Braeside IMC Blog

Take this end of the year survey to let me know what you think about the library and what materials we need next year!

SURVEY

Fourth and fifth graders. I hope you had a wonderful time at the Writing Conference. I am so proud of you for all of your hard work. It really paid off! Your stories were very different… we had realistic fiction, fantasies, science fiction, mysteries, and stories from every other genre. The one thing that all of the stories had in common was that they were all wonderful! I so enjoyed getting to read them all. I hope that you enjoyed hearing from our guest speaker Brenda Feber and your time with your group leader and that you came away with some advice for how to become even stronger writers.

Now that the conference is done I would love to hear some feedback from you. Please fill out this Writing Conference survey to let me know what you thought of the day.

Take the Writing Conference Survey

This week we voted for the Monarch Book Award, which is an Illinois book award where students grades K-3 read from a list of 20 picture and chapter books and vote for their favorite. This year, all kindergarten through third graders read enough books to vote! This year, Braeside’s Monarch Book Award winner was Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas followed by Two Bobbies by Kirby Larson in a close second place. I will announce the Illinois Monarch Book Award winner hopefully within the next few days.

This year we also had a new award in Illinois. The Bluestem Award is a reading award for students grades 3-5. I am so proud of the students in third grade who participated in this award by reading at least four picture or chapter books out of a list of twenty. This year, Braeside’s Bluestem Award winner was The BFG by Roald Dahl, followed by Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks in second place.

On Wednesday, Feb. 9th 2nd-5th graders had the opportunity to hear from Native American storyteller Dovie Thomason. In addition to sharing Native American creation stories and a monster tale, Ms. Thomason also taught the students about her family and how her grandmother taught her lessons by using Native American tales. She also wowed us by telling us she knows over 500 stories by heart! If you would like to learn more about Dovie or wish to send her an email with a question, her website is http://www.doviethomason.com/.

This was such as wonderful experience for both students and staff and we are very thankful to the Braeside PTO for funding this event.

On Wednesday, December 1st the second graders at Braeside were lucky enough to have the chance to Skype with Megan McDonald, author of the Judy Moody and Stink series. We were the first school that Megan has ever Skyped. We spent an hour talking to Megan and students even had the chance to ask Megan their own questions. Megan told us some hilarious stories about growing up with four older sisters and showed us her new, not-yet-published Stink book! One of the highlights of our virtual visit was when Megan took us on a tour of her desk and we had to find objects related to her books. This was an amazing experience for all of us and we are so grateful to the Braeside PTO for providing us with this opportunity.

Kindergarten: Kindergartners had their second author study. In the library, we studied the life and books of author/illustrator Kevin Henkes. Students learned about his childhood, his education, his books, and his life now. Now they get to read all of Kevin’s amazing books in their classroom.

First grade: First graders came up to the library for their second author study of the year. We researched all about author/illustrator James Marshall. We learned really interesting fact, including that Viola Swamp, from Mrs. Nelson is Missing, is based off a James’s 2nd grade teacher who laughed at his artwork.

Second grade: In second grade we started our new folklore unit, Good vs. Evil and read two books, Diamonds and Toads and The Talking Eggs, which we then compared.

Third grade: Third graders completed their second Topic of Interest project. During this project each student randomly chooses an encyclopedia and picks one article they are interested in researching.

Fourth grade: Fourth graders completed all of their immigration research using World Book Encyclopedia. They have worked very hard over the past month.

Fifth grade: Fifth graders got to hear about new, great fifth grade books that we have in the library. Hopefully they will have lots to read for the next month or so!

Kindergarten: Kindergartners were introduced to the nonfiction section in the library. We discussed what nonfiction means and what types of books we might find in the nonfiction section. This week, they were allowed to check out from the picture book or the nonfiction section.

First Grade: First graders came up to the library in small group to research different Thanksgiving topics. They did a great job finding information about Wampanoag Native Americans, the first Thanksgiving feast, Plymouth, pilgrims, and the Mayflower.

Second Grade: Second graders have been listening to stories written by Megan McDonald, who they will be Skyping with on December 1st. They also went to the computer lab to do a webhunt on Megan and her many books.

Third Grade: Third graders completed their November scavenger hunt in pairs. They did a great job! Ask your third grader to show you how to say “turkey” in sign language!

Fourth Grade: Fourth graders finished up their country research after weeks of hard work. This week, they got to play Library Lingo, a game in which they work in small groups to guess the correct library term.

Fifth Grade: Fifth graders completed their Native American research after a month of researching. I am very proud of the fifth graders for their motivation and great work ethic. They are becoming fabulous researchers!

Just a reminder that it’s almost time for the Braeside Book Fair…

The 2010 Braeside Book Fair We’ll be in the gym with our usual fine selection of the best in children’s literature plus titles for adults. Wednesday, November 17, 2:30-6 pm Thursday, November 18, 8:15- 10 am,  2:30-9 pm Friday, November 19, 8:15-12 pm Storyteller Stone Stone Thursday, November 18 7:00-7:45 pm for all Braeside families

Kindergarten: Kindergartners started their first author study on author/illustrator Mo Willems. Together, we researched Mo Willem’s childhood, his education, his books, and his adult life. Now kindergartners get to start reading his many exciting books, including the Knuffle Bunny series and the Elephant and Piggy series.

First grade: First graders are becoming such experts on coming up to the library in small groups and finding books all by themselves. They are still enjoying getting to check out more books, movies, and magazines this year.

Second grade: Second graders were introduced to our Megan McDonald author study unit. We will be studying all about Ms. McDonald and her books for the next month… and then we will be Skyping Ms. McDonald! We are so excited.

Third grade: Third graders were introduced to the Bluestem Award, Illinois’s new reading award for students grades 3-5. Students were given a list of Bluestem books and are encouraged to read from the list for their enjoyment.

Fourth grade: Fourth graders are using World Book Online to complete research on their countries as part of the fourth grade immigration unit. We have all learned so many interesting facts about the countries that the students’ ancestors came from.

Fifth grade: Fifth graders have been very busy researching for their Native American research project. They are using encyclopedias and books to look up facts about their groups’ region and tribes and are doing an excellent job taking detail/sub detail notes.

Kindergarten: Kindergartners started their first research project! After learning about nonfiction books, we used the Promethean board to research all about pigs. We learned what pigs look like, what they eat, where they live, and some fun, interesting facts.

First grade: First graders have become so independent! They now come up to the library in small groups and find books and magazines by themselves.

Second grade: Second graders are learning about “Little Folk” folklore. During this unit, we will be reading stories from Japan, Ireland, Louisiana, and Germany.

Third grade: Third graders practiced reading articles and taking notes. They will be very prepared for starting their first big research project of the year, plant research, next week.

Fourth grade: Fourth graders explored World Book Online- Student to get them ready for their immigration research project, which we will be starting next week.

Fifth grade: Fifth graders came to the library to hear a Native American Origin story. Fifth graders had a chance to read several of these stories, before choosing one that they are going to retell.