Dear First & Second Grade Parents,
First of all you should know how much I enjoy the students here at Lowell. It is a delight to work with a population that wants to read and is hungry for information. I wanted to send a note along telling you about the library program and the library skills your child has been learning in the library this last trimester. I see your child for a half hour a week and during that time I get the chance to teach library skills as well as help them check out books and find books that help them develop as a reader. Here are some of the skills that were taught this quarter:
- Organization of the library
- Subject and author searches on the library catalog
- Introduction to keywords and keyword searching on the catalog.
- Parts of a book: title page, call no. spine and spine labels and dedication
In addition there are many wonderful books and reading promotions that are shared during library time. We started the year with Petunia by Roger Duvoisin and Insects Are My Life by Megan McDonald. As time allows I will be sharing books that reflect our social skills. We also viewed a short (5 min.) Video about Veteran's Day. Celebration of Veteran's Day happened during library time Here too are some wonderful titles that I think your reader would be interested in. Some are new series and some are old favorites. Sara Pennypacker's Clementine Louis Sachar's Sideways Stories from Wayside School (an old favorite) Emily Rodda, Rowan of Rin , (series) Tony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black, the Spiderwick Chronicles Another old favorite, the Bunniccula series by James Howe
Dear Third Grade Parents,
I wanted to send a note along telling you about the library program and the skills your child has been learning in the library this last trimester. Here are some of the skills that were taught this trimester:
- Searching the Catalog by author, title, keywords and subjects
- Introduction the Dewy Decimal System
- Short Veteran's Day presentation in lieu of Veteran's Day Assembly
- Dan Gutman's "Baseball Card Adventure" series for the sports lovers.
- Spiderwick Chronicles (series) byTony DiTerlizzi & Holly Black
- Framed by Frank Boyce based on the Art work from the British National Gallery this book explores the effect of art on a small Welsh town with humor and warmth.
- The Sisters Grim: Fairytale Detectives by Michael Buckley
Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead. Much to their surprise they find the small village of Ferryport Landing over run with odd characters that their grandmother must control.
Dear Fourth & Fifth Grade Parents,
I thought I'd send a long a note to share with your what we are learning in the library. I see your child for forty minutes a week and during that time I get the chance to teach library skills as well as help them check out books and find books that help them develop as a reader. Here are some of the skills that were taught this trimester:
- Review of library procedures (check-out, making holds on books, how to use the catalog, etc.)
- Parts of library, (non-fiction, fiction, dewy, etc.)
- Keyword searches on the catalog to find books by genre.
- Recognition of different genres and for the fifth grade an introduction to a new genre, surrealistic fiction.
- An introduction to on-line homework resources at http://library2.seattleschools.org:8079/webopac/main?type=2
In addition there are many wonderful book and reading promotions that happen during library time: we are involved in the district Read a Million Word Campaign. Children may log on and record the books they have been reading at: http://library2.seattleschools.org:8079/webopac/main?type=2 Although we don't stress reading for a prize, our readers still love to keep track of their books and take pride in their reading. I was happy to be able to share with your wonderful readers the books I had enjoyed over the summer and to hear what their favorites were. Here too are some wonderful titles that I think your reader would be interested in. Some are new series and some are old favorites. Flush by Carl Hissan , another ecological adventure similar to Hoot Mistmantel: Urchin of the Riding Stars is the first book in a series by M. I. M cAllister. Fans of Redwall will enjoy this new series. The Conch Bearer by Chitra Baerjee Divakaruni , a wonderful fantasy from India Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins (all three in the Underland Chronicles are great a great adventure, with more to the story than meets the eye.
Sincerely, Merilee Hudson Lowell Librarian