Students in 3rd and 4th grade heard Maurice Sendak’s classic story, Where the Wild Things Are, read aloud in library classes this month, in preparation for the release of the new feature film. Students love the story of Max and his night of mischief, and joined the wild things in their roaring and gnashing of teeth. We used the book to remind students of the differences between fiction and nonfiction books, and followed up our reading with a search for nonfiction books that could tell us facts & information, rather than entertain us with stories.
4th graders will learn about a new genre each month, and for those learning about fantasy in October, Where the Wild Things Are provided the perfect opportunity to discuss elements of fantasy in fiction. Authors who take the realities of our lives (getting in trouble) and make them into something fantastic (a forest growing in place of the walls in Max’s room) spin magical tales that engage us with their strangeness.
We were fortunate to see two wonderful author presenters this month, hosted by the Teton County Library. Bill Wallace, author of more than 30 books for young people, spoke to 4th and 5th grade students on Tuesday, October 20th. Lucia Gonzalez, Cuban-American author and storyteller, captured the imaginations of our 3rd grade students with her unique performance in English and Spanish.
School is in full swing, and we’re checking out more books than ever. In September alone, more than 3,300 books were checked out!
October 22nd, 2009
Our library classes are off to a quick start this year, with eight third grade classrooms, and 6 classrooms in both 4th and 5th grades. Students are maximizing their book check-outs with books to take Accelerated Reader quizzes on as well as “choice books.” If you’re interested in finding out which titles in our library have quizzes, please check out the PDF lists on our “Readers @ Work” page.
This year’s Indian Paintbrush Award nominee list is quite exciting, and students have been clamoring to read 3 or more titles from the list so that they’ll be able to vote for their favorites in March 2009. We’ve ordered duplicate copies of the titles to help meet high demand.
So far in this year’s library classes we’ve discussed library policies & procedures, learned how fiction and nonfiction are organized, and practiced using the library’s online catalog (Infocentre) to look up a book. Our goal is to help students become independent library users.
In other reading news, several 4th grade classes have visited the library for a “genre talk,” learning about realistic fiction. They were able to check out a realistic fiction novel & many have already completed a classroom project based on what they’ve read. Our next genre will be mystery!
Hard to believe it’s October already, and we’re just getting started! Local author Christian Burch will visit our 5th graders October 14th & 15th to promote his new book and talk about writing. All 3rd grade classes will travel to the Teton County Library to view the Arapaho photo dictionary exhibit “Netniintoonoo ‘The Place Where We Live’” in preparation for our 3rd grade research project on tribes of Native America.
October 13th, 2008
