It's Monday, what are you reading?

Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly (realistic fiction, grades 4-6)

Do you believe in fate? Virgil is shy and quiet, Valencia is brave and spirited, Kaori is a budding fortune teller, and Chet is a bully, and they barely know each other until one event forces their lives to intersect and changes to occur.  Chet has always been mean to Virgil and Valencia.  One day, he takes things too far and Virgil (and his pet guinea pig) go missing.  Can Valencia and Kaori team up and use their skills to find Virgil before it's too late?  Can Virgil find his "voice" and save himself?  If you like stories that have alternating points of view or stories where the bully gets defeated, then you'll like this award-winning book!

The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros 

I love how our administrators are always looking for new ideas and they are always challenging us to think deeper about our teaching.  This summer, we were each given a copy of The Innovator's Mindset to read. When author George Couros announced in early July that he was starting an Instagram book study for the book, I jumped on board.  With the book study, we read one chapter each day and then discussed the chapter on Instagram.  George also posted a video reflection about each chapter and encouraged us to try to find new ways of sharing what we were learning.

The Innovator's Mindset is an excellent professional development book about what innovation is (and isn't) and what we can do to encourage innovation with ourselves and our students. The author presents the idea that innovation begins with empathy (asking "What does THIS learner need"), challenges us to move beyond engagement to empowerment (equipping students with the skills they need to drive their own learning), and encourages educators to become more reflective of their practice through blogging and sharing on social media.  We cannot be innovative if we are not connected to other educators around the world.  I became active on Twitter about 3 years ago and my teaching was transformed because of the ideas I found so I wholeheartedly agree with this!  Here is a short video reflection sharing these main ideas:

I loved everything about this book and encourage all educators to read it!  If you have read it, please share ways that you are planning on incorporating the ideas into your teaching in the comments below!

Happy reading!

Booktalk Tuesday

Wow, summer is flying by!!  Summer is a great time to catch up on reading and I've read so many amazing book already. 

In the past, I have kept two blogs...this one to share what is happening in our school library, and http://mrsandersonbookblog.blogspot.com/ to share great books that I've read.  Since it has been difficult to maintain both, and since the audience for both blogs is similar (our school community as well as other teachers and librarians), I have decided to begin talking about books on this site and discontinue writing on the book blog site.  My goal is to add books here on Mondays (based on It's Monday What Are You Reading #IMWAYR) or Tuesdays (Booktalk Tuesday #booktalk).  Mostly, I'll just add one or two books per week but I have a lot of catching up to do, so, here goes!

These are pictures of all of the books that I read in June!  Here are a few summaries:

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson (mystery, grades 4-8)

Are you a fan of mysteries or stories where the main character overcomes adversity?  In this book, Matthew has severe OCD and rarely leaves his bedroom for fear of getting sick.  While looking out his window, he often notices things about his neighbors.  One day, his neighbor's grandson goes missing and it's up to Matthew to figure out what happened.  While reading this book, I felt myself cheering for Matthew to not only figure out the mystery, but also to get the help that he needs to go back to living a more regular life.  The Goldfish Boy is on the 2019 Rebecca Caudill list.

Endling: The Last by Katherine Applegate (fantasy/adventure, grades 4-8)

Katherine Applegate, author of The One and Only Ivan and Wishtree, wrote this fast-paced fantasy adventure.  Byx, a young dairne, lost all of the other members of her pack and she sets out to see if any other dairnes still exist.  On her dangerous journey through war ravaged land, she is joined by Tobble, a faithful and brave little wobbyx, Gambler, a proud and strong felivet, and a human named Khara.  They soon learn that their "allies" are not who they seem and their lives are in danger.  I loved these endearing characters and the fast-paced story will keep readers engaged throughout.

Lily and Dunkin by Donna Gephart (realistic fiction, grades 5-8)

Two very different kids find friendship with one another!  Lily is transgender and Dunkin is bipolar.  Both have issues that they are dealing with but they find happiness in their friendship.  I LOVED this beautifully written book. This story has the power to open the eyes of readers to become more understanding and empathetic of those who are different. It also provides representation to middle grade readers who are transgender and those who have a mental illness. While tough issues such as acceptance and bullying are presented, they are handled in a way that is hopeful and also in a way that is anchored with positive relationships (through friends and loved ones in the story). Lily and Dunkin is on the 2019 Rebecca Caudill list.

Harrison families, how many reading BINGOs do you have?  Remember to keep reading this summer!!

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Happy Reading!

Summer Reading

Summer is here!!

Summer is the perfect time for reading!  When students read over the summer, they are keeping their reading skills sharp and preventing the "summer slide".  Recently, the McHenry Public Library visited Harrison School to talk about their summer reading program "Libraries Rock!",

Their program kicks off on June 1st and is free and open to ALL Harrison students.  You can find more information on their website: http://www.mchenrylibrary.org/

We are also having our own summer reading program here at Harrison School!  Students can choose to participate in our reading bingo program or simply keep a summer reading log.  

Here is the link to the Harrison summer reading bingo and log.

Finally,  we are encouraging students and staff to share what they read over the summer on our summer reading Flipgrid.  Email Mrs. Anderson for the Flipgrid password (danderson@hsd36.org). 

Once you enter the password, simply click on "Summer reading 2018".  Then, click on the green "+" and record your video.  When finished, enter your first name and last initial and submit.  No need to enter an email.

What great books will you read this summer??  

Year-End Report

We had a great year in the library!  Here is the link to the year-end report.

Have a safe and fun summer!  

Battle of the Books

Why Battle of the Books is so awesome!

Each year, Harrison students have the opportunity to participate in a Battle of the Books program.  We run a traditional Battle of the Books program which includes a list of ten books for each level (a combination of older books and current state award books), teams of 4-6 students, and a tournament-style competition.  

We kick off the program in December, teams are formed in January/February, each team is assigned a staff adviser, and the battles are in May.  This year, we had twelve teams at three different levels (grade 3, grades 4-5, and grades 6-8) with a total of 60 students participating in all.  We also had a staff team this year with seven staff members who battled the winner of the 6-8 grade competition.  The student team beat the staff team!

The questions are always in the format of "In which book..." and the answers are always the title and author of one of the books.  On social media, I've heard some people questioning the program recently, saying that it's outdated, and trying to find ways to make the questions "deeper" questions.  While I definitely feel that students should be challenged in school with deeper questions regarding the material that they read, I don't think that EVERY assignment, project, and program needs to include that type of questions.  After all, what is the goal of a Battle of the Books program?  For us, the goal is to motivate students to read for fun.  Period.  However, over the years, we've discovered that there are many additional benefits to the program.   Here are a few:

• Students are reading a variety of books that they might not normally read.
• Students are working together on teams towards a common goal.
• Students who might not normally be able to participate in regular team sports get an opportunity to be included on a team.
• Students are learning to remember what they are reading in order to answer the questions.
• During the competition, students are learning to collaborate in order to answer the questions as one team.
• Students are learning to win and lose graciously.
• The program puts a spotlight on reading and the entire school comes together to watch the final battles.
• The program makes reading fun!!

This is why we love Battle of the Books at Harrison School!  If you run a Battle of the Books at your school, what other benefits do you see? Comment below!

Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the program this year.  They are ALL winners!!

Happy Reading!

Author Visit

Bill Buczinsky!

This week we were so lucky to have author/poet Bill Buczinsky visit Harrison School!  Bill visited our school for two days of assemblies and writer's workshops.  Bill incorporates music, magic, and student participation into his presentations and Harrison students had so much fun learning about the power of poetry from him. 

We learned that Poets Play with patterns and that poems need contrast "No conflict, no story". 

Bill's stay concluded with an evening Family Poetry Night where Harrison students were the stars of the show by sharing their poetry.

You can learn more about Bill Buczinsky here.  

All Power to the Poets!!!

Week of April 16th

Earth Day!

This week, we celebrated Earth Day in the library.

In grades PK, kindergarten, and 1st we read books about Earth Day.

 

After reading the books, students drew and wrote about ways they can help protect our planet.  Ideas they came up with include planting trees, recycling, and using less water.

Some of our older students also created Earth Day poems:

To celebrate Earth Day, several students in our junior high makerspace explore class created cute little hedgehogs out of old, discarded books.  So fun!!

Book Talks

Many of our third grade students have been recording their book talks and they are turning out great!  Here is the link to our Harrison School Book Talk Flipgrid (which can also be found on this library website on the "Reading Links" page).

Poetry Month

This month we have been celebrating poet Bill Buczinsky.  



Bill writes funny poems for children and will be visiting our school on April 27th and April 30th.  We will also have a Family Poetry Night on April 30th where parents can meet Bill and hear their students read their poems out loud during an open mic.  It will be lots of fun!  If you'd like to pre-order Bill's book, here is the link to the order form.  

Happy Reading!

Week of April 2nd

Here's what we worked on in the library this week!

5th Grade:
We began creating blackout poetry using old, discarded books:

Can't wait to see their finished projects!

4th Grade:
We finished our inquiry circle research about environmental problems.  Next week we'll create our presentations!

3rd Grade:
We finished writing our book talks.  Next week we'll record ourselves!

2nd Grade:
We used PebbleGo to research dinosaurs.

1st Grade:
We read If I Built a Car.  Then, students designed their own creative cars!

Junior High Makerspace Explore Class:
We started exploring Lego Mindstorms.