It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

Hello, Dillo Readers!  It is an "off-week" for most of our library visits--no read-alouds or lessons for first through fifth grades, just more time to ask for and check out books.   

Ms Margocs and Ms Moss are helping our library patrons learn how to ask for topics they are interested in and find them on our shelves.  We also remind them about how to find good-fit books:  look at the cover, read the jacket blurb, peek-and-turn at the first few pages to see if it's a book you will enjoy.  It's important for our students to know themselves as readers, and empowering for them to make those choices! 

On display this coming month:  princess and dragon books, poetry, spring holidays...and keep an eye out for some brand new books coming to our library!  Thank you, Ms Moss, for the springtime decorations!

Read-alouds for our littlest learners this week:

PreK is singing along with Ms Margocs as we read books that have favorite songs in them, as well as a new song to a familiar tune:

Kindergarten readers are watching Daddy Lion try to do battle with the dandelion in his lawn--until his daughter makes the yellow weed her best friend.

Grab & Go Curbside Book Delivery is continuing every Tuesday from 130p to 230p, and Thursdays from 5p to 630p.  Students who are learning at home can order library books for pickup following the directions on the library website: click here.

Overdue notices have been passed out to students at school; home learners will be receiving reminders in Meets and an email asking them to check their accounts from home so they can see what they still have out.  Books can be returned at any time in the dark green return bin (a large trash bin) on the portable side of the building during the school day or during Grab & Go Curbside Service.  They can also be dropped off at the school office.

Attention AME second through fifth graders:  we still have openings in the afterschool Bluebonnet Book Read-Aloud Club!  We are currently reading The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling, which is also on the Lone Star List for middle school.  Interested?  Email Ms Margocs at Christine_Margocs@roundrockisd.org.  

Dillo Readers, we only have a couple of lessons and a handful of read-alouds before our school year wraps up!  The last curbside service will be April 29th; all books are due back no later than May 14th.  Until then--keep reading, Dillos!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I FINALLY finished the third book in The Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle, and I'm moving on to the fourth of the quintet:  Many Waters. 

The third book, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, took some really interesting twists and turns that I had to take slowly enough to understand.  I'm hoping that I can move more quickly through the fourth book!

I've decided to dive into another professional book that's been on my to-read pile for a looooong time--The Enchanted Hour:  The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon.  It seems apropos, as I've been having trouble with sustained reading during the pandemic, and I'm getting ready to launch our read-aloud Bluebonnet Book Club.

I will be reading aloud The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling.  I chose this as our first book because it is also on the middle school's Lone Star reading list, so fifth graders can get a jump start on next year's reading as well.

It's Monday, and as usual, I've got three books going on at once!  What's in your reading pile these days?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

We are back to our schedule of read-alouds and lessons in this first week after Spring Break!  Can you believe that we only have three more rounds of lessons before we begin collecting all of our books and running library inventory?  This year is flying by!

Read-alouds this week:

PreK is making connections with the big bad wolves of fairy tales and the one the piggies are looking out for in Watch Out for Wolf! by Anica Mrose Rissi, illustrated by Charles Santoso.

Kindergarten and first grade classes are listening to the entertaining Bear Came Along, a Caldecott Honor book written by Richard T. Morris and illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

Lessons this week:

Second graders are learning about some of our online research resources for their upcoming study of earthquakes, floods and wildfires.  

Third, fourth, and fifth grades are reviewing nonfiction text features to become efficient researchers and readers.

Library news:

The afterschool Bluebonnet Book Club begins next Tuesday!  Open to second graders through fifth graders; we will be reading Bluebonnet Award Nominees for the 21-22 school year.  Our first book, The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling, is also on the Lone Star List for middle schoolers--so our fifth graders can get a start on their reading list, too! All participants get a copy of the book to keep.

 

Overdues:  We will be distributing overdue book lists to students who have library books that are more than one month overdue.  Please do your best to look for the books in your homes, cars, and daycares.  Books may be returned at any time during the school day in the green bins inside and outside of the school, and at Grab and Go Curbside Book Service hours (see below).

Grab and Go Curbside Book Service is still happening on Tuesdays from 1p to 230p and Thursdays from 5p to 630p! Please visit the library website for all the information you need to get library books to read at home for our remote learners.

Keep forever books:  Do you need books for your own home library?  We may be able to help.  Email your librarian at Christine_Margocs@roundrockisd.org with your grade level, and we will get books to you!

See you in our Meets and in the library, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Welcome back from Spring Break, Dillo Readers!  

I love working with our district librarians, especially when it comes to learning about books.  There are so many good books published each year that it's hard to keep up with them all!  This picture book was recommended by my former intern, Mrs. Mensing, who is now the librarian at Sommer Elementary, my former school.

If it's a book about libraries, especially children's libraries, then I want it on my personal shelf.  Anne Carroll Moore wasn't the only librarian to promote public lending libraries for children, but she was instrumental in establishing them in New York, and designed the Children's Room in the newly built New York Public Library in 1911.  Even after retiring, she toured the country to promote reading and library programs for children.

Miss Moore Thought Otherwise is written by Jan Pinborough and illustrated by Debby Atwell.

It's Monday, and I read a picture book biography of an influential librarian for Women's History Month.  We have plenty more biographies of famous women to check out in our Anderson Mill Library; have you read one lately?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

We are catching up with read-alouds and lessons this week for everyone--and making sure students have access to books to read over Spring Break.  But first...we picked the winner!

The Texas Library Association announced the Bluebonnet Award winner this week, and it was If I Built a School by Chris Van Dusen--Anderson Mill's top pick!

Speaking of Bluebonnets...Ms Margocs will be starting an after-school read-aloud club after Spring Break.  We'll be listening to nominees from next year's Bluebonnet Award reading list.  The first book will be The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling; it's on the Lone Star List for middle schoolers too, so our fifth graders can get a headstart for next year.  Look for more details in the club application form coming soon from Anderson Mill.

This week's read-alouds and lessons:

PreK is discussing what's hard to wait for, and what's not before listening to I'll Wait, Mr Panda by Steve Antony.

Kindergarten is problem solving along with The Little Taco Truck by Tanya Valentine, illustrated by Jorge Martin.   Sometimes we have to speak up for ourselves to let others know what we need!

First and second graders are learning what a thesaurus is and learning some synonyms in Stegothesaurus by Bridget Heos, illustrated by T.L. McBeth.  

Third through fifth grades are enjoying a great beat with a Flocabulary video on website evaluation, then reviewing URL domains, bias/ opinion, citing sources, primary sources, and verifying information--topped off with a quick reminder that we are ALL responsible for making the internet a kinder and safer place.

Don't forget--if you are at home and need books to read over Spring Break, we have Grab & Go Curbside Service this Thursday from 5p-630p--just get your requests in by noon that day so we can bag them up for you!  Directions for curbside can be found here.

 Have a great Spring Break next week, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you writing, oops, reading?

Dillo Readers, I am stuck in a reading loop, still working on the same books as last week.  That is part of the problem, tackling four books at the same time; it takes four times as long to finish any!  The children's book I'm reading is the third in The Wrinkle in Time quintet, by Madeleine L'Engle.  If you like science fiction mixed with fantasy, it may be a good series for you to try!

What is taking up most of my reading these days is BLOG POSTS!  Yes, you read that right.  I am participating in twowritingteachers.org 's  Slice of Life Story Challenge for the ninth year in a row.  That means I am writing every day, and also reading and commenting every day on other teachers' blogs.  Since I am on the Welcome Wagon, there are four new Slicers I'm assigned to support by reading and commenting on their blogs every day.   It is fun reading other teachers' posts, and I'm learning a lot about the craft of writing by their examples.

Do you write as well as read?  These activities help each other, you know; the more you read, the better you'll write, and vice versa!  Here are some reading-writing suggestions:

• Choose a character from a book you're reading, and write about their favorite meal, even if it isn't discussed in the book.  Explain the reason you picked those foods!
• Keep a list of new words you learn in books so that you can use them in your own writing.  I recently discovered that Merriam-Webster's online dictionary allows you to create an account to do just that.  The newest word I've learned from L'Engle's book is umbrageous, which means to give shade, as a tree does.  Yes, I had to look it up!
• Write some fanfiction for one of your favorite books--a sequel, or side-by-side story using the same characters.  Be sure to give credit to the original story and author at the beginning of your writing.
• Keep a reading notebook.  You can rate the books on a star system, write about what you liked or didn't like; you could even make it an emotions journal to remember how the book made you feel.  Was there a character that you really connected with?  Why?

It's Monday, and I'm doing a lot more online reading these days!  What do you read, besides books?  What do you learn from reading online?

It's Wednesday! What's happening in the AME Library?

 It is a "catch-up" week in the library, with a few makeup lessons from last week and extra time for our on-campus students to check out books or order classroom deliveries.  And yes, we are STILL doing Grab & Go Curbside Book Delivery service on Tuesdays 130p-230p and Thursdays 5p-630p!

PreK is studying traditional tales, so they are helping Ms Margocs read The Little Red Hen.   Their job is to say "Not I!" in their sassiest voices when the hen asks the other farm animals to help her!

Kindergarteners are exploring synonyms with Stegothesaurus by Bridget Heos, illustrated by T.L. McBeth:

First through fifth graders are sharing their latest reading with each other in Meets before checking out books for the week.

If you are on campus, don't forget to add some titles to our "Books We Love" bulletin board outside the library doors!  The best recommendations come from our friends.

On display right now:  books from the bottom shelf that need some readers, historical fiction, women who made history, spring, and baby animal books.  Thanks to Ms Moss for highlighting our books this month!

See you in the stacks, Dillo Readers!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

It's an asynchronous day of learning for our Dillos today--which means more time to read at home!  So what is on Ms Margocs' to-read pile today?  A lot of different books--I am almost always jumping from one book to another!  Here are my latest picks; some I've already started and need to finish.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet is the third book in the Wrinkle in Time quintet.  Billy Collins was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003; I'm looking forward to reading more of his poems.  The next three books are for personal growth,  the last--Fact vs Fiction--is for professional growth, and the magazines are just for fun!

It's Monday, and I'm doing some wide reading today:  sci fi/ fantasy, poetry, informational, and educational text.  Do you practice wide reading?  If so, what are your favorite genres to explore?