LibraryChats

What a wonderful evening last night!  We tried a new format for Open House which seemed to go smoothly.  I had an opportunity to represent the Extended Core Curriculum specialists; Art, Music, Physical Education, Technology and Media/Library.  It was a privilege to be able to share how we instruct your students.  Thank you to the parents who stopped by to ‘chat’ or visit the library for the first time, after visiting your child’s classroom.

The library space is truly a gift to the students and staff of Chickering School.  Thank you, parents and citizens of Dover, for the wonderful space and resources you provide through your taxes and donations.  The library is very busy all day.  We joke that we should put a revolving door on the library since students and staff are in and out of the library all day, finding books and resources to meet their needs.

Thank you for your support and we are off to a great year!

Happy Reading,
Mrs. Chase

I am excited about the start of each new school year.  I hardly sleep the night before school begins.  This year will be exciting with wonderful literature to be shared and the projects to be completed to stretch our learning.

The American Association of School Librarians has issued new learning standards for our children.  They write the following:

Learning in the twenty-first century has taken on new dimensions with  the exponential expansion of information, ever-changing tools, increasing digitization of text, and heightened demands for critical and creative thinking, communication, and collaborative problem solving.  To succeed in our rapid-paced, global society, our learners must develop a high level of skills, attitudes and responsibilities.  All learners must be able to access high-quality information from diverse perspectives, make sense of it to draw their own conclusions or create new knowledge, and share their knowledge with others….

[The] learning standards represent high expectations for today’s learners because the skills, dispositions, responsibilities, and self-assessment strategies represented by the [new] standards will provide the foundation for learning throughout life….

The focus of these standards is on the learner, but implicit within every standard and indicator is the necessity of a strong school library media program (SLMP) that offers a highly-qualified school library media specialist (a term used interchangeably with librarian [or teacher-librarian]), equitable access to up-to-date resources, dynamic instruction, and a culture that nurtures reading and learning throughout the school.

Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action. Chicago:AASL, 2009, p. 5.

My endeavor this year, will be to meet the needs of all our students and assist our staff in helping prepare our students for the skills they need to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers.

Happy Reading and Learning to all!

Here is our final group of first graders from Ms Martin’s First Grade class.  They are performing the script, “Humpty Dumpty”.  Listen for their intonations and expressions which reflect their reading comprehension.  They had a wonderful time reading together … giggles abounded … it was a challenge to get a recording where you could understand what they were reading, they were giggling so much.  It is wonderful to be learning and having such fun!

martin-grp4 – Humpty Dumpty

The students and I hope you enjoy listening to their Reader’s Theater.

Happy Listening,

Mrs. Chase, Derek, Michael, Natalie, Louise and Matty

Wow!  Mice seem to be visiting the library as we hear more little feet padding around in our Reader’s Theater.

This group of boys from Mrs. Power’s class have practiced and performed their Reader’s Theater called “Hickory, Dickory Dock”.  Towards the end of the performance the mouse even begins to sound like he has gained weight at the top of the clock.   A special thank you to Mrs. Pappas, our music teacher, for loaning us a gong to use for sound effects in their performance.

Here are Tom, Michael, Will and George:
power-grp4

The boys and I hope you enjoy their Reader’s Theater.

Happy Listening!

Mrs. Chase, Tom, Michael, Will and George

Due to technical difficulties with email and storage space on my Blog, I apology for the delay in posting the students hard work BUT here they are, at last, in all their glory!

The children in Ms Martin’s and Mrs. D. Power’s class are so excited about their hard work and efforts AND that they had fun, too!  I trust you enjoy them.

Here are Amy, Anna, Ambrey, Luke and James with their version of “Little Miss Muffet”.
martin-grp2f – Little Miss Muffet

Here are Emily, Julia, Sara, Diana, and Riley with their version of “The Three Blind Mice”.
power-grp3 – The Three Blind Mice

Here are Margot, Alafair, Hans-Martin, Jake, and Carter with their version of “The Three Blind Mice”.
martin-grp3 – The Three Blind Mice

The children and I hope your enjoy their Reader’s Theater.

Happy Listening,

Cheryl