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Makey makey

8/28/2015

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We got great news this week!  Our money request for the Maker Space of the Learning Commons was approved. We will be able to start shopping and get that up and running in a few weeks! Yay!! The kids will love it and it will support their mastering of the standards!!

After 4 week of school, it is obvious that everyone has learned the basics of school behavior and is ready to start the learning!

Kindergarten read a silly story this week called Z is for Moose!  it made up laugh. Then we played an alphabet game where we each got a letter of the alphabet and we thought of an animal that started with that letter. Zoo Phonics was a big help, but some friends thought of some great animals on their own.  They did awesome with the ABC's and knowing what came next.

1st grade dug deeper into the differences in reading fiction and non fiction. We talked about how an apple and an orange are both fruits, they are both delicious and good for us, but we have to eat them in different ways.  Then we made the connection that fiction and non fiction need to each be read differently. We looked at Lyle Lyle Crocodile (a fiction story) and Alligators and Crocodiles (a non fiction book) and modeled the way to read each one. 

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2nd grade read a Creek Indian Nation story called The Great Ball Game. We talked about how people have always used stories to answer questions. This story told why Native Americans thought birds flew south in the winter.  
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In 3rd  and 4th grades, students were introduced, or reintroduced to ReadnQuiz. This is a program that allows students to read a book and then take a quiz to check their comprehension. Students earn points on the books they pass. Ask your child about his or her reading quiz goals! 
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Friday, Friday, It's Friday

8/21/2015

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This has been one of those weeks! Each time I get one thing off my list I seem to add 3 more. This is at home as well as at school! Luckily, the biggest part of my day is spent reading and teaching these sweet faces, that no matter how they are for the rest of the day are usually pretty good for the 20 minutes of our story and lesson.


The kindergartners were learning about farm animals this week in their classrooms, so we read a fun book called Book! Book! Book! by Deborah Bruss . In this book, some farm animals are sad when their children friends go back to school, so they try to find something fun to do. After we read this story, we sing a song very similar to Old MacDonald had a Farm. The children love to make the animal sounds and sing along.


First grade got to learn about the non fiction section of the learning commons this week. This is a new area for them to explore, as they stayed in the Everybody section last year. We talked about what a non fiction book is and then we read a great non fiction story called A Baby Elephant in the Wild by Caitlin O'Connell.  We will spend the next few weeks really exploring and learning the differences in fiction and non fiction books.


The older kids have been getting some lessons with Destiny this week. This will allow them to use the learning commons in a much better way. There have also already been some students coming to the learning commons to access Edmodo with an iPad and use the maker space. And 5th grade self check in and out had been a great success. I can't wait to see how our space continues to evolve as the year goes on!






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Welcome Back

8/14/2015

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A busy time of year

It is hard to believe we are back to school and soon the weather will be changing! 
One of the best parts of this job is that it allows me to get to know and work with every student in the school.  I love that I am a part of everyone's learning and growing. We have spent this week seeing everyone for the first time, sharing the changes we have made to the Learning Commons, and reminding everyone of expected behaviors in the Learning Commons. With over 900 students, it has been a very busy week!

In this blog I will share some of the changes we have done as we continue to move to a Learning Commons model.  

We have moved a lot of our books. In a Learning Commons, it is ideal to have a lot of open space in the center of the room.  This is so the space can be used for a variety of purposes.  We are also arranging our books in a Book Store fashion. We are putting similar books together. This is know as Genrification. 

This week in:
Kindergarten: We read the book Library Doors. It is a story written like Wheels on the Bus, so we all read it together.  We learned how to use shelf markers and check out a book.  We learned to always keep our books in our book bag when we aren't reading them to keep them safe!
1st Grade: We read What Happened to Marion's Book. This is a cute story about the Marion the Hedgehog who loves books, but doesn't always take care of them properly.  We learned how to take care of library books when we check them out.
2nd Grade: We read Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians.  This is a fun twist to the classic fairy tale. It tells us how to find a "just right" book.  Ask your 2nd grader about the five finger rule!
3rd Grade: We used the iPads to complete a scavenger hunt in the Learning Commons.  In 3rd grade, students will start to the use the Learning Commons as an extension to their classroom, so this gave them a chance to see the library differently.
4th Grade: I am so excited to do a read aloud with 4th grade this year! We are reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library. This is one of my favorite stories
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    Mrs. Pszczola

    I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in 2nd grade, but I have always loved visiting the library.  After teaching for 11 years, it was time to follow my heart- straight to the library!  I love books!! I read as often as I can, all kinds of books. One of my proudest accomplishments is raising four amazing, book loving children. 

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