March 2020

This month in library classes…

Kindergarten students are listening to trickster tales from around the world.

Grade 1 students are comparing different versions of fairy tales and learning about fairy tale elements.

Grade 2 students are finishing up their unit on nonfiction book features.

Grade 3 students will also be reviewing nonfiction features to get ready for a research project in the library.

Grade 4 students are also getting ready for research.  Their lessons will focus on finding and vetting online sources.

Grade 5 students are working on their library president projects.  Each year, the fifth grade students work in team to nominate and campaign for a fictional book character of their choice.  They will be creating green screen videos which will be shown to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders during library classes, who will then be able to vote for one character.

February 2020

This month in library classes…

Kindergarteners are learning about the difference between fiction and nonfiction books and listening to examples of both.

Grade 1 students are finishing up their book parts unit and will be moving on to fairy tales after February break.

Grade 2 students are beginning their book parts unit which builds on vocabulary practiced in first grade and then adds in more nonfiction text features.

Grade 3 students are finishing up their unit on call numbers and using the library catalog.  One goal in grade 3 is for students to become more independent library users.  At the end of the unit, students should be able to search for a book in the catalog and locate it on the shelves.

Grade 4 students are working on their Media Literacy unit.  We began with learning about how and why images may be altered and the students learned how to make their own altered images.  Next they will be learning about advertising and persuasion techniques used in the media.

Grade 5 students are finishing up their Media Literacy unit.  The last part of the unit focuses on evaluating news and other sources online.

January 2020

Happy New Year! According to the Chinese zodiac, 2020 is the year of the rat.

This month in library classes…

Kindergarten students are reading stories about yoga and practicing some simple yoga poses through videos and songs.

First grade students are continuing to learn about parts of a book.  They are using the app Seesaw to annotate pictures and make videos to show their learning.

Second grade students are learning about different reference sources, both in print and online.  They had a very successful assembly last week where they shared their research of how fall and winter holidays around the world are both similar and different.

Third grade students are learning how to find books in the library.  They have already practiced finding fiction books by call number.  Next they will be learning about how to find books in the catalog.

Fourth grade students are learning about media choices and how to have a balance between media activities and non-media activities.

Fifth grade students are continuing a unit on Media Literacy.  In fifth grade, students learn about how the media can persuade, inform, and entertain.  They learn about common stereotypes in the media and how to make healthy media choices.

December 2019

This month in library classes…

Kindergarten students are listening to winter stories.  They are also reviewing all the nursery rhymes they have been practicing through the fall.

Grade 1 students are learning about parts of a book and using the app Seesaw to show their learning.

Grade 2 students are researching fall and winter holiday from around the world and preparing to share what they’ve learned with the school.

Grade 3 students are learning more about library organization and practicing alphabetical order.

Grade 4 students are completing their unit on Digital Citizenship.

Grade 5 students are learning about stereotypes in the media as part of their Media Literacy unit.

November 2019

This month in library classes…

Kindergarten students are listening to books that encourage gratitude and learning a song about being thankful.

Grade 1 students are beginning a unit fiction and nonfiction book parts.

Grade 2 students are learning how to use various reference sources and will be doing a short research project on selected holidays around the world using the online database PebbleGo.

Grade 3 students are completing their Digital Citizenship unit and will be starting a unit on how to find books in the library, both physically by learning how the library is organized and by learning how to use our online catalog.

Grade 4 and 5 students are also completing lengthier units of Digital Citizenship.  Each year these units build on prior knowledge and then expand to more complex skills.

October 2019

This month in library classes…

Kindergarten students are learning about farms.  They are listening to farm stories, participating in farm-themed songs, and practicing nursery rhymes.

First graders are learning about library organization.  After spending several weeks practicing alphabetical order in the picturebook section, they will now begin learning about call numbers and how they help us find books in the library.

Second graders spent a few weeks reviewing call numbers and alphabetical order.  They will now begin a unit on using reference sources, both print and online.

Students in third, fourth, and fifth grades began the year reviewing call numbers and library organization.  All groups are now working on Digital Citizenship units.  Digital Citizenship focusses on appropriate, responsible, and effective use of technology.  All students were introduced to the CPS K-5 Acceptable Use Policy.  They are also learning about personal and private information, online manners, and cyberbullies.

August / September 2019

Welcome to a New Year at Willard!

This year we welcome a new library assistant.  Motoko Mitarai will be dividing her time between the three elementary each week.  She will be with us at Willard on Fridays.

I will also be looking for volunteers is several roles.  For more information, check out my home page.

Excellent news!  The IT department has the circulation system ready to go! Library books will be able to go home on the first day of school.  Students in grades K – 2 are each allowed 1 book while students in grades 3 – 5 may check out two at a time. Library books are always due back during the student’s library class and can be renewed if a student needs more time. Popular books may only be renewed once.

If students forget their books, they may trade them in on a different day first thing in the morning.  If students finish their books before their due date, they may also exchange first thing in the morning.

This month in Library Classes:

Students will be acclimating to a new school year. Students in kindergarten will be learning about book care and library procedures. Students in grades 1-5 will begin the year by reviewing library procedures and organizations.

Fifth graders will be starting the Massachusetts Children’s Book Award project presented by Salem State College. This in an annual 5th grade project.  Each student is required to read 5 books from the list by the end of February break. For each book that they read, they will write a short response and post it to the assignment in Google Classroom. Each student who reads all 25 books from the list will be invited to a special breakfast party in the library. All necessary information, including the reading log, is posted in Google Classroom.

Photo credit: http://dotcomplicated.co/content/2016/08/24/radio-recap-back-to-school-tech-etiquette/

Summer Reading 2019

Just because the Willard library will be closed for the summer, doesn’t mean you need to stop reading!  Visit the Concord Free Public Libraries to sign up for the summer reading program and take part in fun summer activities.

Concord Free Public Library Summer Reading Program

And ask for the CPS/CFPL Summer Reading lists for suggestions by grade level.

Happy Reading and Have a Great Summer,

Mrs. Josselyn

May 2019

This month in library…

Kindergarteners are listening to stories about gardening with a few more trickster tales mixed in.  We will also be reviewing fiction and nonfiction.

Grade 1 students are finishing their weather research.  We will be doing some activities with maps and folktales from Japan.

Grade 2 students are doing several different activities staggered through April and May.  Throughout the two months they will learn about Digital Citizenship, practice origami, and try their hands at making some Lego robots with our WeDo coding program.

Grade 3 is working on a Media Literacy unit in which they will study toy ads.  We will be talking about the persuasive techniques advertisers use and they will be tasks with identifying these in ads.

Grade 4 students are working on research skills in a variety of activities throughout the month.

Grade 5 students are also getting the opportunity to try out some coding.  They are using on off-line version of MIT’s Scratch program.  They will write a program to teach a library skill and then record it as a tutorial.

April 2019

This month is library classes…

Kindergarten classes are hearing trickster tales from around the world and celebrating spring.

First graders are researching weather topics.

Second graders are doing a variety of projects staggered over the next few weeks.  Some groups are doing Digital Citizenship activities.  Others are trying out coding projects using Lego WeDo software.

Third Graders are beginning group research projects on arthropods.

Fourth graders are doing research on healthy, sustainable foods.

Fifth graders will also be creating coding projects using Scratch.  The Scratch program we are using in library is stored on the hard drives of our machines and does not require students to log into online accounts.