Belmont Hills Media Center Blog

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This week Belmont Hills teachers and students celebrated I Love to Read Week in a big way, with a different activity every day.

Monday we welcomed storyteller Joanna Maddox back to our school to share some tall tales with us. Every student in the school got to enjoy Joanna’s wonderful stories!

On Tuesday, every student wrote the name of his or her favorite book on a piece of paper, and we made a paper chain of our favorite books! The chain was so long that it extended all the way down one hall of the school.

Wednesday was Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and every student got a Seuss bookmark to celebrate! Twenty-seven lucky students found stickers on the back of their bookmarks, and they got to come to the media center to choose a free book to keep.

Thursday was Seuss trivia day–we asked how many words were in Dr. Seuss’s most famous book, The Cat in the Hat. Students researched the answer using a nonfiction book and placed their answers in a bucket. At the end of the day, we chose 15 correct answers at random, and the winners received a free book from the media center.

On Friday we capped off I Love to Read Week with Drop Everything and Read. From 10:30-10:45, every student in the building read silently for 15 minutes. Thanks so much to all the teachers and students who participated in I Love to Read Week and helped make it a great success!

This week our Kindergarten teachers and students celebrated Dr. Seuss’s birthday with some awesome Seuss rotations. Each teacher featured a different story by Dr. Seuss, and conducted a different activity with students, and the kindergarten students rotated through all of the kindergarten classrooms throughout the week. The students had so much fun making green eggs and ham, oobleck, turtles, Cat in the Hat costumes, and more! Check out some of our favorite moments of the week…

Kindergarten shows off their Cat in the Hat Costumes!

Ms. Q & Ms. Lyon's class don blue hair in honor of Cat in the Hat's Thing 1 and Thing 2

Kindergarten students make Cat in the Hat bow-ties and hats in Ms. Bennett and Mrs. Weatherford's room

Ms. Brady and Mrs. Hill cook up a batch of Green Eggs and Ham

Ms. Chenoweth Odom and Ms. Chenoweth help students recreate Dr. Seuss's Red Fish, Blue Fish

Students get to make and touch Oobleck in Ms. Q and Mrs. Lyon's room

Students in Mrs. Gilbert, Mrs. Gallagher, and Mr. Chodos' class stack Ten Apples Up On Top!

We’ve just gotten a truckload of new books in the Belmont Hills Media Center, and there are so many great new titles that we just have to share! Along with some new book series, we’ve also greatly expanded our collection of read-alouds that support Character Education traits such as Honesty, Respect, Responsibility, Patience,  Courage, and much, MUCH more! You can find read-alouds to support a particular Character Education trait by going to Destiny > Catalog and clicking on the Visual search tab on the right side of the page. You will see an icon that says Character Education — if you click on this link, you can access a list of Character Education read-alouds in order by trait.

Here are some of the other great new series we just received in the media center:

The Boxcar Children	Fancy Nancy	Geronimo Stilton
Ivy+Bean	A to Z Mysteries	Katie Kazoo Switcheroo

…and many more! Please send your students down to check out these hot new titles!

This Tuesday, October 26, 2010, will definitely go down as one of the best days of my professional career. I was honored, along with several other Cobb media specialists and 130 other Cobb teachers, to be recognized as Teacher of the Year for 2010-2011. After being treated to a delicious breakfast with my principal, husband, and mother, I got to take part in a fantastic pep rally, where students from Cobb County schools cheered their teachers as they accepted their awards. I am so lucky to represent Belmont Hills Elementary and teacher librarians! Thank you to the teachers and students who made this day so special for me!

It’s the little things that get us tickled here in the Belmont Hills Media Center. For example, this morning, around 7:45, two boys from Ms. Rabinowitz and Mrs. Ray’s class came to the Media Center before announcements to return their library books and check out new books. We love it when students check out books in the morning! So much, in fact, that we had to capture the moment on film. Happy Monday!

Beginning January 11, 2010, we will begin reading the books that have been nominated for the 2009-10 Georgia Book Award in the Media Center. We will be reading 16 of the 20 nominated books between now and Spring Break.

Please sign your classes up to hear the nominated books (kindergarten and first grade — your students will hear the books during your regularly scheduled story time and checkout). You can sign up for a 15-minute slot to hear the story alone, or 30 minutes for the story and class checkout. See the table below for information about the books that have been nominated for this year’s award!

	Banks, Kate (2006) Max’s Words. When Max cuts out words from magazines and newspapers, collecting them the way his brothers collect stamps and coins, they all learn about words, sentences, and storytelling.
	Beaumont, Karen (2005) I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! In the rhythm of a familiar folk song, a child cannot resist adding one more dab of paint in surprising places.
	Dorros, Arthur (2008) Papá and Me. A bilingual boy and his father, who only speaks Spanish, spend a day together.
	Hest, Amy (2004) Mr. George Baker. Harry sits on the porch with Mr. George Baker, an African American who is one hundred years old but can still dance and play the drums, waiting for the school bus that will take them both to the class where they are learning to read.
	Icenoggle, Jodi (2004) ‘Til the Cows Come Home. A cowboy finds many uses for a piece of leather in this Western retelling of a Jewish folktale.
	Kimmel, Eric (2004) The Castle of the Cats. When a farmer sends his sons on three quests to determine who will inherit the farm, Ivan, who is small and simple, finds good luck and wonderful treasures in a castle filled only with cats in fancy costumes and wigs.
	Lupton, Hugh (2004) Pirican Pic and Pirican Mor. The story of two friends who go off to pick walnuts. Their adventure begins after one friend has been busy picking the walnuts, while the other has eaten every one.
	McMahon, Patricia and McCarthy C.nor Clarke (2004) Just add one Chinese Sister. The narration in two voices begins as the mother shares a scrapbook she compiled with Claire, who was adopted as a Chinese toddler. Big brother Conor reveals his thoughts through journal entries printed in italics in the wide right margins.
	McCully, Emily Arnold (2004) Squirrel and John Muir. In the early 1900s, a wild little girl nicknamed Squirrel meets John Muir, later to become a famous naturalist, when he arrives at her parents’ hotel in Yosemite Valley seeking work and knowledge about the natural world.
	McDonald, Megan (2004) Saving the Liberty Bell. When John Jacob Mickley accompanies his father on a trip to Philadelphia, he discovers that the city is facing a Redcoat attack. Next thing he knows, Papa and he have been entrusted with a top-secret mission. Can the humble Mickley wagon dodge British soldiers and carry an important two-thousand-pound symbol of freedom to safety?
	Sockabasin, Allen (2005) Thanks to the Animals. In 1900 during the Passamaquoddy winter migration in Maine, Baby Zoo Sap falls off the family bobsled and the forest animals hearing his cries, gather to protect him until his father returns to find him.
	Stanley, Diane (2004) The Giant and the Beanstalk. In this version of the traditional tale, a young giant chases Jack down the beanstalk to rescue his beloved hen and meets other Jacks from various nursery rhymes along the way.
	Weatherford, Carole Boston (2005) Freedom on the Menu. The Greensboro Sit-Ins. After four courageous black teens sat down at a lunch counter in the segregated South of 1960, the reverberations were felt both far beyond and close to home.
	Yaccarino, Dan (2005) The Birthday Fish. Cynthia has always wanted a pony for her birthday, but when she blows out the candles on her cake this year, she gets a surprise.
	Young, Amy (2005) Belinda in Paris. When Belinda’s magnificently large ballet shoes get lost en route to Paris, she must find another pair before her performance in the Paris Opera.

For those of you who haven’t already checked out big books to read in your classroom, we just wanted to let you know about the large variety of big books in the media center! Below is a list of fiction and nonfiction big book titles we have available — if you’re having trouble finding a big book, just ask Mrs. Launey or Ms. Valenzuela for help!

FICTION

1. A busy year by Lionni, Leo
2. A color of his own by Lionni, Leo
3. Across the stream by Ginsburg, Mirra
4. Chicken soup with rice Sendak, Maurice
5. Clifford’s birthday party by Bridwell, Norman
6. Corduroy by Freeman, Don
7. Curious George by Rey, H.A.
8. Dinosaurs, dinosaurs by Barton, Byron
9. Feathers for lunch by Ehlert, Lois
10. Goodnight moon by Brown, Margaret Wise
11. Hello, cat you need a hat by Gelman, Rita Golden
12. I went walking by Williams, Sue
13. If you give a moose a muffin by Numeroff, Laura Joffe
14. If you give a pig a pancake by Numeroff, Laura Joffe
15. King Bidgood’s in the bathtub by Wood, Audrey
16. Madeline by Bemelmans, Ludwig
17. Mama, do you love me? by Joosse, Barbara M.
18. On market street by Lobel, Anita
19. Ox-cart man by Hall, Donald
20. Rain forest by Cowcher, Helen
21. Red leaf, yellow leaf by Ehlert, Lois
22. Rooster’s off to see the world by Carle, Eric
23. Ten black dots by Crews, Donald
24. The grouchy ladybug by Carle, Eric
25. Time for bed by Fox, Mem
26. When it snows by Nelson, JoAnne
27. Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge by Fox, Mem

NONFICTION:

1. Animals born alive and well by Heller, Ruth
2. Animal clues by Drew, David
3. Best friends by Hollander, Cass
4. Caterpillar diary by Drew, David
5. Cubs and colts and calves and kittens by Fowler, Allan
6. Feeling things by Fowler, Allan
7. Hats, hats, hats by Morris, Ann
8. Hearing things by Fowler, Allan
9. Horses, horses, horses by Fowler, Allan
10. How do you know it’s fall? by Fowler, Allan
11. How do you know it’s summer? by Fowler, Allan
12. How do you know it’s winter? by Fowler, Allan
13. If I Could by Nayer, Judy
14. It could still be a bird by Fowler, Allan
15. It could still be a fish by Fowler, Allan
16. It could still be a mammal by Fowler, Allan
17. It could still be a rock by by Fowler, Allan
18. It could still be a tree by Fowler, Allan
19. It could still be water by Fowler, Allan
20. It’s a good thing there are insects by Fowler, Allan
21. North, south, east, and west by Fowler, Allan
22. One day one night: cycles in nature by Drew, David
23. Quack and honk by Fowler, Allan
24. School bus by Crews, Donald
25. Seeing things by Fowler, Allan
26. Smart, clean pigs by Fowler, Allan
27. Smelling things by Fowler, Allan
28. Tasting things by Fowler, Allan
29. Thanks to cows by Fowler, Allan
30. The biggest animal ever by Fowler, Allan
31. The chicken or the egg? by Fowler, Allan
32. The green casebook: environmental action by Drew, David
33. The little red hen by Barton, Byron
34. The reason for a flower by Heller, Ruth
35. The sun’s family of planets by Fowler, Allan
36. The three billy goats Gruff by Stevens, Janet
37. Tikki Tikki Tembo by Mosel, Arlene
38. Turtles take their time by Fowler, Allan
39. We love fruit by Robsinson, Fay
40. What is a dinosaur? by Granowsky, Alvin
41. What should I use?: the technology of simple machines by Drew, David
42. What’s the weather today? by Fowler, Allan
43. Woolly sheep and hungry goats by Fowler, Allan

While most of us were enjoying our summer off, muralist Nancy Ballew has been hard at work giving the Belmont Hills Media Center a facelift. We could not be more pleased with the results, and we can’t wait to see the teachers’ and students’ reactions to the new artwork in the Media Center!

In preparation for Earth Day on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, Scholastic has put a wealth of Earth Day activities and teaching ideas online. On the Scholastic Book Flix web site, you can access the following pair of books: Joseph Has a Little Overcoat and Recycle That! This pair of titles introduces students to the concept of recycling, reusing, and taking care of our environment. Below are some ideas for activities that tie into these stories. You can also access a wealth of games, activities, and “Think Green” ideas on the Scholastic Act Green web site.

• Using the story Joseph Had a Little Overcoat as a model, and the information from the nonfiction title Recycle That!, have groups of children write a new story that features an item that is transformed many times like a plastic water or soda bottle.
• Promote reading and reusing together by letting each child make their own book holders by cutting the top and one corner off a cereal box. Let the children paint and decorate their cereal boxes for their own book, magazine or assignment holders.
• Remind older readers that the story has a moral, or a lesson, that needs to be learned. After reading Recycle That!, ask students or patrons what they think the moral of Joseph Has a Little Overcoat is and why it relates to recycling.