Wednesday, December 21, 2011

We now have Kindles!

I think that most of you know about the very popular Nook ereaders that you can check-out from us, but did you know that we now also circulate Kindles? To see a complete list of titles downloaded to the Kindle, click here or visit the MSIS webpage and go to Library Media Center-Nook and Kindle ereaders. You must have a permission slip completed by both you and your parents on file before you are able to check one out. See Mrs. Young in the library if you have any questions.

Human Body Animotos

Today felt like a whirlwind!  There was non-stop action in the library the day before Christmas break.  Regardless of the festive spirit of the day, Mrs. Ruckdashel's 6th graders worked really hard to finish up their human body systems Animotos.  They displayed what they learned about the human body as a whole through this project.  Check out some examples below.



Monday, December 5, 2011

8th graders Skype with Canada


What a fun day it was in the library!  Today Mrs. Koshollek's Block 2 students had the opportunity to Skype with a class in Canada about The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  Students took turns asking discussion questions and responding to questions from the other school.  Although many students were a bit nervous at first, everyone did a great job responding thoughtfully and articulately.  Mrs. Koshollek's students will be Skyping with this group twice a week until everyone has finished reading the book.  The Canadian students will also be commenting on our students' book blogs as well.  We are so excited to learn more about our Canadian friends as we move through this project.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Bearport eBooks Now Available!

Are there times when another student has a book that you REALLY want, and you don't feel as if you can wait for it?  If this has happened to you, we may now have a solution to that problem.  Our library now subscribes to many eBooks through the Bearport Publishing Company.  All eBooks can be viewed from any computer with Internet access.  You can access our ebooks by going to The School District of New London website, and then clicking on "Library and Resources."  The link, Bearport eBooks, is in the left column.  Please see Mrs. Young for the username and password.  Let me know what you think of them!  The same books are also available in hardcover at the library.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Lit Masters Skype with Author Kate Messner

Students in our Lit Masters book club had the opportunity yesterday to participate in a Skype chat session with author Kate Messner. After reading her book The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, they were able to ask her questions about her writing and her life. View highlights from the Skype visit below. A special thank you to Kate Messner for taking the time to talk with us!















Friday, November 4, 2011

Zooburst pop-up books

Today I demonstrated a cool website called Zooburst to some 8th grade students. Zooburst is a free site that gives users the ability to make pop-up books. View the example below to see how it works.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Thank you NLMSIS!

Thank you to everyone for a very successful book fair! We met our goal and exceeded our profits from last year. Watch for our spring book fair arriving in March. Thanks to all of the students who also participated in our Teen Read Week activities. We hope that you enjoyed the week.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

5th grade Internet Safety Glogs

The 5th grade Integrated Technology classes spent class time learning about Internet safety and then used the website edu.glogster.com to create a virtual poster that teaches others what they know.  See some examples below. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Nooks are Ready for Check-Out!

Our library now has Nook ereaders to check-out! If you would like to borrow a Nook, see Mrs. Young in the library. You will first need to have your parents sign a permission slip before you can check one out. This will ensure that both you and your parents know the rules for borrowing them.  See Mrs. Young to obtain a copy of the permission slip.

Check our school library website to see a list of all titles currently downloaded to the Nooks. Go to the MSIS website-Library Media Center-Nook ereaders. You can also click here to see the list.

Let Mrs. Young know if you have any new suggestions for titles to add.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Teen Read Week

Today marks the beginning of Teen Read Week. I hope that you enjoy participating in all of our planned activities. To kick off the week, I want to know what you are reading. Comment below and share the book that you are reading this week. Don't forget to include the author's name!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The Raven VoiceThread Project

Students in Mrs. Koshollek's Language Arts classes each created a digital retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" using the free web tool VoiceThread.  View their finished products below:

Block 1


Block 2

Friday, October 7, 2011

5th Grade Explorer Project

All 5th grade Social Studies classes participated in research lessons in the library to prepare for their explorer research project.  Mrs. Young taught students how to not be fooled by false information on the web and how to use subscription databases to find the highest quality information.  Once students gathered their information, they created a book listing the important information about their explorer. 

View Mr. Wegner's class in action researching and writing about their explorers. 

Teen Read Week

Teen Read Week is a great time to celebrate our love for reading.  Check out the fun events that we have planned:

  • Fill out a book suggestion form.  Is there a book that you want everyone to read?  Share it!  Book suggestion forms can be picked up in the library or printed from the MSIS library website.  Each person who submits a book suggestion form will be entered into a raffle for prizes.  Your suggestion will be a part of an upcoming library bulletin board, so be prepared to have your picture taken when you turn in your form too!
  • Picture the character trivia contest.  Listen each day this week to the announcements for a book character clue.  If you know the name of the book character being described, submit your answer to the library.  Each day we will draw winners for prizes.
  • Library comic contest.  Use a comic creator website such as Make Beliefs Comix (www.makebeliefscomix.com) or draw your own to create a comic strip that has something to do with reading, books, or the library.  The top three entries will each receive a Scholastic Book Fair gift certificate.  All entries are due by 3:00 on Friday, October 21.  Winners will be announced the following Monday. 
  •  Our library has a new blog to keep you up-to-date on what is new and exciting!  Visit our blog, What’s Up in Your LMC (http://whatsupinyourlmc.blogspot.com) and add a comment to any post.  For every appropriate and relevant comment that you add, your name will be entered into a drawing for prizes.  Winners will be drawn on Friday, October 21.  Please remember to add your name to be eligible for prizes.
    AND DON'T FORGET TO SHOP THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR!

    The Book Fair is Coming!

    Mark your calendars!  Beginning October 17, the Scholastic Book Fair will be at your library.  Going through October 26, you can shop for great deals on new titles from these popular series: 39 Clues, The Kane Chronicles, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, and Big Nate.  You will also find old favorites and great discount priced books.  The book fair will also be open during parent-teacher conferences.  Grab a preview flier in the library and prepare to shop!

    Tuesday, September 27, 2011

    Google Docs in 8th grade

    A few weeks ago, I taught Mrs. Korth's 8th graders how to use Google Docs as a replacement for Microsoft Word.  While Google Docs formats documents just like Word, it allows users to save their work on the web and access it from any computer with Internet access.  The students can also work together on projects and work on the same document at the same time.  The students loved it! 

    To learn more about Google Docs, visit docs.google.com.

    Welcome to a new year!

    We have completed almost one month of the new school year!  Now that you are settled in, I hope that you will enjoy coming into the library for reading and research.  We are planning many exciting activities for this year, including the upcoming Teen Read Week and Scholastic Book Fair.  Keep watching this blog for more details.

    Not only will I be using this blog to share fun upcoming events, but it will also be a space to display pictures of classes and events in the library as well as to tell you about new items.  I hope that you find this helpful and check back often.