Thursday, October 29, 2015

Greek Mythology Party and Author Visit at Burlington Public Library

Fifth graders are welcome to attend this fun event! For more information, please call the Burlington Public Library.




 

Monday, October 26, 2015

Our First MCBA Recess Book Club Meeting!

Today marked the first meeting of our MCBA Recess Book Club! Twenty fourth and fifth graders and Mrs. Visocchi stopped by the library during recess to talk about our first MCBA-nominated selection, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein.

We talked about how research can be a lot like a scavenger hunt- you find a topic, look for clues in your library materials, and keep searching for more information. We agreed that when you find a topic you are really interested in, you want to keep learning as much as you can about that subject, which makes research a lot of fun, just like it turned out to be for the kids trying to find their way out of Mr. Lemoncello's library.

We also discussed who played Mr. Lemoncello's game the best. The general consensus was that Kyle Keeley and Haley Daley were probably the best players because they were willing to work with their team to get the information they needed. We also pretty much unanimously thought that Charles Chillington and Andrew Peckerman were the weakest players- Charles tried to double cross and bully his way through the game, and Andrew followed Charles way too closely, which ultimately sealed his fate in the game.

Our readers also liked that the books chapters were written from the points of view of each of the game players. They said it helped build suspense and gave us insight into what the characters were thinking. We also loved the references to different library terms and famous books that we found in the book.

I am so pleased with today's turnout and how much our readers loved this book! They all said they enjoyed the book and would recommend it to a friend. We are also very excited for the sequel, Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, which comes out January 6th!

We are looking forward to our next meeting, Monday, November 30th, where we will discuss Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo.






Monday, October 19, 2015

Technology Happenings

Over the recent weeks, students at Pine Glen have been busy using technology to support their many educational projects.  Here's a look into our classrooms.

Kindergarten students are using the app, Drawing Pad to practice letter writing on their classroom iPads.

Second graders are using the app, Explain Everything to well, explain what they've been learning about trees using pictures, texts, and audio.

Fifth graders have been using their iPads to record themselves demonstrating multiple Science concepts relating to our solar system.  One group used the app, Green Screen by Do Ink to simulate the earth and sun in space.

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

MCBA Recess Book Club

This month begins our MCBA Recess Book Club for 4th and 5th graders.  Each month, we will be reading a book nominated for the prestigious Massachusetts Children's Book Award, which is awarded each Spring. We will meet at recess on the last Monday of the month to discuss that month's selection, and our culminating activity will be taking part in the MCBA voting in March! We will continue to meet even after voting is over, and our final meeting will be the last Thursday in May.


This promises to be a fun, engaging book group! We can't wait to get started on October 26th! For more information, or to become part of the group and get your copy of this month's book selection, please see Miss Carney in the library.




Thursday, October 1, 2015

Technology and Library Integration Happenings!

Today, third graders in Mrs. Cunha's class had a combined library / technology class with Miss Carney and Mrs. Ardizzoni, where students learned how to add a website, in this case Follett Destiny (our library management system) to their iPad homescreens and then how to use Follett Destiny.  There were multiple objectives to this lesson.  Students learned the steps to add websites to their ipad homescreens, which allows for quicker access to frequently visited websites.  Next, students practiced signing into their library accounts to see what books they have checked out, and determining if they will renew them.  Last, students used Follett Destiny to place a "hold" on a book they are hoping to check out in the future.  All of this adds up to our students becoming more self-reliant and being successful!