Lowell Library Newsletter
December 2019
Learning Activities in the Library
PreK and Kindergarten
Kindergarten students examined fiction and nonfiction books noting what makes one type different from another. They also worked on basic computer skills such as navigating on a computer with skill by creating shapes and selecting different options from a menu.
First Grade
First graders worked on more basic computer skills and mastering mouse skills. Students opened and closed a program, drag and dropped images, resized images to fit a space, moved up and down through program menus, saved and opened a document of their own, learned to erase and undo mistakes, and how to save and open a document. These skills were practiced while creating an alphabet chart along with images to correlate with each letter of the alphabet.
Second Grade
Second graders took on the role of codebreakers this past month. After learning how information is organized in the fiction and picture book sections of the library, students learned to decode nonfiction call numbers in order to locate an informational book on the library shelves. Going further, they located a book in the library catalog and found it on the shelves.
Third Grade
Third graders had a busy month keyboarding and wrapping up our Google Docs exploration discovering formatting tools and how to insert images. They started Google slides diving into menus and other functions they can use with all Google apps.
Fourth Grade
Fourth grade started keyboarding while learning about copyright and the responsibilities we have as users of information online. This wrapped our Digital Citizenship unit examining personal safety, online tracks and responsible information use.
Fifth Grade
Fifth grade wrapped up our unit on evaluating web pages and understanding how we need to be critical thinkers to sort through the vast amounts of information we encounter each day. Next up is how to craft better searches for more accurate result lists.
Teacher Book Request Form
If you have a book or subject that you would like to see added to the library use this form to submit your requests.
Book Fair: Thank you PTO!
A huge thank you to the PTO for supporting the students and the library with the book fair! This year, we tried a new vendor to provide the fair. If you have any thoughts or feedback please fill out the following survey.
Missing Library Books
Please check your personal libraries and classrooms for Lowell Library books. Over the last two years, many books have gone "missing" from the library collection and are not checked out. Our yearly inventory did not discover these books misshelved in other parts of the library so we are asking the school to check spaces to see if any of the books can be located. Many of these books are well-loved and requested titles. Some are parts of a book series. They are picture books, chapter books, nonfiction, and graphic novels. Library books are marked on their spine with call numbers and a barcode on the back with the library name. Your help is greatly appreciated!
New Books to the Library
New Kid
by Jerry Craft
Stuff of Stars
by Marion Dane Bauer
It Ain't So Awful, Falafel
by Firoozeh Dumas
Hour of Code
Each year during the second week of December, students all over the world spend one-hour coding. The goals are for students to see that coding is a useful skill they can learn and fun. Students engage in a variety of different activities that challenge their problem-solving and communication skills through the use of block program puzzles. More advanced students are able to choose activities suitable to their level of experience. Other activities can include programmable bots to play learning games, Lego WeDo robotics kits, and online coding at hourofcode.org.
WeDo Robot Building
Using the Lego kit, students built a rover and programmed it using simple instructions.
During CS-Ed week I Learned...
I learned...
Coding isn't always so easy
JR Lowell Library
Email: kelly.mccollum@watertown.k12.ma.us
Website: lowelllibrary.com
Location: 175 Orchard Street, Watertown, MA, USA
Phone: 617.926.7700
Twitter: @jrlowellreads