STUCO Records Video

We've learned so much over the past few days. About firewires, audio and video inputs, iMovie, putting picture over video, and uploading videos. That's just on the software/hardware side of things. We've also learned about what is important to include in a message. We hope our learning produces great interest in this fundraiser and that we are successful in raising money for Mrs. Chidgey.

Reliable information, please!

Last year Gale introduced AccessMyLibrary app for the iPhone/iTouch. While we do not offer this resource in the traditional database format through SBISD, it is available to all Houston Public Library cardholders. Could this app save you time and make research easier? Watch to find out how easy and important it is to have good resources at your fingertips.


After further review, the website answers the following question:

Do I need a library membership to AccessMyLibrary? No. All you need is a valid email address and postal code. Once you log in with that information, you'll have access to over 30 million full-text articles.

So what are you waiting for? Download AccessMyLibrary today!

HPL Author Event

An Evening with Paul Zelinsky

At the HPL's Central Library, 4th Floor Program Place

6 pm, Wednesday, October 20

Join Houston Public Library for a special author visit from children’s book illustrator Paul Zelinsky, who will read from and sign copies of his latest picture book Dust Devil.

Swamp Angel has a reputation as the greatest woodswoman and wildest wildcat in all of Tennessee. But when she grows too big for that state, she moves to Montana, a place so sizeable, even Angel can fit in. It’s there that she wrestles a raging storm to the ground and, at its center, finds herself a sidekick—a horse she names Dust Devil. And when Backward Bart, the orneriest, ugliest outlaw ever known, starts terrorizing the prairie, seems like Angel and Dust Devil may be the only ones strong enough to stop him.

Among many other awards and prizes, Paul Zelinsky received the 1998 Caldecott Medal for his illustrated retelling of Rapunzel, as well as Caldecott Honors for three of his books: Hansel and Gretel (1985), Rumpelstiltskin (1987), and Swamp Angel (1995). He lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York. They have two grown daughters.

Watch Book Trailers and Vote!

Some readers enjoy making deeper connections with their books through the creative process of producing book trailers. Some readers enjoy viewing book trailers to make those initial connections to books. Either way, the creators, viewers, readers, and stories are important!

To recognize these video creators and their productions, School Library Journal is hosting the 1st Annual Trailee Awards. The call for submissions and voting were recently highlighted on Joyce Valenza's blog. Click the logo to watch, vote, and connect with a book or two. 

Voting ends at 9 PM CST, Friday, October 22.

New Experience

I am thrilled to participate today in my fist virtual conference. I'm very interested in the topic of ebooks and how they relate to school libraries. The one-to-many model is quite controversial. Admittedly, I'm perplexed about how this will look and play out. Will I leave today with more answers than questions? These are exciting times in the library world!

Enjoy the movie Ramona and Beezus?

Houston Public Library suggests reading these realistic fiction titles.MWE Library owns a copy of each.

Ivy + Bean: Book One by Annie Barrows; illustrated by Sophie Blackall
When 7-year-old Bean's mother pesters her to make friends with the nice new girl next door, Bean says, "No thanks." The new girl, Ivy, may be Bean's age, but that seems to be the only thing they have in common. Ivy wears a dress every day and spends a lot of time reading. Bean only wears a dress when her mom makes her, and she's usually too busy zipping about (or getting into trouble) to read. But when Bean plays a mean trick on her big sister and it backfires, Ivy comes to Bean's rescue. Maybe they can be friends after all! If you like reading about all the mischief that Ramona gets into, be sure to give this 1st book in the very funny Ivy + Bean series a chance.

Moving Day by Meg Cabot
After an awful fight with her best friend, nine-year-old Allie Finkle starts a list of rules to live by. Rule number one: Don't Stick a Spatula Down Your Best Friend's Throat. Then Allie finds out that her family is moving to a creepy old house across town, which means that she'll have to go to a new school. Her efforts to stop the move get spunky Allie in all kinds of trouble, and it'll take a whole new bunch of rules for her to figure out the Right Thing to Do. Like the Ramona Quimby books, the Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls series (this is the 1st; The New Girl is next) is about feisty girl who's just trying to get along with her family and friends...and who sometimes messes up.

Ruby Lu, Brave and True by Lenore Look; illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
Happy-go-lucky Ruby Lu is nearly eight years old. She loves her family, her neighborhood, and performing magic tricks, and she really loves riding the No. 3 bus to Chinatown to see her pohpoh (grandmother) and gunggung (grandfather). But there are new things in Ruby's life that she might not love so much: her mom wants her to go to Chinese school--on Saturdays!--and her baby brother, Oscar, is learning how to talk...and how to ruin things for Ruby. Like Ramona Quimby, Ruby Lu is often misunderstood, and Ramona's fans will enjoy reading about her mishaps and her loving family.

Clementine by Sara Pennypacker; illustrated by Marla Frazee
Plucky third-grader Clementine always has great ideas "sproinging up" in her brain...but her latest scheme was maybe not so spectacular. She really was trying to help her friend Margaret, but she ended up cutting off ALL of Margaret's hair in an attempt to get a glob of glue out of one piece of it. And, to Clementine at least, drawing replacement hair on Margaret's head with a permanent marker was a brilliant idea. Ramona Quimby fans are sure to enjoy Clementine's one-of-a-kind personality and her funny misadventures and will also want to read the rest of the books in the series (The Talented Clementine is next).

These titles are part of HPL's NextRead Subscription email service. To get started, click the link, choose your favorite topics from the list, enter your account information, and let them link you to your next book or library event.

Interactive Storytime

For our early readers, Clifford Interactive Storybooks site features Scholastic’s Clifford the Big Red Dog in four interactive books and four fun games. The stories are available in English and Spanish. The games include concentration, make a word, letter match, and sound match.

My StoryMaker

MWE is filled with writers. In fact, I met an entire class of authors today in Mrs. Hill's kindergarten class.

Want to add pizzazz to your storyline? Try My StoryMaker.

Created for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, My StoryMaker "gives children the freedom to create, print and share their own unique stories."

1. Go to the My StoryMaker page.
2. Click on Play My StoryMaker.
3. Follow the directions to create your story.
4. When you are finished, print out your story book.

I love to read, so please share your finished story with me!

Contest!

Kindergarten through twelfth grade students can nominate their favorite teachers as part of a competition offered by Barnes and Noble. Students write an “essay, poem or thank-you letter.” BN will award winning teachers BN loot, including Nooks and gift cards.

Author Events at Blue Willow Bookshop

Blue Willow Bookshop's fabulous September author lineup...

Doreen Cronin - Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 - 5 pm
Doreen Cronin, author of Click, Clack, Moo and Diary of a Worm, will visit Blue Willow to discuss and sign her newest picture book, Rescue Bunnies.

Rescue Bunnies is the story of Newbie, a Rescue Bunny in training who is determined to save the day ... if she can survive it!

Michael Buckley - Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010 - 4:30 pm
Michael Buckley, author of the Sisters Grimm series, visits Houston to discuss and sign his newest book, Nerds: M is for Mama’s Boy.

NERDS combines all the excitement of international espionage with all the awkwardness of elementary school, and the results are hilarious. A group of unpopular fifth graders run a spy network from inside their school. With the help of cutting-edge science, they transform their nerdy qualities into incredible abilities! Their enemies? An array of James Bond-style villains, each with an evil plan more diabolical and more ridiculous than the last.

In the second installment of Buckley's series, the Nerds make their return and this time, the group must fight a villain so unlikely, he still lives with his mom. In other words, it's the Nerds against a nerd.

Rosemary Wells - Monday, Sept. 27, 2010 - 5 pm
Grab your jammies and join us as Rosemary Wells, author of all things Max and Ruby, will visit Houston to share and sign her newest book, Max and Ruby's Bedtime Book.

In this adventure, Max and Ruby want just one more story before they go to bed, and Grandma gladly obliges. Full of fun stories about our dear bunny friends, this is a book to share at bedtime, or any time of the day!

For details concerning these events, visit Blue Willow Bookshop or call them at (281) 497 8675.

Digital Citizenship: Plan to Teach Others

In your table groups, discuss your "word." Create a plan to teach other students about how "it" relates to digital citizenship.

Decide on three notetakers and one person to share.

As you plan, take notes on:

• What information do other students need to know?
• Why?
• How will you teach that to them?
• What supplies would you need to carryout your plan?

Be ready to share!

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship is defined the norms of behavior with regard to technology use. Some might say it is what is considered by the majority to be appropriate use of technology.

Consider this working definition Anne Collier blogged about:

Critical thinking and ethical choices
about
the content and impact
on
oneself, others, and one's community
of
what one sees, says, and produces
with
media, devices, and technologies.

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5

Free eBook!

Just in time for Earth Day...a free eBook!

During the month of April, share Mallory with new fans by visiting her Website. Get #1 Mallory on the Move in eBook format for free!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Chidgey's Ocean Life Research

Try these links to research your topic:

• Animals A-Z on National Geographic
• What's It Like Where You Live
• PBS: Secrets of the Ocean Realm
• The Ocean Realm
• Sea World's Animal Bytes
• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Cybrary's Ocean Page
• Phytoplankton on NASA's Website

Let me know if you have difficulty finding your topic. Enjoy researching!

Welcome Back!

Welcome back from Spring Break. We need to get back into our sculpture lesson. We'll do so by taking a look at John Dahlsen's art. I particularly like his plastic litter paintings and his plastic bag art. Spend 15 minutes with his art. Pick the one that most intrigues you and be ready to comment.

Find the recycled art in our library and spend 5 minutes observing. We'll discuss.

Finally, we'll divide into 1 group of 2 and 1 group of 3. Be ready for this

Shhh!

Wednesday, March 3, was TAKS testing for our 4th graders. You could have heard a pin drop all over our school--Meadow Wood students showed so much respect to our very hardworking 4th graders.

The library benefited from the mentors using the library instead of the mall area. As you can see from above, roles were slightly reversed as one student taught her mentor a thing or two about using the iTouches.

Pumpkins...Extremely Ripe!

In October 2009, the library highlight was fairy tales, folk tales, and tall tales. Students learned wheremost of these books are located in our library. Displays were used to encourage student checkout.

Outside of school, Meadow Wood students could decorate pumpkins for the annual Pumpkin Decorating Contest sponsored by our art teacher. The library benefited from the wonderful entries which made for an attention-getting display. This year's winner was Thumbelina.

Students learned to gallery walk--hands behind back which encouraged the use of words rather than pointing--so they could discuss the artists' creations with other students. Take your own gallery walk by viewing the animoto below.

March 2 ~ Read Across America ~ Dr. Seuss' Birthday!

March 2 marks the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. The National Education Association commemorates this day each year with Read Across America.

To celebrate the love of reading, Meadow Wood students will participate in a variety of activities ranging from reading favorite Dr. Seuss books to playing Bingo with a special twist. Dr. Ramirez has planned “Once Upon a TIME-0”, a bingo game about fantasy stories, fairy tales, folk tales, and nursery rhymes.

To continue the celebration at home, consider reading your favorite Dr. Seuss book with your children or visiting Seussville to learn more about Dr. Seuss. However you choose, make March 2 a Seussational reading day!