Media Musings

Some changes in the Media Center this fall!

If you regularly use the Media Center for small groups or meetings, it is imperative that you check with Media Center staff before scheduling your event.

As many of you know by now, Hayes was split into an Intermediate and Primary school effective FY 2010.   The Media Center has always been a popular place to hold large gatherings and scheduling has been a challenge at times.  Now, multiply that times two.   Please check availability with us before securing administration approval for special events.  We'd greatly appreciate it.

We also had a number of teachers changing grade levels.   I fully expect my "regulars" to continue to utilize Media Center resources in their new grade levels.   It will be interesting to see how usage patterns change and new customer needs emerge.

I'm also happy to report that despite the economic downturn, the county continues to fund our media center budgets.  This means your students will continue to enjoy new books and have access to updated reference materials. 

Finally, we have a staffing change in the Media Center.  Please welcome Mrs. Cathy Spencer, our new media parapro.  (Ask about her new granddaughter if you want to get on her good side!)  Don't worry - Mrs. LaRosa is still around.  She'll be helping Mrs. Day and Mrs. Morgan next year as a kindergarten parapro.

Enjoy the rest of your summer vacation.  See you in a month!

Mrs. Kent

 

Surfing in to Summer Reading - 2009 Edition

SURF - Cobb County School District's Summer Reading Lists

Just what you've been waiting for.....the SURF summer readings lists have been updated for 2009!Please click on the grade level your child will be entering in August to retrieve the desired list. 

Kindergarten               First                Second 

Third                  Fourth                 Fifth

Any of these titles may be found at any bookstore or the public library.

Cobb County Public Library Summer Reading Program Activities

The Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS) invites youth to be creative and expressive as part of the annual summer reading program that kicks off June 1 and runs through Aug. 1.

The CCPLS schedule is full of free activities for the Cobb County community including:

• Summer activities for children
• Storytimes and crafts for children
• Workshops for teenagers
• A chance to win prizes and give-a-ways; the library system staff wants to challenge readers in grades 6-12 to read a book, write a review, and enter a name for an MP3 Player or a Barnes and Noble gift certificate.
• A chance to register and earn free Hawks or Thrashers tickets for children K-12

Participants in the program can also attend a free end-of-summer celebration taking place Aug. 1 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. at the Central Public Library in Marietta. The bash involves storytelling, games and crafts.  

Join the summer reading program and receive a free reading register. Use the register to track family reading progress. To sign up, visit any CCPLS branch, where program packets and event schedules are available.

For event details visit one of the 17 Cobb County libraries or logon to www.cobbcat.org.

Don't forget about Tumble Books!

April Lessons and Upcoming Events

Kindergarten & First Grade -  Students will get to exercise their flair for the dramatic as they act out various skits in our new puppet theater.

Second Grade - Share Tight Times with classes and discuss basics of economic cycle and how savings/spending affect the economy.  Generate ideas on how students can help their families make it through these tough economic times.

Third - CRCT practice review and test taking hints.  Also model part of Study Island as part of review of social studies Greece/early democracy standards.

Fourth - Reinforce Destiny usage with book selection.

Fifth - Name That Source - Students pair up and answer series of questions using www.factmonster.com.   Students practice following directions, teamwork and applying what they indicate they know from our earlier reference beach ball toss game.  Winning team members each receive ice cream from cafeteria (courtesy of me).

Important Dates:

5/1 -Last day for student check-out
5/6- All student books due
5/11-5/13 - Scholastic Book Fair - 50% off fair!  8:00  a.m. to 2 p.m. daily

February Library Happenings

This month sees the Media Center hosting several events including the Science Fair, Volunteer Brunch and the Star Lab.   This will definitely affect the availability of some Media Center resources, but we'll work around it as we usually do.

Here's what we're studying this month in the Media Center:

K - President's Day - We'll tie in with the classroom discussions regarding the history of the holiday, the men whose birthdays we celebrate and upon which money their faces appear, plus we'll share a rhyming story called George Washington's Teeth.

1st - Nonfiction/Informational Text or Intro to Dictionaries - Students will review characteristics of fiction and nonfiction text and apply their knowledge to an activity using our interactive whiteboard.  Those working on dictionary skills will learn the information a dictionary contains, how the information is arranged and practice looking up simple words.

2nd - Library Mayhem in the Nonfiction Section. Building on our nonfiction lessons last month, we'll laugh it up sharing library related jokes along with an introduction to the Dewey Decimal System and arrangement of nonfiction sections in the library - starting with joke books in the 818's.  Students will have a chance to read selected joke books and share their favorite riddles with their classmates.

3rd - Guide Words help guide the way/Dictionary & Thesaurus

4th - Thesaurus & Almanacs

5th -  Just the Facts with Almanacs/Reference Review Beach Ball Toss - Parents - if you want to know what "reference" book to buy that your child will actually want  to read - buy him/her a copy of the 2009 World Almanac for Kids.  This was one of their favorite reference lessons and they keep begging us to check-out the almanacs.   Our beach ball toss game is a way to assess reference book knowledge in a non-threatening environment.  Students toss a ball to each other and the "catcher" must answer a "real-life" question as to which source he/she would consult to find the information needed to answer the question.    I strongly encourage you to dust off those phone books and pick up the occasional newspaper (if you don't already subscribe), just so your child can see the information included in each information source.   These two items have appeared as  answer choices on publicly released editions of the CRCT.

December Library Lessons

Oh, the winter holidays are fast approaching!  A fun activity to do with your children is to explore holidays celebrated at this time of year:  Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan and various New Year's celebrations.  World Book hosts a website called Holidays Around the World that provides a great overview the major celebrations in December and January.

Thanks to everyone who supported us with our Book Fair this year.  Even with the tough economy, our Hayes community really showed that it supports our Media Center and its programs.   Much of our fundraising efforts go to purchase books, software and instructional supplies that our state and local funding do not cover. 

December Library Lessons (collaboratively planned with entire grade level):

Kindergarten & First Grade:  Share favorite holiday stories such as  The Polar Express.  If time allows, first grade will also view a multimedia presentation on Lewis & Clark.

Second Grade:  Informational Writing using Encyclopedias.

Third Grade:  Georgia Animals, Habitats and the Big 6 - an introduction to the Research Process.

Fourth and Fifth Grades - Lessons as per individual teacher request.

November Library Lessons

Although it wasn't specifically mentioned in my posting of last month's library lessons, we did discuss the presidential election process and the candidates during our library lessons.  I was very pleased to see that even our first graders knew the names and faces of both presidential candidates.  I don't think Ms. Lockner or I will ever forget the extremely heated Obama/McCain debate between two students in her third grade class.   Do we have future politicians in our midst?

Some parents  remarked that they were pleasantly surprised to see that we had Obama and McCain books in our collection.   This was just one small part of the nearly $8,000 I spent on new books this fall.  Our kids get excited about new books and some of ours were literally worn out.  Ask to see what your child is reading.

November is actually a short month for lessons in the Media Center thanks to Book Fair and Thanksgiving Break.  Anyway, here's what we're studying this month:

Kindergarten:  Veteran's Day or Thanksgiving

First Grade:  Meet Thomas Jefferson

Second Grade:  Thanksgiving in Early Georgia

Third Grade:  The Wide World of Reference

Fourth Grade:  Travel the USA, Going Grolier and/or  Traditional Literature

Fifth Grade:  Nothing specific, lessons arranged by teacher request

September/October Library Lessons

Note:  My lessons typically tie-in with the Social Studies standards, unless we are concentrating on a specific information resource or skill.

Here's what we're studying in the Media Center this month:

Kindergarten  - Our focus is The World Around Us (Map, Globe, Continents) & Holidays
*Story-time:  Somewhere in the World Right Now by Stacey Schuettz
*Hands on Map Activities
*Holiday Story-time:  Shake Dem Halloween Bones by W. Nikola-Lisa

First -   First Biographies
*A first look at biographies, what they are and their location within the library.
*Story-time:  John, Paul, George & Ben by Lane Smith                              

Second - Georgia on My Mind
*Share Yumion stories by Pam Alexander
*Introduction to Cobb Virtual Library for researching basic Georgia facts.

Third - Destiny Scavenger Hunt
*An introduction/review of our online catalog - Destiny.
   Students will pair up for a hands-on scavenger hunt using Destiny.
* Followed by introduction to Dewey Decimal System.

Fourth -  The Economic Cycle & Me  PLUS a 2 session Geography Review
*See how the money flows from your purchase of an item back through the supply chain to the shareholder.  Review terms like supply, demand, savings, investment, interest & dividend.  View an actual stock certificate from an Atlanta-based company.  Also discuss economic cycle in relation to Media Center's own budget with book purchases.

*Review of atlases, maps & globes with culiminating activity playing our version of The Amazing Race, as we jet around the globe.

Fifth -  Information Sources & Resources
*Begin a lengthy series of collaborative lessons on various reference tools - both print & electronic.  Topics include website evaluation, search strategies, best tool to use in a particular  situation, bibliographies, citing sources, plaigarism, and copyright.  These lessons will be incorporated into classroom projects at the teacher's request.

Technological Wonders...How Everything Old is New Again

Enjoy some tongue-in-cheek humor as we start the new school year!

Source/Author:  Unknown

Wonderful New Product

Announcing the new Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge device, otherwise known as the BOOK. 

It's a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disk. 

Here's how it works: each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. By using both sides of each sheet, manufacturers are able to cut costs in half. 

Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. The BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it. The "Browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Most come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval. 

An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. 

Portable, durable and affordable, the BOOK is the entertainment wave of the future, and many new titles are expected soon, due to the surge in popularity of its programming tool, the Portable Erasable-Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language stylus [PENCIL].

E-Audio Books or Books on Tape for the Digital Age

Do you like to listen to books on tape or CD as you ride in the car?  Do you prefer to listen to the radio as you go about your daily routine instead of turning on the television?  Do you (or your kids) own an iPod or mp3 player? 

Read on...

One of the library vendors recently gave me a "Play-A-Way" to try with staff and students.  It's essentially a book preloaded onto an mp3  player.  Reviews were fabulous.  I will definitely consider adding a few of these items to our collection next year. 

As I was investigating this new digital format, I discovered some less expensive alternatives that parents and our more tech savvy students may want to try over the summer.  Did you know you can check-out e-audio books from the Cobb County Public Library or through CVL/Galileo for a 3 week period for free?  You can listen to them on your home computer or your compatible iPod/mp3 device.  All that's required is either a library card or the CVL passwords and a high speed internet connection.   You don't have to worry about returning the book or overdue fines either.  The "license" to play the downloaded book automatically expires after 21 days.  You merely delete the file from your media player after it expires.

If you are someone who prefers to keep copies of your audio books on a permanent basis, you might want to look at www.audible.com.  For a monthly membership fee, you can download books that never expire.  I received a free trial to Audible with my recent GPS purchase.   The GPS plays mp3 files, so my family will be listening to selected audiobooks as we travel this summer.   

Summer Reading Fun!

Although you're on vacation for a few weeks, don't take a break from reading.  READ!  READ! READ!

Cobb County Schools features its S.U.R.F. (Summer Reading is Fun!) program by grade level to give you an idea of age appropriate books and fun activities to do with your child.  Simply click on the grade level your child will be in the fall to retrieve the related S.U.R.F. document. 

   Kindergarten      First     Second       Third       Fourth        Fifth

The Cobb County Public Library also offers a summer reading program.  Students who read a certain number of books and complete the required activities will receive an invitation to attend an awesome end-of-summer party at the main library in downtown Marietta.   Check out their website for information:  http://www.cobbcat.org

You might also sneak-a-peek at the nominee list for the Georgia Children's Book Awards for the upcoming school year.  How many books can you read?

Georgia Children's  Storybook Awards 2008-09 (picture books)   (Grades K-4)

Georgia Children's Book Awards 2008-09 (chapter books)  (Grades 4-8, some titles may be more appropriate for middle school)

Have a safe, fun summer!

Cordially,
Mrs. Kent