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Looking Back
We had a lot of fun during our Summer Reading Challenge Celebration last Monday. We played a loud card game (with animal sounds!), had some snacks, read a story and poof – the time was up!
Last week, during our library lessons, we brainstormed ideas on how we can take care of the library. We focused our language on what we are doing, rather than on what we are not supposed to be doing. For example: “no running” or “no shouting”. If I say, “no running”, there is a lot of room for interpretation. Maybe it’s still okay to be jumping around, rolling on the floor or do somersaults on the couch? “Walk safely,” is a very clear instruction – no room for a juggling circus! (If You Ever Want to Bring a Circus to the Library, Don’t!)
We worked with the students to phrase their ideas in a positive, active statement. Not easy! Here are some examples of students’ ideas on how to take care of the library.
Then we listened for ideas that came up a lot, and we categorized them. Pretty much every class boiled it down to four to five categories. These will help us make Library Agreements in two weeks time.
Again, I noticed how the students enjoyed their quiet/shared reading time last week. Here are a few impressions:
Looking Ahead
Our focus during the library lesson in week 37, will be on how we check out our books correctly. Many students already know exactly how it works, but we explore why it is important to do it correctly and how we can check if we’ve successfully have checked out our books.
Our Word of the Week is the IB key concept, Function; How does it work?
Our Quote of the Week comes from The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires. This story is about trying, and trying again. About succeeding because you see all the good elements in something that might appear completely wrong to you at first. When you’re figuring out how something works, it’s easy to focus on all the things you don’t understand – but it helps if you can look at the parts you do understand and build on that!
On Monday, September 9th, we will have our first Library Club afternoon. We kick off with playing board games. Most likely, Settlers of Catan, as this has been an absolute favorite in previous years! Students from grade 3 and up are welcome on their own. Students from Kindergarten, grade 1 and 2 are welcome accompanied by their parents. We will have several board games to choose from, but you can also bring your own. I’ll be leading the Settlers of Catan game with the students who’d like to play that.
Some students have some waiting time between end of school (14.30) and their after-school activity. If your child is not eligible for PAL, it might be good to know that very close to our school is our lovely public library at Dr. Fries Torget. A great waiting place to relax and read. There is also a nice cafe at the square, called Café Estelle.
Have a relaxing and fun weekend, and remember to celebrate International Literacy Day tomorrow! One way of celebrating could be treating yourself to a moment to read this guide on How to Raise a Reader! More about the book and story behind this guide, read this article in Publishers Weekly.
Happy Reading!
ISGRGuldLibrary 