So much is happening with Library/Technology these days!
- Kindergartners continue enjoying storytime and choosing their own library books.
- First graders are hard at work creating news broadcasts about "tree ladies" who've helped the environment in different ways.
- Second graders learned about important children's book awards and just finished "Mock Caldecott" voting, picking their favorite picture book of 2018. Most G&P students made a different choice than the official judges!
- Third graders are starting to create their own student book awards. It's always exciting to see the wide variety of books they recommend.
- Fourth graders read the classic children's book The Snowy Day and wrote letters sharing their connections to the story. Recipients included friends, family members, teachers, and reading buddies. For many, the best part was using a green screen to place themselves on their favorite page of the book.
- Fifth graders are studying media literacy, analyzing ads and creating their own commercials and PSAs. Recently, they also got to meet George O'Connor, creator of the popular "Olympians" series. Each student received an autographed copy of the latest book, courtesy of the Porter Square Books Foundation.
Read Across America
On March 1st, our whole school celebrated in the library with cozy reading time among quilts, blankets, stuffed animals and big piles of fun books. While this celebration began as a way to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, the focus is changing in many schools, including ours. Over the past few years, information has come out about Dr. Seuss and his overt racism in writings for adults and overt/covert racism in his books for kids. This
blog post from The Conscious Kid digs deep into all of it. Many of us were raised on Dr. Seuss's books and love them. As a librarian, I think some are fun and still worth reading, but the more I learn, the more I feel it is not necessary or appropriate to celebrate and honor someone whose history is so troubling. Celebrate the joy of reading? - YES!!! Celebrate this particular author as a hero of children's literature? - not necessarily. There are so many other incredible authors and illustrators creating amazing stories that reflect the realities (and fantasies!) of our students, and so many exciting and engaging new nonfiction books. I am happy to be Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers, the official new slogan for Read Across America.