MAMS
March/April 2015
Volume 12 Number 4
April is National Poetry Month
Here’s a chance for everyone to read, write, recite, and enjoy a favorite poem or two with students. Maybe they have one to share with you, too!
Poetry ideas from Scholastic.
Poetry4kids Updated daily and expanding into “the biggest collection of hilarious poetry for children anywhere on the net.” Read and write poems, plus a rhyming dictionary, games, and contests. Step-by-step lessons help children with humorous poems using rhymes, exaggerations, and surprise endings. Includes links to other poetry sites for kids. Site created by Kenn Nesbitt.
Giggle Poetry Offers poetry contests, games, and ideas for poetry teachers. Site created by Meadowbrook Press.
April is National Garden Month
Kidsgardening.com from the National Gardening Association
Time to get things ready to grow!
April is Autism Awareness Month
Visit the library for books—true and false—with autistic characters.
Earth Day is April 22
Games in your classroom? Check these sites for environmental games:
Conservation Central Design a panda habitat, go on a habitat adventure, or conduct field research in a virtual forest.
HogBusters Training Camp An interactive site for middle school kids about energy conservation. Imagine that! Kids can train as “hogbusters” by playing five different games or getting to know the hogs themselves.
Kids' Site: Global Warming Find out how scientists study the changing climate pattern.
Recycle City A virtual excursion to Recycle City for older kids and teens where they’ll learn how to save and recycle our resources.
Arbor Day is April 24
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” –Warren Buffet
For more information on Arbor Day, visit:
National Arbor Day Foundation: Trees by State and a searchable Tree Guide
U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Database
United States Forest Service
National Wildlife Federation Field Guides
Center for Plant Conservation
By the way, the best time to plant trees in Wisconsin is not on Arbor Day or even in the spring. The best time to plant trees is in the fall.
March/April 2015
Volume 12 Number 4
April is National Poetry Month
Here’s a chance for everyone to read, write, recite, and enjoy a favorite poem or two with students. Maybe they have one to share with you, too!
Poetry ideas from Scholastic.
Poetry4kids Updated daily and expanding into “the biggest collection of hilarious poetry for children anywhere on the net.” Read and write poems, plus a rhyming dictionary, games, and contests. Step-by-step lessons help children with humorous poems using rhymes, exaggerations, and surprise endings. Includes links to other poetry sites for kids. Site created by Kenn Nesbitt.
Giggle Poetry Offers poetry contests, games, and ideas for poetry teachers. Site created by Meadowbrook Press.
April is National Garden Month
Kidsgardening.com from the National Gardening Association
Time to get things ready to grow!
April is Autism Awareness Month
Visit the library for books—true and false—with autistic characters.
Earth Day is April 22
Games in your classroom? Check these sites for environmental games:
Conservation Central Design a panda habitat, go on a habitat adventure, or conduct field research in a virtual forest.
HogBusters Training Camp An interactive site for middle school kids about energy conservation. Imagine that! Kids can train as “hogbusters” by playing five different games or getting to know the hogs themselves.
Kids' Site: Global Warming Find out how scientists study the changing climate pattern.
Recycle City A virtual excursion to Recycle City for older kids and teens where they’ll learn how to save and recycle our resources.
Arbor Day is April 24
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” –Warren Buffet
For more information on Arbor Day, visit:
National Arbor Day Foundation: Trees by State and a searchable Tree Guide
U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Database
United States Forest Service
National Wildlife Federation Field Guides
Center for Plant Conservation
By the way, the best time to plant trees in Wisconsin is not on Arbor Day or even in the spring. The best time to plant trees is in the fall.
MAMS
January/February 2015
Volume 12 Number 3
Hidden Treasures
Mrs. Stibbe’s and Mr. Bucki’s classes are searching the nonfiction shelves for hidden treasures—books that look good but haven’t been checked out much. When they are done collecting, treasures will be chosen and on display in the library!
2015 Newbery Medal
The full list and descriptions of award-winning books is here.
The Newbery Winner and Honor books are on display in the library and are available now for check out: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, El Deafo by Cece Bell, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacquiline Woodson.
Most Distinguished Informational Books of the Year-Robert F. Sibert Award
921 ROG The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. “Peter Mark Roget, whose boyhood passion for list-making and finding the right word for every situation, led him to create his “treasure house” of a book, the thesaurus. Bryant’s engaging, accessible narrative and Sweet’s delightfully detailed mixed media illustrations meld together to create “a marvel, a wonder, a surprise,” of a book.”
2015 Honor Books
921 WOO Brown Girl Dreaming, written by Jacqueline. “Woodson’s eloquent and haunting memoir focuses on her family and her dream of becoming a writer.”
N/A The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia, written by Candace Fleming. “Fleming brilliantly delineates the tragic fall of the Russian royal family, contrasting their opulent lives with the primary source voices from the Rebellion.”
921 BAK Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, written by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson. “Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker is a dynamic dance of beautifully written verse and lively illustrations describing the life of the effervescent entertainer.”
597.3 ROY Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands, written and illustrated by Katherine Roy. “With vivid paintings and clear, accessible text, Roy creates a heart-stopping look at what great white sharks do best—hunt for their next meal.”
379.2 TON Separate Is Not Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. “Tonatiuh draws upon traditional Mixtec codex art to tell the story of 11-year-old Sylvia Mendes, who helped end school segregation in California seven years before Brown v. Board of Education.”
For more information, see the source: Welcome to the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal home page! ALSC http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal. 2/4/2015.
January/February 2015
Volume 12 Number 3
Hidden Treasures
Mrs. Stibbe’s and Mr. Bucki’s classes are searching the nonfiction shelves for hidden treasures—books that look good but haven’t been checked out much. When they are done collecting, treasures will be chosen and on display in the library!
2015 Newbery Medal
The full list and descriptions of award-winning books is here.
The Newbery Winner and Honor books are on display in the library and are available now for check out: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, El Deafo by Cece Bell, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacquiline Woodson.
Most Distinguished Informational Books of the Year-Robert F. Sibert Award
921 ROG The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus, written by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. “Peter Mark Roget, whose boyhood passion for list-making and finding the right word for every situation, led him to create his “treasure house” of a book, the thesaurus. Bryant’s engaging, accessible narrative and Sweet’s delightfully detailed mixed media illustrations meld together to create “a marvel, a wonder, a surprise,” of a book.”
2015 Honor Books
921 WOO Brown Girl Dreaming, written by Jacqueline. “Woodson’s eloquent and haunting memoir focuses on her family and her dream of becoming a writer.”
N/A The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia, written by Candace Fleming. “Fleming brilliantly delineates the tragic fall of the Russian royal family, contrasting their opulent lives with the primary source voices from the Rebellion.”
921 BAK Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, written by Patricia Hruby Powell, illustrated by Christian Robinson. “Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker is a dynamic dance of beautifully written verse and lively illustrations describing the life of the effervescent entertainer.”
597.3 ROY Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands, written and illustrated by Katherine Roy. “With vivid paintings and clear, accessible text, Roy creates a heart-stopping look at what great white sharks do best—hunt for their next meal.”
379.2 TON Separate Is Not Equal: Sylvia Mendez & Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation, written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh. “Tonatiuh draws upon traditional Mixtec codex art to tell the story of 11-year-old Sylvia Mendes, who helped end school segregation in California seven years before Brown v. Board of Education.”
For more information, see the source: Welcome to the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal home page! ALSC http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal. 2/4/2015.
MAMS
November / December 2014
Volume 12 Number 2
Library Classes
Photo highlights of first quarter in the library are on the library sight. Sixth grade, especially should take a look! If you heard yelling, cheering, and/or screaming from the library, it was fifth grade class time. Who knew finding fiction books could be so noisy!
Recommended Reading
As you probably know, more emphasis on nonfiction, or informational, reading is recommended for our students. Here are some great nonfiction library books! If you would like more information, contact the library.
November / December 2014
Volume 12 Number 2
Library Classes
Photo highlights of first quarter in the library are on the library sight. Sixth grade, especially should take a look! If you heard yelling, cheering, and/or screaming from the library, it was fifth grade class time. Who knew finding fiction books could be so noisy!
Recommended Reading
As you probably know, more emphasis on nonfiction, or informational, reading is recommended for our students. Here are some great nonfiction library books! If you would like more information, contact the library.
MAMS
September / October 2014
Volume 12 Number 1
New Books
There are a lot of new nonfiction books currently on display in the library. Thanks to Mr. Shipman’s class for arranging the display. If you’d like to bring classes to browse through them, contact the library and schedule a time.
The north shelves are all biographies and social studies/history topics.
New Books—Different Perspectives
Grade 6 Classes
The first round of sixth grade library classes are nearly finished. The students have reviewed library rules and how books are arranged. They added to their “Want to Read” resource lists (created in fifth grade) by doing AR or other types of library searches. Many students now get AR search results of 500 titles so the “Want to Read” list helps narrow and keep track of choices. We’ve done scavenger hunts to locate resources, a book pass to look over the new nonfiction, and “adopted shelves” to put all the nonfiction books in correct decimal order on the shelves! It took all three classes a few days, but they got it done. To wrap things up, we are having “Dewey Races” and “Fiction Races” to see who can find things the fastest. Thanks again to Mr. Shipman’s class for the great nonfiction display.
Grade 5 Classes
The fifth grade classes have reviewed the MAMS library rules and basics. To find fiction books, we played card sort games to review call numbers and alphabetical order. We’ve been in the PC Lab to login to student's library accounts to see what is checked out, when things are due, and create “Want to Read” lists. We’ve done AR searches, title and author searches. Next, we will practice recording the call numbers of books on the “Want to Read” lists and going to find those books in the library.
NEW! Accelerated Reader
This year Grades 5 &6 are using Accelerated Reader Enterprise. There are over 110,000 AR quizzes available. The library records have been updated to include AR information for all available tests.
There is a link to take AR tests on the library homepage. Beneath that link, there is a link to the AR BookFinder™ If you wonder about a book that is not from the MAMS library, use this site to conduct a search of all available books with AR quizzes.
Read Aloud Suggestions
The following winners of the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards are available in the MAMS library:
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD 2014 – MIDDLE READER
Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, K.G. Campbell (Illus.) (Candlewick)
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD 2013 – MIDDLE READER
Wonder, by R.J. Palacio (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD HONOR AWARDS 2014 – MIDDLE READER
-See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/news/aba-announces-2014-indies-choice-and-eb-white-read-aloud-award-winners
September / October 2014
Volume 12 Number 1
New Books
There are a lot of new nonfiction books currently on display in the library. Thanks to Mr. Shipman’s class for arranging the display. If you’d like to bring classes to browse through them, contact the library and schedule a time.
The north shelves are all biographies and social studies/history topics.
New Books—Different Perspectives
- Perspectives Flip Books: A Split History of . . . This series of books looks at events in history from two perspectives. For example, World War 1 includes the Allies perspective, flip the book and read the Central Powers perspective. There are twelve books in this series. Do a “perspectives flip book” series search in the library catalog to see all the titles.
- Search for “perspectives library” series and you will find eighteen titles about events in history. Each book includes the perspective of three different people, based on real things that happened to real people who lived during that time.
The Dust Bowl includes Vernon Thompson: Oklahoma Farmer, Evelyn Brown: Migrant in California, and Florence Lee: Government Journalist.
Grade 6 Classes
The first round of sixth grade library classes are nearly finished. The students have reviewed library rules and how books are arranged. They added to their “Want to Read” resource lists (created in fifth grade) by doing AR or other types of library searches. Many students now get AR search results of 500 titles so the “Want to Read” list helps narrow and keep track of choices. We’ve done scavenger hunts to locate resources, a book pass to look over the new nonfiction, and “adopted shelves” to put all the nonfiction books in correct decimal order on the shelves! It took all three classes a few days, but they got it done. To wrap things up, we are having “Dewey Races” and “Fiction Races” to see who can find things the fastest. Thanks again to Mr. Shipman’s class for the great nonfiction display.
Grade 5 Classes
The fifth grade classes have reviewed the MAMS library rules and basics. To find fiction books, we played card sort games to review call numbers and alphabetical order. We’ve been in the PC Lab to login to student's library accounts to see what is checked out, when things are due, and create “Want to Read” lists. We’ve done AR searches, title and author searches. Next, we will practice recording the call numbers of books on the “Want to Read” lists and going to find those books in the library.
NEW! Accelerated Reader
This year Grades 5 &6 are using Accelerated Reader Enterprise. There are over 110,000 AR quizzes available. The library records have been updated to include AR information for all available tests.
There is a link to take AR tests on the library homepage. Beneath that link, there is a link to the AR BookFinder™ If you wonder about a book that is not from the MAMS library, use this site to conduct a search of all available books with AR quizzes.
Read Aloud Suggestions
The following winners of the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards are available in the MAMS library:
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD 2014 – MIDDLE READER
Flora and Ulysses, by Kate DiCamillo, K.G. Campbell (Illus.) (Candlewick)
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD AWARD 2013 – MIDDLE READER
Wonder, by R.J. Palacio (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
E.B. WHITE READ-ALOUD HONOR AWARDS 2014 – MIDDLE READER
- Counting By 7s, by Holly Goldberg Sloan (Dial Books for Young Readers)
- Rooftoppers, by Katherine Rundell, Terry Fan (Illus.) (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
- The Last Dragonslayer: The Chronicles of Kazam Book I, by Jasper Fforde (Harcourt Children’s Books)
- The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, Patricia Castelao (Illus.) (HarperCollins)
- Three Times Lucky, by Sheila Turnage (Dial Books for Young Readers)
-See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/news/aba-announces-2014-indies-choice-and-eb-white-read-aloud-award-winners