The library will be focusing mainly on science for the next month or so. This follows upon our school science fair and leads up to Earth Day (April 22). The library has recently acquired several outstanding new science books that I want to be sure to introduce to the students. Grades 3 and 4 are participating right now in the Cook Prize—a national contest among four science books selected by the Bank Street School in New York City. We are hearing the second of the four Cook nominees this week. In springtime nature provides a lot of opportunity to observe and study the natural world, as plants get new leaves, the days grow longer, and the weather gets warmer. Don’t miss the vernal equinox, which is coming up on March 20. The equinox sun will be eclipsed by a “supermoon,” but only people in Greenland and Iceland will get to see it.
I recently attended a really valuable workshop on how the library can support students’ mastery of the Common Core Standards (CCS). Please note: I am not a credentialed teacher, nor am I an expert on educational standards. However, the workshop pointed out some interesting ideas that I hope to share in this blog and utilize in the library.
Standard 7 from the CCS Reading Standards for Literature and from the Reading Standards for Informational Text calls for evaluating content from diverse media formats; Standard 9 for both sets of standards calls for comparison and contrast of two of more texts (which could mean books or other media).
With these two standards in mind, this week I have found two videos short enough to pair with two of the week’s readalouds. For grades 1 and 2, I am reading a new book, Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes, and with it we are watching* the “Ask the Producer” clip from the Magic School Bus episode “In a Pickle.” (Magic School Bus can be streamed on Netflix, if you have that service.) For Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle, there is a great National Geographic video on this unusual creature.* It might be fun to find out which your student thinks was better, book or video? Why, and for what purposes? We are lucky to live in a world with so many different options for presenting information and ideas. It is interesting to think about how best to choose, whether you are trying to research a topic or to create your own content.
*I am able to present the video content only if time permits. Maybe you can watch the videos at home with your child!
I recently attended a really valuable workshop on how the library can support students’ mastery of the Common Core Standards (CCS). Please note: I am not a credentialed teacher, nor am I an expert on educational standards. However, the workshop pointed out some interesting ideas that I hope to share in this blog and utilize in the library.
Standard 7 from the CCS Reading Standards for Literature and from the Reading Standards for Informational Text calls for evaluating content from diverse media formats; Standard 9 for both sets of standards calls for comparison and contrast of two of more texts (which could mean books or other media).
With these two standards in mind, this week I have found two videos short enough to pair with two of the week’s readalouds. For grades 1 and 2, I am reading a new book, Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes, and with it we are watching* the “Ask the Producer” clip from the Magic School Bus episode “In a Pickle.” (Magic School Bus can be streamed on Netflix, if you have that service.) For Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle, there is a great National Geographic video on this unusual creature.* It might be fun to find out which your student thinks was better, book or video? Why, and for what purposes? We are lucky to live in a world with so many different options for presenting information and ideas. It is interesting to think about how best to choose, whether you are trying to research a topic or to create your own content.
*I am able to present the video content only if time permits. Maybe you can watch the videos at home with your child!
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