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.