Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Book Review

Dewey is Back!

Dewey has returned to the Jordan Bank Library!  The children really need to teach him how to properly take care of library books.  Can you spot three things that Dewey is doing wrong with his library book?  I think Dewey may wind up on the naughty list if he continues to treat his books this way. 

A told B, and B told C, " These kids know books have order in the library!"

The children began to learn how important it is to use a shelf marker in order to keep our library books in ABC Order. (AASL1.1.4) (CC1.1.A PK-K)  With the help of the Alphabet Boogie-Brain Break, Blue from Blues Clues, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom  by Bill Martin Jr., the children were asked to recall the name of the special order we keep our books organized.  We created a wall of fame outside the library with the list of the children who answered admit ticket correctly.

Stop by and see it.  It is filled with names!

Pumpkins Galore!

What a Great Pumpkin Decorating Contest!  Miss. Landers, our art teacher had a difficult time judging almost 30 entries.  Children won prizes in the following categories: Most Original Pumpkin, Best Book Character Look a Like Pumpkin, and People's Choice Pumpkin.  Congratulations to all of our Pumpkin Participants!

Book circulation and beyond!

What an exciting week at the Jordan Bank Library!  We begin book circulation this week.  Children will be introduced to finding an interesting book.  They will put this newly acquired skill to the test to find an interesting book they wish to borrow for the week.  Please remember that only children who have returned the permission slip for library book circulation will be taking a library book home.  If you have misplaced this form, you can find it to the right of our blog posting in pages.

Also this week in the library we look forward to entries for our annual Book Character Pumpkin Decorating Contest.  Pumpkins can be dropped off throughout the remainder of this week.  Judging will begin at noon on Friday with winners announced at dismissal.  Good Luck.  We love the creativeness of our families who enter this contest.

Book Fair Schedule

We welcome parents and families to our Scholastic Book Fair through out October 6-9th.
Our hours of operation are:
Tuesday 8:30-3:00
with Mrs. Black's and Mrs. Verikakis' class
Wednesday: 12:00-3:00
with Mrs. Baughman's, Mrs. Malinowski's, and Mrs. Clark's classes
Thursday 8:30-3:00
with Miss. Foster's, Mrs. Wilkinson's, and Mrs. Diamond's classes
Friday 12:00-3:00
with Mr. Baughman's, Mrs. Trotter's, and Mr. Nelms' classes

One of the most exciting times is arriving at the Jordan Bank Library!  It's Book Fair Time.  This fall book fair will prove to be the monster of all book fairs.  Children will begin previewing selected titles this week during library.  We will do book talks, and meet selected authors through the use of Scholastic promotional material.  The book fair proves to be one of the biggest fundraisers for the Jordan Bank Library.  All the money earned goes right back into purchasing library books and library materials.  Children will bring home a book fair selection guide during library this week.  Please know this is just a small sampling of the books available at the fair.  Shopping will begin the week of October 5-9.  Children will return to the library to purchase items during their regularly scheduled library time.  We will also be hosting morning hours on Tuesday and Thursday  October 6, and October 8,  if you wish to make purchases with your children.  Most of the Scholastic books are priced reasonably.  If you send at least $5.00 with your child(ren) they will be able to purchase an age appropriate, high interest reading book.

What's wrong?

This week the children were introduced to the Polyvision Smartboard.  We did a warm up by visiting the Berenstain Bears Tree House to identify things that were wrong in the tree house.  I reminded children that it is wrong to let your pets near your library book, it is wrong to read your library book while you eat, it is wrong to color in your library book, and it is wrong to read your book with dirty hands.  Once this was established the children were introduced to my own altered copy of Arthur's Computer Disaster by Marc Brown.  This poor book has been through the wringer.  It has maple syrup stuck to the pages, it has a huge foot print on a page, pages are ripped and taped back together and one page is even colored on!  The children leave library knowing that this is a book disaster and that it is very wrong to treat any book this way.

We Don't Want you to.......

This week we are jumping into our book care routine.  The children are making connections to Beatrice Doesn't Want To by Laura Numeroff.  We use this book to springboard our discussion on things we do not want the children doing with their library books.
The children learn that:

• we don't want them eat with their library book
• we don't want them to let their pets read the library book
• we don't want them to  color in their library book
• we don't want them to read their library book with dirty hands

The children love this book and help read along as they become the main character who always says
"I don't want to!"  I can't imagine you ever hearing those words from your children!

This year at Jordan Bank Library with have a fixed schedule.  This means that your children will have library instruction the same day every week.  This makes it easy to remember what day library books are due.  We are hoping to see less lost and missing books with this new schedule.

Tuesday:
Mrs. Black
Mrs. Verikakis

Wednesday:
Mrs. Baughman
Mrs. Malinowski
Mrs. Clark

Thursday:
Miss. Foster
Mrs. Wilkinson
Miss. Smith

Friday:
Mr. Baughman
Miss. Trotter
Mr. Nelms

Back to School Event 2015

Welcome to Jordan Bank Library-Media Center!  Our library has over 5000 titles in our collection with high-interest, curriculum connected texts.  Our library materials were selected by textbook supplemental materials, teacher recommendations, as well as my own personal research from trusted Library Journals.

Our library funds come from a variety of sources including library grants, annual budget, and the ever popular Scholastic Book Fair.  The book fair is held twice in the school year, with a culminating district-wide Buy-One-Get-One Free event held at the end of the school year at a remote location.  All purchases made at the book fair support the Jordan Bank Library.  With this fundraiser we have added to our collection various resources including: books, carpets and furniture, and even a document camera.

Through the course of this school year the children can look forward to the Jordan Bank Library annual family pumpkin decorating contest, a fall and a spring Scholastic Book Fair with a visit from Clifford, as well as the Jordan Bank Library 2nd annual book-swap.  Keeping checking the blog for more information!

Welcome to the herd!

You have heard of the Golden Globes, you have been dazzled by the red carpet attire at the Academy Awards, and you have been  swooned by the voices at the annual Grammy's, but have you heard about the annual LLAMA Award?  The LLAMA Award is a year end award created by myself, Mrs. Lewin. It is the Lewin's Library Award for Media Achievement. This is the 12th year the coveted LLAMA Award has been presented.  Past recipients span two states and include an art teacher, elementary school teachers, content area specialists, and several kindergarten teachers.  The criteria for this award is to show exemplar use of the library facilities.  This includes and is not limited to: multiple book circulation for instructional purposes, book circulation for entertainment purposes, recommendation for future purchases, as well as being a good digital citizen of library resources.  It is truly an honor to present the 2014-2015 LLAMA award to Ms. Laura Shaw, Jordan Bank's ESL teacher.  She will enjoy a LLAMA certificate as well as $25 in Scholastic Dollars to be used at the Jordan Bank Fall book fair.  Congratulations!

We wouldn't "swap" this event for anything!

We are so excited to have the very first book swap at Jordan Bank this week. Children were given the opportunity to bring three books from home in order to swap with the titles we have in the book swap collection. The children delighted in the opportunity to choose books that they will get to keep! Their excitement for reading was contagious, and demonstrated the importance of putting a book in a child's hand. If your child brought in books to swap, we hope they enjoy the newly selected titles this summer.  This was strictly a voluntary activity, a letter was sent home a week ago by the classroom teachers, explaining the procedures for the book swap.  If you were not able to participate this school year in the book swap, we hope you take advantage of future book swap opportunities in the Oxford School District.

Book Swap

Last week the children should have brought home information about the first Jordan Bank School Wide Book Swap.  We will be collecting books this week for the swap next week, June 2-June 5.  All children will have the opportunity to swap up to three books.  We encourage you to participate in this worthy event. Additional information can be found within the pages section of the Jordan Bank Library Blog.

Working towards first grade!

The children should be wrapping up their animal research projects, and all library books will need to be returned by Thursday, May 21.  This is a reminder that books must be returned or paid for in order to participate in field day.

Children will continue to learn how to find a "just right book".  We will talk about using the covers, favorite authors, and the Goldilocks Rule to help children know if a book is too hard, too easy, or just right.

Students will be bring home information about our very first school wide book swap.  Children can swap up to 3 paperback books during the week of June 2-5.

Pebble Go

The children will be conducting an animal research project in collaboration between the library and the classroom teachers.  The teachers require the children to find where the animal live, what the animal eats, and an interesting fact.  Sometimes the books the children have selected do not have enough information to write this report.  This is why I have introduced to the children, PebbleGo, an on line database to which the OASD subscribes.  If you wish to use this database, please email me and I will forward the user name and password.  This information came home with the children on their prewrite-graphic organizer as well. 

Click on picture to access Pebble Go

Animals on Parade at the Jordan Bank Library

This week we begin the prewrite stage of the writing process in order to  complete an  informational writing piece on an animal. Children will have the opportunity to use print and non-print resources to complete this project. All children will choose an animal book to take home this week. We will use the informational book to identify: what the animal looks like, where the animal lives, and an interesting fact about the animal. Children will also be exposed to Pebble Go, an on line database specific for K-2 to also complete the prewrite step of the writing process. For more information and due dates for the animal research project, please contact your child's classroom teacher. The graphic organizer and info for Pebble Go can be found under pages in this blog.  Click on the link and it will take you to the graphic organizer.

Monday-Pebble Go Lesson No Book Exchange
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Miss. Smith

Tuesday-A Day Prewrite lesson All Children will bring home an animal book for book exchange
Mr. Baughman
Mrs. Black
Mr. Nelms

Wednesday-B Day Prewrite lesson All Children will bring home an animal book for book exchange
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Thursday-C Day Prewrite lesson All Children will bring home an animal book for book exchange
Mrs. Malinowski
Miss. Foster

Friday-D Day Prewrite lesson All Children will bring home an animal book for book exchange
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Miss. Smith

Library Schedule for April 27-May 1

We will soon be wrapping up the school year and our book exchanges. Our focus the next few weeks will be using text features to gather data to support the animal research project.

Monday- A Day Book Exchange
(labeling non fiction text feature lesson)
Mr. Baughman
Mrs. Black
Mr. Nelms

Tuesday-B Day Book Exchange
(Bold Face Print Lesson)
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Wednesday-C Day Book Exchange
(Bold Face Print Lesson)
Mrs. Malinowski
Miss. Foster

Thursday-D Day Book Exchange
(Bold Face Print Lesson)
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Miss. Smith

Friday- E2 NO BOOK EXCHANGE
(Bold Face Print Lesson)
Mr. Baughamn
Mrs. Black
Mr. Nelms

Analyzing Stakeholder Assessment

Thank you to all the parents and adults who participated in our survey. Gathering data is critical for the success of the Jordan Bank Library. This data will be used to provide support for future library purchases including books, furniture, and technology. The data collection will also be a guiding principle for scheduling preferences for next school year. Thank you to the parents at this morning's principal's coffee,I enjoyed our conversations.

Things are Back to Normal...almost

We are getting things back to normal in Jordan Bank Library. It was nice to begin instruction today on Non-Fiction Text Features, focusing on labeling. We have many good sports who allow us to label them like a non-fiction photograph. Children will continue to identify non fiction text features in order to help them on a culminating informational writing piece on animals.

Schedule this week:
Monday: B Day-Book Exchange
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Tuesday C Day-Book Exchange
Mrs. Malinowski
Miss. Foster

Wednesday D Day-Book Exchange
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Miss. Smith

Thursday E1
Mrs. Malinowksi
Miss. Foster

Friday F1
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Kindergarten Registration

This week is a bit unusual at Jordan Bank Library. Due to Kindergarten Registration taking place in the library, the children will be using the computer lab this week. The students will access the blog to complete the Non-Fiction assessment. Next week we will be back to normal, and we will begin the countdown to first grade. We will continue to learn about elements of non-fiction, and finish up kindergarten library by learning how to choose the "just right book". Keep checking the blog for information about our last book circulation days, and our first ever school wide book swap happening the first week in June.

Non-Fiction Assessment

We have just finished up learning how our library is organized.  Now it is time to recall what you have learned.  Good luck!

Stakeholder Needs Assessment for Jordan Bank Library-Media Center

It is hard to believe we are ready to begin planning for another school year! I am on a mission to gather critical data to help in future purchases, scheduling, instruction, and technology use for the Jordan Bank Library-Media Center. Please take a few minutes to complete the following needs assessment. All responses are confidential and will be taken into consideration when planning for next school year.  Please know I will be locking the assessment on Wednesday, April 22, in order to analyze the collected data.

Thank you!

April is School Library Month!

The 2015 celebration marks the 30th anniversary of School Library Month! The first national observance kicked off with a ceremony on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol on April 1, 1985, and its theme was Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center. Honoring the anniversary, the 2015 theme is Your School Library Where Learning Never Ends.  The library-media staff at Jordan Bank, hope you feel that we are instrumental in planting the seeds in your children to recognize that learning never ends in our school libraries.

Library Schedule for March 30-April 2

Happy Spring!  Please remember with our extended break to keep your library books safe.

Monday-A Day Book Exchange
Elements of Non-Fiction Lesson-Table of Contents
     Mr. Baughman
     Mrs. Black
     Mr. Nelms

Tuesday-B Day Book Exchange
Elements of Non-Fiction Lesson-Table of Contents
     Mrs. Wilkinson
     Mrs. Clark
     Mrs. Trotter

Wednesday-C Day Book Exchange
Elements of Non-Fiction Lesson-Table of Contents
     Mrs. Malinowski
     Miss. Foster

Thursday-D Day Book Exchange
Elements of Non-Fiction Lesson-Table of Contents
     Mrs. Verikakis
     Mrs. Baughman
     Miss. Smith

Library Schedule for March 23-27

Monday-B Day Book Exchange Day
Category Cut and Paste Lesson
Wilkinson
Clark
Trotter

Tuesday-C Day Book Exchange Day
Category Lesson
Malinowski
Foster

Wednesday-D Day Book Exchange Day
Category Lesson
Verikakis
G.Baughman
Smith

Thursday-E2
Category Lesson Cut and Paste
J. Baughman
Black
Nelms

Friday-F2
Category Lesson Cut and Paste
Verikakis
G.Baughman
Smith

Library Schedule for March 16-March 20

Monday-March 16 C Day
Book Exchange
Non Fiction Category Lesson
Mrs. Malinowski
Miss. Foster

Tuesday-March 17 D Day
Book Exchange
Non Fiction Category Lesson
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Miss. Smith

Wednesday-March 18 E1 Day
No Book Exchange
Cut and Paste Category Lesson
Mrs. Malinowski
Miss. Foster

Thursday-March 19 F1 Day
No Book Exchange
Non Fiction Category Lesson
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Friday-March 20 A Day
Book Exchange
Things in common lesson
Mr. Baughman
Mrs. Black
Mr. Nelms

Waddles and Numbers-Our Fiction and Non-Fiction Penguins

With the help of Waddles our Fiction Penguin, and Numbers his Non-Fiction friend, the children have learned how our library books are organized.  We began the lesson with a much needed brain break, and the children learned to dance like a penguin.  They can now identify, using the spine label and call number, which section their library books belong.

Library Schedule for March 9-13

Monday:D
Book Exchange-Non Fiction Lesson
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Ms. Smith

Tuesday:E2
NO Book Exchange
Mr. Baughman
Mrs. Black
Mr. Nelms

Wednesday:F2
NO Book Exchange
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Ms. Smith

Thursday: A
Book Exchange-Non Fiction Lesson
Mr. Baughman
Mrs. Black
Mr. Nelms

Friday:B
Book Exchange-Non Fiction Lesson
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Silly Seuss

Wednesday was Silly Suess Day. It certainly was a silly week weather wise too! The children came to library for a modified schedule so we used the ipads! The children heard I Don't Want to Get Up Today! by Dr. Seuss read aloud by six different faculty members. How did this work? We used QR codes. I had each teacher read aloud several pages from the book and took a video of each passage. I linked each video to the Jordan Bank Youtube channel and created a QR Code for each reading. It was a lot of fun!

Book Fair

Thank you to everyone who supported the Jordan Bank Book Fair. The fair is the largest fundraiser for the Jordan Bank Library. This year we grossed the third largest book fair total at Jordan Bank. That means over $1000 of Scholastic Dollars goes back into the library. Clifford is truly amazed! We have already made book purchases and can't wait to get these books into circulation.

Naked "Fiction" Mole Rats Versus "Non-Fiction" Mole Rats

The results are in from the interactive survey about the books, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and the non-fiction book, The Naked Mole Rat.  Take a look at our charts to see what the Jordan Bank Students think about all fiction and non-fiction, naked mole rats! 

Clifford Loves the Jordan Bank Scholastic Book Fair!

Clifford at the Book Fair!

Clifford always finds time to read books!

Clifford stopped by to see what Dr. Hamburg was reading!

Jordan Bank's very own Emily Elizabeth Landers!

Scholastic Book Fair Event at Jordan Bank

Even though the weather was bitterly cold, the parents didn't let Clifford down.  The book fair ran in a modified version today.  We will continue to operate the book fair next week, Monday, Tuesday,  and Thursday.  You can send children to school with money, accompany them on your own to the book fair from 9:00-11:00 AM, or join their teachers and whole class for a visit.  The classroom teachers have signed up for the following time slots:

Friday, February 20
     9:15-9:40      Miss. Smith
     9:45-10:10    Mrs. Trotter
     10:15-10:40  Mrs. Black
     10:45-11:10  Mrs. Baughman

Monday, February 23
     9:15-9:40      Mrs. Malinowski
     9:45-10:10    Mrs. Clark
     10:15-10:40   Mrs. Baughman
     10:45-11:10  Mr. Nelms

Tuesday, February 24
     9:15-9:40      Mrs. Wilkinson
     9:45-10:10    Mrs. Verikakis
     10:15-10:40  Miss. Foster
   
We try our best to restock the popular titles for the children, sometimes we use our discretion and find an age appropriate title for your child's enjoyment. Please send at least $5.00 with your children if you wish for them to make a purchase.  Please know that this is a Jordan Bank Library Fundraiser.  Thanks for your support.

Mini ipads have arrived!

It is really an exciting time in Jordan Bank Library. I think we have officially become a 21st century media center. The library, through a 21st century learning grant, received twenty-five mini ipads. The children have used the mini ipads for the first time this week. We connected to the school WIFI to complete the interactive book review from our blog.

Interactive Book Review: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems

I love to hear what the children think of the read-alouds done in the library.  This book in particular is one funny read aloud.  The children can barely contain their giggles when they hear we are going to learn all about the cute, cuddly, creature known as the Naked Mole Rat! If you are curious to see just what naked mole rats wear, listen to a Jordan Bank student read Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed  by Mo Willems out loud! Just click on the link (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dresssed Read Aloud) below to follow along with this special reading.

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed Read Aloud

What does the non-fiction cow say?

In order to drive home the major differences of fiction and non-fiction books, the children were introduced to Pickles the Cow from my imagination.  Contrary to popular belief, Pickles does not moo!  The children started this lesson with a Just Dance lesson and brain break to Ylvis' What does the Fox Say? We have used the smart-board to drag and drop book covers into the correct columns that identified the books as fiction or non-fiction.  Ask your children what does Pickles the cow say?

Snowy Day Schedules

It is very hard to keep up with two hour delays, early dismissals, and cancellations.  Please know that when your child brings home an overdue notice, it is just a reminder that a book has been checked out.  We use the paper notices for our own record keeping.

Tentative class schedule for Week of February 2-6
Monday- Book Exchange Day
               Mr. Wilkinson
               Mrs. Clark
               Mrs. Trotter

Tuesday-Book Exchange Day (What does the cow say? lesson)
               Mrs. Malinowski
               Miss. Foster

Wednesday-Book Exchange Day (What does the cow say? lesson)
                Mrs. Verikakis
                Mrs. Baughman
                Ms. Smith
Thursday-
                 Mrs. Malinowski
                 Miss. Foster

Friday- (What does the cow say? lesson) (make up due to early dismissal)
                 Mrs. Wilkinson
                 Mrs. Clark
                 Mrs. Trotter

Non Fiction Text

We have finally started to circulate non-fiction books. The students compared a fiction book, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, by Mo Willems to The Naked Mole Rat, by Jody Sullivan Rake.  The objective was to become experts on what the mole rat eats, where the mole rat lives, and how long a mole rat lives.  The children quickly discovered through an anticipation guide, and using the interactive white boar, that the fiction book could not help them become experts.  In the next few weeks we will thoroughly investigate text features of non-fiction, keeping our non-fiction books in order, and elements of non-fiction.

Review of library skills

This week we are finishing up reviewing our library book care and library manners. I have introduced to the children, Betsy's Kindergarten Adventures. We focus on her adventure in her school library, but many more short video clips can be accessed through You Tube.  

Happy New Year! Welcome back to library. This first week of the new year we will be working on reviewing proper book care. The children will learn keys to reading success and good book behaviors. We will read a book with a new cool-cat named Chester. He will take us on library adventures in his series, Chester Learns the Library. We will have book exchange this week for the following classes:

Monday:
Mrs. Wilkinson
Mrs. Clark
Mrs. Trotter

Tuesday:
Mrs. Malinowski
Miss. Foster

Wednesday:
Mrs. Verikakis
Mrs. Baughman
Miss. Smith