DOE Exceptional/Exemplary LMS 2011

2011 GA DOE Exceptional/Exemplary LMS

It was an honor to present our media program at the Georgia Convention Center this week, along with these library media specialists from Georgia: Janell McClure, Tayklor Wickline, Cristina Dover, Shawn Hinger, (me :-) ) and Anna Murdock. We collaborated online with a Google Doc to make a Weebly about our programs for our presentation at the Georgia Education Technology Conference (GaETC).
We were introduced by Judy Serritella (left), Coordinator of Library Media Services at the Georgia Department of Education.

Students...Are you ready for the book fair?

There are so many good books at the fair! First class comes right after The Morning Show. See ya tomorrow!

Surpass upgrade delayed

The Surpass upgrade was postponed this afternoon. Listen for an update on The Morning Show, which airs each morning @ 7:50. Channel 4. Book fair preview for staff and parents is tomorrow (Thursday). Students, you'll come Friday!

Book Fair Staff, Parent Preview Today!

Book Fair Preview Today!

Teachers and staff are invited to look over the book fair today (Thursday ...no students yet). The book fair officially begins Friday morning and will run through next Thursday. 

Book Fair Student Crew

Zack T. and Matthew N. are student crew members for this fair. (They were here when the book fair truck arrived and helped move tables and chairs. Whew!) I will need them to help put posters throughout the school if they have a few minutes after work is completed in one of their classes.

Bring in Childhood Photos by Friday for Scholastic Dollars!

Teachers who bring in childhood photos by Friday will get five Scholastic Dollars to spend at the fair. I will start putting photos in the display next week. (Don’t forget to send your favorite book title to go with the photo).

Book Fair Video on Channel 4

The book fair video is looping on Channel 4 today and tomorrow.

Picture It @ Your Library for TRW!

Teen Read Week is October 16-22. This year’s theme: “Picture It @ Your Library!” We will give each student a bookmark. Some bookmarks will be marked for prizes. There will also be prize opportunities at the media website (skills quizzes, writing prompt, pre-quiz, Dewey Card contest…) and possibly on The Morning Show announcements.

Nook List Update

We are on line 30 on the Nook List. The most recent name was added to line 81 this morning. I hope we can add color Nooks with money earned from the Book Fair!

Boxtops Grid

Certus Bank is sponsoring the Boxtops Grid Contest. Bring in 50 boxtops from General Mills products and put your name on a square. At the end of the year, the bank will choose three lucky squares (which are numbered 1-100) for cash prizes! The prizes are $100 for the first number called.  The next two numbers will win $50 and $25.

Pompeii research student posts

I am so impressed with sixth grade students who blogged yesterday about Pompeii. Class 3, in particular, listened carefully and correctly posted lots of  important facts. The Discovery video was excellent, providing drama to the historic tragedy. I know the speaker on the video spoke fast. Most of you heard A.D. 79, but a few thought Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1879 (A.D. and 18 do sound a lot alike...). Remember, this event happened a very long time ago. Be sure to include the correct date when you complete your projects for Mrs. Vinson.
I appreciate the excellent behavior for our sessions in the media center. Good luck on your volcanoes!
--GS

Pompeii : Vinson 6th Class 3

Hi Sixth Graders!
After lunch is the perfect time to learn more facts about Pompeii. This is where you will blog your facts for Mrs. Vinson. Listen carefully to the Discovery video and take good notes about important facts. Use complete sentences. Don't forget to put your first name and first initial of your last name at the end of your post.
--GS

Pompeii : Vinson Class 2

Hi, Sixth Graders!
Watch the Discovery video about Pompeii and take good notes. Post your blogs to this comment for a grade based on the rubric you were given a few days ago. Be sure to put your first name and initial for your last name at the end of your posts.
--GS

Pompeii

Hello Sixth Grade Students!
Today, you will learn about Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. Listen carefully to the Discovery video and take good notes. You will blog here. Remember to use your first name and last initial only. Use complete sentences.
--GS

''Picture It!' And Guess, 'Who Am I?' @bravesread

So, here's the challenge...
Students (parents and staff, too), I'll be lining the display case shelves with photos of teachers and staff members. Your mission? To identify as many of the faces as you can, as quickly as you can. The catch? No catch.
Well...unless you factor in the age of the photographs. You see, I've asked all teachers and staff to bring in a picture taken when they were babies or very young children. These pictures will be numbered, but there will be no names. I've asked them to jot down their favorite book (which will be scanned into the photo).
I know...we've done this before, but most of you were still at Centralhatchee, Ephesus or Heard Elementary then. Besides that, it was fun!
The student who matches the most teacher/staff names to the correct photos will win a book, prize from the Prize Box, cup of hot chocolate or green tea and a ticket for a one-on-one session in the Internet Technology Cafe! The staff member who correctly matches photos to names will also receive a prize.
This contest will coincide with our upcoming Book Fair (Sept. 30 -- Oct. 6) and also Teen Read Week (Oct. 16-22). This year's theme for Teen Read Week? Picture It @ Your Library! (See why we just had to do this contest again?) 
:-)
--GS
BTW... Watch for an announcement for an upcoming contest about pets (students and staff). Do you have a Manx cat? A collie? Well, we've got information on those in non-fiction books and Encarta! Won't it be fun to see what kind of pets we like and guess who belongs to that pet? 
More details later...
C-ya

Sixth Grade Pompeii Project this week

Sixth graders in Mrs. Vinson's class will be blogging facts about Pompeii this week. They have been studying about Pompeii and what happened after Mount Vesuvius exploded. This is one of my favorite topics to research! Come ready to take concise notes and listen carefully to instructions on how you'll post them to this blog. The rubric for this part of your lesson is now available on http://bravesread.net.
Here's the citation information for the video we will view:

Citation (APA)

Discovery Education (Producer). (2007). Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. [Video Segment]. Available from http://www.discoveryeducation.com/ 

Citation (MLA)

Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii.  Prod. Discovery Education.  Discovery Education, 2007. Discovery Education. Web. 12 September 2011. . 

Standards from Partnership for 21st Century Learning P21:

Information Literacy

Access and Evaluate Information

• Access information efficiently (time) and effectively (sources)
• Evaluate information critically and competently

Use and Manage Information

• Use information accurately and creatively for the issue or problem at hand
• Manage the flow of information from a wide variety of sources
• Apply a fundamental understanding of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of information

ISTE/NETS Student Standards:

2.

Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. 5. Digital Citizenship   Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:   a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology. b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity. c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning. d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

Georgia Performance Standards: 

Science > Performance Standards > S6CS9.d - Scientists use technology and mathematics to enhance the process of scientific inquiry.

Grade(s) 6-8

Science > Performance Standards > S6E1.a - Relate the Nature of Science to the progression of basic historical scientific models (geocentric, heliocentric) as they describe our solar system, and the Big Bang as it describes the formation of the universe.

Grade(s) 6-8

Science > Performance Standards > S6E5.e - Recognize that lithospheric plates constantly move and cause major geological events on the earth's surface.

Grade(s) 6-8

Science > Performance Standards > S6E5.f - Explain the effects of physical processes (plate tectonics, erosion, deposition, volcanic eruption, gravity) on geological features including oceans (composition, currents, and tides).

Grade(s) 6-8

Above and Beyond: The story of the 4Cs

P21 and FableVision partnered to produce a short, animated film called Above & Beyond. The film runs about 4 minutes and can be streamed or downloaded from the P21 website. "In an increasingly complex, demanding and competitive 21st century, students need to learn more than the 3R’s," according to P21. "...It's time to help them go “above & beyond”, by embracing the 4Cs – communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity."
That's for sure. The film shows how two very different students go about working on the same goal -- and make their project better by working on it together.  “Above & Beyond” was written by NY Times #1 best-selling children’s book author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds (The Dot, Ish, The North Star.) 

The Morning Show @ HCMS

Staff and students...
Be sure to tune in to Channel 4 each morning for The Morning Show @ HCMS! Mr. Roberts anchors the show, but he's looking for help! See him if you're interested in joining The Morning Show team. 

Book Trailer Rubric

Teachers and students...
I've created a book trailer rubric to use when creating book reports in the "movie trailer" format. There are many great Web 2.0 tools available to create cool projects. The book trailers will be something we work on in the Technology Cafe.
--GS

Twiducate

Could something like Twiducate be a communication tool used by teachers, parents and students? I'm searching for a good tool to use. Take a look at Twiducate, and in the meantime, send in your ideas.
--G

Twitter 101

http://community.weareteachers.com/t5/WeAreTeachers-Blog/Facebook-and-Twitter-101-for-Educators/ba-p/7013

Educators, parents, readers... Facebook and Twitter are communication and conversation sites, and though I don't use Facebook, I am now tweeting (@bravesread) about technology and reading for our media center. I monitor information from other library media professionals, technology experts and educational leaders. Hope you'll join the conversation!
--G

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Mrs. Vinson serves Seuss-cakes to sixth grade students!

Mrs. Denney reads from the book, Green Eggs and Ham.

Our students and staff members remembered Dr. Seuss on his birthday (March 2) and celebrated Read Across America with cake, cupcakes and prizes. In this pencast (Denney/South), Mrs. Denney reads from Green Eggs and Ham.
Mrs. Denney and Green Eggs and Ham

Staff members looked at new technology in the Literacy Cafe and enjoyed cake and coffee.

Mrs. Noles reads from a Dr. Seuss book...

What's this Dr. Seuss Book? Guess on March 2 for a chance to win a prize!

These two pencasts were made in the Technology Literacy Cafe. Be sure to listen and watch the one about Dr. Seuss. The first 10 students to identify the correct Dr. Seuss book get to pick a prize from the Prize Box! (March 2 only).
How books are filed pencast
What's this Dr. Seuss book?

Read Across America and Tech Literacy Cafe!

Read Across America will be Wednesday, March 2. Staff members will be invited to the media center to enjoy a Dr. Seuss cake and preview the new iPads in the Technology Literacy Cafe! Teachers will learn how to pull up eBooks through Safari to read and also see how documents can be saved and even printed. The five iPads will be used in small group settings to discuss technology and information literacy to answer such questions as, "Can all websites be trusted?" and "How do I check out an eBook?"
We're searching for a coffee beverage/latte machine to use in the cafe. Suggestions? Let me know!
Students (and staff) will be eligible for prizes from the Media Center Prize Box. Watch for specially marked bookmarks. Staff members who stop by to check out our cake and iPads will be entered into a drawing for special prizes just for them!
http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx
BTW, sixth graders will enjoy their traditional Dr. Seuss cake (in cupcake form this year) and we're working with our lunchroom manager, Mandy Stephens, to ask for cookies or cupcakes for each student during their lunch period. We have wonderful staff members who always work well together for our students! Happy Seuss Day!

Staff reading blog

Have you ever wondered what your teacher likes to read? Thanks to our media committee student members for suggesting that we post favorite books, authors and series for everyone to see. Staff members, administrators, parents and students are invited to comment and blog with us! The direct link to the What We're Reading Blog is:
http://hcmsreading.blogspot.com/