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February Library Update
Posted by Gwen Blumberg on 2/4/2025Happy February! On January 27th, we began a new library/tech rotation. This means that for the next six weeks, grades 1, 2, and 4 have library classes and grade 3 has technology class. So that third graders stay connected to the library during their tech rotation (and because I would miss them!) they have a 15-minute book checkout time each week on Fridays. Kindergarten has both library and technology classes every week throughout the year. Unsure when your child has library so you can help remind them to bring back their books? Check the current schedule HERE.
During this rotation, we are focusing on a "Mock Ezra Jack Keats Book Award." As a part of this unit, kids are learning about Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) and why he was important in the world of children's book publishing. We are also learning about the criteria used for this book award and have our OWN Lincoln School Criteria (see below.) Each week we read one or two 2024 picture books to decide as a K-4 community which ones we think is worthy of our own Lincoln School EJK Award. At the end of this current rotation, all kids will get to vote for the book they think is best, and we will award a symbolic gold and silver medal to the first and second place winners. The kids are very excited about this, and I love to hear their thoughtful commentary about each of the books. Ask your child which book is their favorite so far and why!
Note: Because 3rd grade does not have library class during this rotation, I am going into 3rd grade on Wednesday mornings to do a grade-level read aloud so our third grade students can also be a part of our Mock EJK vote!
And speaking of book awards... If you are looking for ways to bring math into your storytime at home, check out these winners from Mathical, which awards book prizes each year to outstanding fiction and nonfiction books that inspire children to see math in all areas of their world. SO many awesome titles on these lists.
Finally, thanks to all of the kids who entered the MSLA bookmark contest! We had SIXTY kids submit a creative design (Wooo-Hooo!) Winners will be announced at the MSLA conference in early March, which I will be attending, and my fingers are crossed that one of our Lincoln School library kids will be a winner!
Until next month... Happy Reading Everyone!
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December Library Update
Posted by Gwen Blumberg on 12/20/2024During the current library/technology rotation, grades 1, 2, and 4 come to the library once a week for book check out. These grade levels will resume library classes again on January, 27th, and I can't wait to spend more time with these library kids each week!
In kindergarten, we completed an author study about Mo Willems! We learned the difference between an author and an illustrator and learned that sometimes people are BOTH! In addition to learning about Mo's life and reading lots of Mo's books, students also learned to draw some of Mo's most popular characters... Pigeon, Elephant Gerald, and Piggie!
In third grade, we are in the middle of an author study about Oge Mora. We are studying her words and her illustration style and students are falling in love with her work. We are also using her books as a vehicle to help us learn where different kinds of books are located in the library, such as picture books, or biographies. Ask your chid to tell you about the Oge Mora book that s/he/they love best!
In fifth grade, we have been studying text sets comprised of a narrative text paired with a complimentary information text. An example of this would be reading a biography about Snowflake Bentley, and then looking at the book he wrote about snow crystals. We are doing this work to help students learn how the library is organized with a specific emphasis on the Dewey Decimal system of organizing informational texts that our school library uses.
To help your child know when to return their library books, library days for this rotation are noted below:
- KD- Tuesday, KJ- Thursday, KM- Friday
- 1C,1L,1S - All on Friday
- 2M, 2N, 2W - All on Friday
- 3H - Tuesday, 3K- Thursday, 3S - Wednesday
- 4R, 4O, 4N - All on Tuesday
- 5B- Monday, 5L- Thursday, 5Sia- Wednesday, 5S- Friday
I hope everyone has a lovey break full of family, fun, and lots of good books and stories!
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November Library Update
Posted by Gwen Blumberg on 11/1/2024I’m so happy to be the new K-8 Lincoln School librarian! In all grades, our beginning of the year focus has been on building community and allowing students to find their favorite cozy reading spaces in our redesigned library space. Ask your children in grades one and up what they like about the new library design and to share their favorite spot in the library. We have also been focused on library routines and structures that empower all children to be successful in the library, including a song that is used in all K-8 grades to signal the end of class and prompt a line-up routine. Play this song and ask your child to tell you what it means when they are in the library!
All K-5 library classes follow a similar class structure: a greeting, a read aloud, a library connection and/or lesson, and book checkout time. Ask your child to share their favorite library greeting so far and a read aloud book they’ve enjoyed.
Here are a few more details about what we’ve been learning in our K-4 library classes:
Kindergarten: We have been focused on library routines and read alouds sometimes followed by a simple book-related craft. Until this week, kindergarten students were independently selecting fiction or nonfiction books from curated bins. They are now learning how to browse the fiction stacks to make additional choices. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library class day: KD- Tuesday, KJ- Thursday, KM- Friday.
First & Second Grade: First and second graders began their library/technology rotation with technology for the first 7 weeks of school. During that interval, they came to the library once a week for a brief book checkout time. I am so happy they are now in their library rotation so I can get to know them better during their library class! Our focus during this rotation will be on library routines, learning how to navigate the various sections of the library and exploring differences between fiction and nonfiction. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library class day: 1L- Monday, 1S- Tuesday, 1C-Thursday, 2N- Tuesday, 2W-Wednesday, 2M-Thursday.
Third Grade: Third graders recently ended their library class rotation and will now be in technology class until after the November Recess. During their library rotation, we focused on library routines and learning how to use the library catalog. We also worked on our alphabetical order skills to support finding books on shelves, and started to learn how to navigate Sora to access eBooks. Third grade students will continue to come to the library once a week for a brief book checkout time while they have their technology rotation. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library book checkout day: 3H, 3K, 3S- All on Friday.
Fourth Grade: Fourth graders began their library/technology rotation with technology for the first seven weeks of school. During that interval they came to the library once a week for a brief book checkout time. I am so happy that they are now in their library rotation so I can get to know them better! Our focus during this rotation will be on library routines, learning how to use our library catalog to locate books of interest on the library shelves, fine-tuning our alphabetical order skills to the third letter to support finding books on shelves, and navigating Sora to access eBooks. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library class day: 4R- Monday, 4O- Tuesday, 4N- Thursday.
Happy Reading!
Lincoln School Librarian