Check out the Howe-Manning Library Newsletter!

October Library Happenings

Leaves may be falling but our circulation statistics are rising!  Howe-Manning students continue to show an impressive enthusiasm for books and reading. Our students have checked out over 2,600 books to date with Mrs. Deeley's 4th grade class checking out the most books of any class!  You rock! Take a look at our bulletin board filled with the many titles Howe-Manning students have enjoyed reading.  Wow!  That's a lot of books!

Third Grade

Third graders continue to make progress on being independent library users.  We have spent a better part of the month learning about call numbers and how to search and locate items in the library using our electronic catalog.  Students have BIG smiles when they can locate the books that they want all by themselves.  We ended the month with a visit from Mrs. Beamster; one of the spookiest librarians around! She is the scary character from the book The Librarian from the Black Lagoon.  But...Never fear! The terrifying rumors that were circulating about the school library and Mrs. Beamster were proven to be false when students visit the library and see what a wonderful place it truly is! Phew!

Fourth Grade

Fourth graders continue to connect to their study of the United States.  Students utilized one of our subscription databases called Britannica ImageQuest to search and locate pictures related to their assigned state. They then downloaded them directly into their Google Drive! We also discussed the elements of tall tales and read Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg.  We tracked Johnny Appleseed's travels and determined what in the story was true and what were exaggerations!

We ended the month with a book by Wendell Minor titled How Big Could Your Pumpkin Grow? Each illustration is set in one of the United States.  Students enjoyed examining clues and guessing which state was represented by each illustration. What state is represented here?

Fifth Grade

Fifth grade students have been utilizing several databases to help with their research on ecosystems.  Students practiced searching, highlighting text, and taking notes using one of the state databases called  Kids InfoBits.  They also practiced saving notes to their Google Drive.  All Gale databases are now fully integrated with Google making it easy for students to save articles and notes!  Click here to access the Gale Resources Tip Sheet.  Students also utilized the collection of eBooks about ecosystems offered in the Scholastic Trueflix database for a project that they have been working on during their science block.  Fifth grade students finished up the month with one of my all time favorite stories Heckedy Peg by husband and wife team Audrey and Don Wood.  This is a creepy, Grimm-like, contemporary fairy tale that always mesmerizes students...and gives me the opportunity to use my witchy story voice!  Students were intrigued to hear how the illustrator used himself as the model for the witch in the story!

 

 

Sixth Grade

Sixth grade students have been engaged in activities utilizing our collection of databases.  Students completed a database exploration whereby they had to match which database would be best suited to answer a research question.  They also completed a group activity and answered questions to evaluate and write a short review of an assigned database.  They finished off the month listening to an abridged version of the classic spooky tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.

September Library Happenings

Life is Good at the Howe-Manning Library!

We are off and reading! Howe-Manning students have already checked out a whopping 1,514 books in just the first month of school!  Amazing!

In the spirit of our district-wide "Life is Good" community read, which highlights optimism and superpowers, students have enthusiastically embraced the same themes in the library!   Students have engaged in discussions about how "reading gives us superpowers".  They are creating a colorful bulletin board filled with titles of books that they have read and loved!  It is certainly not going to take long to fill the entire board!

Every month, Howe-Manning will be highlighting one of the ten superpowers from the LIG community read. September's "Superpower of the Month" was Openness.  Please take a look at the book lists that were created and posted on our library catalog under the Lists Tab in order to view titles of books that embrace each one of the superpowers!

September brings a hub of activity in the library!  The first few weeks are spent playing games to review library routines and library etiquette.  Students participate in several scavenger hunts to learn and reacquaint themselves with the library layout and organization.  All grade levels also completed a reading survey using Google Classroom.  The results of the surveys will be shared with students and will certainly be considered when making decisions about the library!  And students, of course, are so excited to check out the latest and greatest titles that have been added to our collection!

Every year, Banned Books Week is celebrated during the last week of September to draw attention to the issue of censorship.  Sixth graders were shocked to see how many children's books were either banned and/or challenged!

September is also "Library Card Sign-up Month"!   Get a library card and take advantage of all the wonderful resources the Flint Public Library has to offer.  I guarantee it will be the "smartest card" in your wallet!

One and Only Ivan Wins 2016 MCBA!

2016 MCBA Winner

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate was announced by Salem State University to be the statewide winner of the Massachusetts Children's Book Award!  MCBA Honor books included Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, School for Good and Evil, The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire series) and The Wishing Spell (Land of Stories series). We anxiously await the new list of 25 titles in May! Happy Reading!

Lemoncello is Howe-Manning MCBA Winner!

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein ran away with 4th and 5th grade votes to be this year's choice for the MCBA award.  Grade 6 students chose 2nd place winner Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate came in third. All votes have been sent to Salem State University.  We anxiously await the announcement of the statewide winner!

Leprechauns in the Library!

A few little leprechauns visited the library this week!  Howe-Manning preschool students, all adorned in green and ear to ear Irish smiles, paraded up to the library for a St. Patrick's Day story. 

Howe-Manning Celebrates Read Across America!

The Howe-Manning Library hosted a school wide Book Swap and "Book Tasting" this month to celebrate Read Across America week. Students had a great time sharing books with their peers and sampling books from our delectable menu.  The special of the week was Series Fiction with a sprinkling of Expository Nonfiction.  The students were very happy with their menu selections; and the added bonus of seeing a spike in circulation after such an event made me very happy!:)