslandia by Paul Fleischman. We saw how not all frog eggs are laid in the water nor do all tadpoles develop into frogs in the water in Hip Pocket Papa by Sandra Markle and Frog Song by Brenda Guiberson.
Third Grade
We spent more time with World Book, one of our online encyclopedias. The kids did a brief research paper associated with Imogene's Last Stand by Candace Fleming and then spent time on their own exploring all the different features of this database. For earth day we read Here Comes the Garbage Barge by Jonah Winter based on the adventures of a real garbage barge trip in 1987.
Fourth Grade
In Malala, a Brave Girl From Pakistan/Iqbal, a Brave Boy From Pakistan by Jeanette Winter, the students learn of two young heroes and their civil rights fight for children. We visited the moon in One Giant Leap by Robert Burleigh and watched video of the first moon landing. They learned of Galileo in Starry Messenger by Peter Sis and Pluto's Secret by Margaret Weitekamp told of the reclassification of Pluto. We looked at two Japanese folk tales, Bokuden and the Bully by Stephen Krensky and Three Samurai Cats by Eric Kimmel, to learn a lesson on dealing with bullies.
Fifth Grade
After spring break, fifth graders finished their windmills. They discovered it was not necessarily easy to get the "blades" to turn when a fan blew on them. We also finished our lessons on internet safety from Common Sense Media. These lessons concentrated on talking online safely, privacy, cyberbullying and stereotypes.