Author Mentor!

Over the summer, I applied for our school to be a part of the new #KidsNeedMentors program and we were so lucky to be paired with author Hillary Homzie!  With this year-long program, the author and the school will work together to inspire students to be readers and writers. 

Mrs. Andersen, Mrs. Wright, and I have teamed up to bring this amazing experience to our fifth grade students.  We kicked off the program with a virtual author visit this week.  During the visit, Ms. Homzie talked about her past, how she gets her writing ideas, and shared some of her books with us.  Then, students had an opportunity to ask questions.

Overall, it was an amazing experience!  We are looking forward to with Ms. Homzie throughout the school year!

Also this week, some of our students visited our makerspace for the first time this school year!  Our third grade students enjoyed building with Legos, coding with Osmo, storytelling with puppets, and creating with paper crafts.  

Such a fun week!!

Ellie May on President's Day Book Talk

Ellie May on President’s Day by Hillary Homzie is a delightful story about a spirited girl who tries really hard to do the right things and impress her teacher in hopes that she will be chosen to be the flag holder.  Unfortunately, her misunderstood actions often get her into trouble and she becomes sure that she won’t be picked. In the end, she learns the importance of honesty, but will it be too late? Ellie May is a likable character that children will relate to.  The short chapters and frequent illustrations combine to make this an easy chapter book for younger readers. Diverse characters, facts about presidents, humor, and lots of teachable lessons make Ellie May on President’s Day a perfect read aloud for younger grades. This book would tie in nicely with units about presidents or when discussing character traits such as honesty, patience, kindness, or friendship. I’m looking forward to reading more Ellie May books in the series and sharing them with my students! (This book is expected to be released in December, 2018).

Dot Day 2018!

Every year, around September 15th, teachers and students across the world celebrate Dot Day!  This special day, based on the book The Dot by Peter Reynolds, is all about celebrating creativity and making a difference in the world.  In the book, Vashti has a hard time thinking about what to draw.  His teacher suggests to "make a mark and see where it takes you".  This encouragement leads Vashti to discover that she has a talent for creating dots.  In the end, Vashti makes a difference through her kind words and actions towards another little boy struggling with self esteem.

This year, after reading and discussing the book, students explored the augmented reality app from QuiverVision.  QuiverVision created a special coloring paper designed just for Dot Day.  After students create their dot on the special paper, they open the Quiver app and scan it in to see their dot come to life.  

Students were AMAZED to see their dots floating, spinning, multiplying, and bouncing!  This was such a fun way to connect books with technology and creating.

I love how so many of our students wrote positive messages on their dot and there were many very creative designs.

Happy Dot Day everyone!

Harrison School Digital Reading Options

It is so important for students to read at home every night!! Harrison students have a variety of options for accessing digital books to read on their Chromebooks or home devices.

Destiny Discover



Destiny is our school's library catalog and we have many ebooks and audio books that students can check out and read.  Click on the picture above or HERE to access our catalog.  Once there, users must log in before accessing the ebooks:

username: first initial + last name (example: danderson)
password: hsd + student I.D. # (example: hsd12345

Note: If multiple siblings have the same first initial, there might be a 1 at the end of the username.

Once logged in, scroll down to ebooks or audio books and click on "select all".  These books are checked out for two weeks and are automatically returned at the end of the two week period.  


Capstone Interactive Books (grades 5 & up)



Our Capstone Interactive ebooks can be accessed through Destiny Discover or by logging in to mycapstonelibrary.com.  Email Mrs. Anderson (danderson@hsd36.org) for the password or access the site through your Classlink account.


TumbleBooks (grades PK-3)



TumbleBooks is the perfect site for our younger readers.  Email Mrs. Anderson (danderson@hsd36.org) for the password or access the site through your Classlink account.


Epic Books (grades K-5)



Many of our teachers use Epic! books in their classrooms.  Epic! has a great selection of ebooks audio books that students love.  In order for students to use this resource at home, parents must create an account.  There is a small monthly fee but it is worth the cost.


McHenry Public Library

The McHenry Public Library has a wonderful selection of ebooks and audio books for people of all ages.  ALL of our students are eligible for a free public library card.  Please email Mrs. Anderson (danderson@hsd36.org) or contact the public library for more information.

Happy Reading!