Week of April 11, 2011

It's School Library Month and National Poetry Month. We had lots going on in the library this week. Every day we had a library trivia question to begin our day. The questions were asked during morning announcements. The first five classrooms that answered the library trivia question of the day correctly were rewarded with a shout out and a Library Trivia Award placed on their classroom door for bragging rights (just for the week). Because of the multi tracks, field trips, etc., several classes were completing different lessons. Track one viewed the Jim Arnosky DVD about the differences between the American crocodile and the American alligator complete with a drawing lesson from Jim (see earlier post). Track three fifth grade explored poetry online with experiencing different poetry makers. We also explored several types of poetry (Haiku, Cinquain, and Concrete or shape poems as some people call them). Track three, third grade worked on building their bibliographies for their Famous Person research paper. Track one, third grade learned about plagiarism and copyright violation through listing to the book titled, When Marion Copied, by Brook Berg. We discussed how to summarize and what is known as common knowledge.

Thursday was "poem in my pocket" day where everyone had to have a poem available ready to read to anyone who asked. Several students checked out poetry books and utilized morning circulation to check out books as well as find and copy a favorite poem. I had a kindergarten class surprise me with a reading of their poem they had selected for the day. It put a smile on my face. Another fun filled week at school!

Happy reading,

Mrs. Wetherell

Week of April 4, 2011

Track Four tracked out and Track One returned so many of our lessons are repeats. Several classes begin their library visits with the Manatee text set (see below). Third Grade students either continued to work on their Famous Person Biography Research Paper or just began with a cooking lesson. We created Bio Stew (by Judy Freeman). All ingredients were necessary to construct the perfect recipe for writing a biography....mmmmmm goooood!

Track three K-2 classes viewed a Reading Rainbow DVD titled, Ocean Life. This was a follow up to the manatee lesson from the week before. We listened to the book, Sam the sea cow, by Francine Jacobs. This is a true story about a manatee who was very curious which got him into trouble. We also learned about the environment where the manatees live. Many creatures were introduced to the students. Several students made connections to their experiences at the beach.

Happy reading,

Mrs. Wetherell

Week of March 28, 2011

This week the classes explored text sets beginning with Jim Arnosky's book titled, Slow down for manatees. This book was inspired by true events. Did you know the most common danger manatees encounter are the sharp blades of boat propellers? This book relates the story of a manatee who was injured by being hit by a boat. Fishermen who spotted the manatee contacted the nearby aquarium to help the injured manatee. After being rescued, divers who examined the manatee discovered a wonderful surprise. She was carrying a calf. And so it was that this gorgeous, huge, once free manatee gave birth to her little one in a small tank. After healing, mother and calf were released back into the wild. Luckily, there are many people dedicated to rescuing injured manatees and who also respect their natural habitat. Signs were placed everywhere in shallow waters to warn boaters to SLOW DOWN for Manatees.

After listening to this wonderful story, we learned some amazing facts about manatees from a nonfiction book titled, Manatees. Some of the facts we learned were: they are vegetarians, they can grow to be about 10 feet long, they are mammals, they eat mangrove leaves, baby manatees stay with their mother for about 2 years, male manatees are called bulls, females are called cows, and baby manatees are called calves. Manatees can communicate by squealing and chirping. The elephant is their closest relative and the manatees are an endangered species. Only about 1400 manatees are alive in southern Florida.

Many people vacation in Florida including several families from our school. Don't forget when visiting and possibly boating in Florida to slow down for manatees.

Happy reading,

Mrs. Wetherell