Our Learning Commons Today

     What a great day for learning! Our information center was buzzing with activity today. Ms. Shaw's science classes visited our lab to participate in her "Flipped Classroom". She records lessons that she executes in her classroom, then posts them on a private YouTube link for her students. She links it into her Blackboard Page, then allows students to follow along at their own pace. They complete guided notes to help them focus.

Next...

Ms. Craig's Social Studies group came in for their second day of seeking information about Middle Ages themes. Each station covered Critical thinking questions about a specific topic. Groups had a team leader who divided up the questions. Students had to use information skills to seek the information in non-fiction texts, then write their answers in complete sentences. In the classroom, they will jigsaw all the items together to learn how they fit together within their topics. We will see all 6th grade classes by Friday.

Learning about craftsmen and their roles in building Gothic churches.

This team is working on all the different aspects of Medieval Society.
There is a ton of information to search through!

Changes in Government covers William the Conqueror, Norman Conquest,
Magna Carta and Hundred Years' War.

The arts and culture team reads about art periods, the poet Dante
and how art was used during the Middle Ages.

And, Finally...

Our Battle of the Books Team is in the last days of preparing for our competition on March 9th.

We are ready!! Today, our team used MyBOBTeam to drill themselves on the books they have read. We're starting a 'sudden death' title and author quiz now, so I need to go. I'll post more adventures at WMS Media Center later. 

February Fun

Our information center is busy, busy, busy! That's just the way I like it. We are hosting a wide variety of activities this month: book promotions, class visits for circulation, "CIA" or curriculum enrichment, Battle of the Books workouts, computer lab activities and research with various groups.

Here is a photo highlight of some of February's Fun:


Our small but powerful BOB team works hard to categorize book themes.




Our Black History Month display is getting some attention. I need to keep this stocked often.



Thanks, Pinterest, for this idea! Blind Date with a Book is going well! The kids love it!

 

Our fines and fees go to a good cause - fresh books for our collection!



My CIA student turned in a project early! They have a choice of three options:
from their novel reading, they create a magazine review with alternate book cover (above), Voicethread book trailer, or script and record a video TV interview. Our alternate group is creating picture books from non-fiction themes.

 

Adopt-a-book is a repeat from last year.
Students can win a prize for giving your time and attention to an unloved book.
These have not been checked out in two years.

I'm gearing up for our Hobbit-themed book fair, coming up in March! Our Student Crew already had their first meeting and is working to promote the fun. We have a lofty goal of $5800.00 in sales this year. Can we do it?





Civil War research

Our 8th grade just finished studying the U.S. Civil War. They used our resource center for two weeks for primary and secondary, print and online resources to create a well-rounded learning experience.

Using some art supplies to create Ft. Sumter

Checking out some primary resources on an ancestry website

Union soldiers invade by boat

Using National Archives online to find primary resources

LearnNC has some great resource links too!

Reading Enrichment

     We have been busy in the media center! Our information center is teeming with activity recently.

     Our new CIA group (CIA4) is starting a second week of reading enrichment. I am experimenting with free choice reading in groups. It's a concept used by Ariel Sacks, a Brooklyn, N.Y. 7th grade English teacher. CIA is a 30-minute, daily, school-wide enrichment/remediation period. My group was selected by their reading Lexile range and by passing the Reading EOG last year.

     My goal is to provide deeper reading experiences through daily silent, sustained reading time. With our standard large classroom sizes and multiple ability groups, classroom teachers struggle to meet the needs of everyone at once. In CIA, our group has an opportunity to get some peaceful reading time with books connected to their own reading interests. Students filled out an interest survey on the first day. I grouped them by similar interests and Lexile numbers, then paired them in small groups with books of similar subjects. The last 10 minutes of class consists of an activity and journal entry.

     On the first week, half the class did not turn in any work. Some groups could not agree on books they wanted to read. Many rejected the selections matched to their interests. Some spent their reading time off-task. It was time to regroup!

     It took an entire day, but I called each parent of those who did not turn in work. We worked together to support their child in finding reading success. The result was worth the hard work! After splitting the large group of 29 into two smaller groups, I gave them separate assignments.

     Our "Printz" group (named after the Michael L. Printz Excellence in Young Adult Literature Award) was able to shift out of groups and switch into novels of interest. Some chose to continue in their groups, others selected new materials and shifted to different groups.

     Our "Newbery" group (named after the Newbery Medal, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children) was a smaller group who chose an article of interest from a variety of non-fiction Scholastic magazines.
You can view the lesson details here.

     We continue our journey toward instilling a love of reading. Sharing reading experiences is a wonderful way to connect with text. Let's see what adventures lie ahead!