The Final Stretch

Well, we’re entering the final stretch of the school year and the students and staff are putting in their all to make sure that we end on a great note. It’s important that we continue to work hard until the very last day in order to utilize all of the new skills that we learned this year. This is just as true in the library as it is in the classroom. With that in mind, the upper elementary/middle school students will be working on mini-research projects until the end of May.

The 5th graders will research the backgrounds of various literary awards and take the time to read books written by the award-winning writers. This will enable them to experience whole genres and authors they may never have read before. The students will also do another book review and write recommendations to their classmates.

The 6th graders will research famous mysteries from history and science. There are still some puzzles that nobody has been able to figure out, and these students will take the opportunity to look into the backgrounds of these events. Who knows, maybe one of our bright, young researchers will discover the answer nobody else has been able to!

The 7th and 8th graders will do an abbreviated research project, but it will not require the same level of depth as the 5th and 6th grade projects. The reason for this is simply because of scheduling. They will be working on a cast biography that will be used during their presentation of the spring musical, which takes away some research time. Additionally, there are other scheduled events that will interfere with the library/computer schedule.

Students should check the wiki page for any further announcements and assignment schedules.

In the library, the 6th-8th grade students are still working on their readers theater presentations. This is an activity that began a month ago, and will be wrapping up in the next few weeks. The students will be demonstrating their reading and performance skills as they act in front of their peers. Readers theater is an important activity for students since it enables them to practice reading. Though many students know the basics of reading, readers theater allows them to practice reading fluently and with the appropriate tone and speed.

The younger elementary students are just as busy as the older ones, but that will be another post for another time.

Snapshots

SSR in the library

A student reads Dr. Seuss' notorious "Fox in Socks" to an admiring crowd.

Students take advantage of some downtime to rehearse for the spring musical.

SSR in the courtyard

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

While many young students (and their parents) know that today is the opening day for the film, “The Lorax”, they may not realize that today is also the birthday of Dr. Seuss, the author of the original storybook. In celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, the week leading to his birthday is designated as “Dr. Seuss Week”, ultimately culminating in Read Across America.

In honor of Dr. Seuss,  the students in K-2nd grade classes spent time reading popular Dr. Seuss books and applying their reading skills to the texts. We read well-known titles, such as Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, and we even had a chance to read the very first children’s book Dr. Seuss wrote, And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street.

The kindergartners celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday by making birthday cards. The students really enjoyed drawing their favorite characters from the books, especially since many of them are already familiar with Dr. Seuss. Furthermore, this activity allowed them to practice their writing skills and letter formation, which is undoubtedly an important skill. As you can see from the cards below, we’ve got some artists in this grade.

Birthday Cards for Dr. Seuss

The 1st graders read The Cat in the Hat and The Cat in the Hat Comes Back and worked on a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two picture books. Though they needed a little help, they did a great job brainstorming all the differences and similarities in the two stories. I was really impressed with how much the students remembered from the first book since a whole week had passed since we read it. Nice job, first graders!

Cat in the Hat Venn Diagram

The 2nd graders are working on making connections. Part of our reading initiative at Chappell is to teach students how to activate their prior schemas in order to make connections from text to self; from text to text; and from text to world. This is not easy, but the students are working hard and it is obvious that they are starting to think critically about how they read.

Making Connections

It is not an exaggeration to say that Theodore Seuss Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss, revolutionized children’s literature. He made reading fun; thus, engaging children and showing them that reading isn’t always serious or a chore. Instead, reading can be silly and entertaining. It could even be silly entertainment!

Let’s continue to honor Dr. Seuss’ legacy by reading to our kids and reading often.

Getting Ready for the ISAT

In just a couple of weeks, the students at Chappell will be sitting down to the ISAT (Illinois Standard Achievement Test). We’re proud of how well our students have done in the past and we are confident that our students will continue to do well. Though the ISAT is not something you could typically study for ahead of time, it is something you can still practice and prepare for. To that end, students are working on extended response writing strategies in the classroom. In the library, the older students are honing their reading skills by learning strategies that can help them find the important information much more quickly and efficiently. Through next week, all of the students will have time in the computer lab to work on Study Island or Dimension U in order to improve their math or science skills.

Even more than this, students need to remember not to get stressed out before the test. By this time, most of the older students have already taken the ISAT several times and they already know what to expect. Students should ensure that they get plenty of rest in the days leading up to the test and eat a good breakfast, either at home or at school.

 

SOPA, PIPA, and you

Imagine going to your favorite website and seeing this:

SOPA

How would you react? Possibly with confusion, a little irritation, and maybe even frustration and anger. Unfortunately, this image may soon be showing up on computer screens pretty soon if Congress manages to pass SOPA and PIPA into law.

Blacked out Google logo

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a bill that ostensibly protects copyright. The major backers and supporters of this bill include major movie studios, as well as the MPAA. While this bill is being presented as one that will protect copyright holders (movie and music studios) from overseas piracy, the truth is that if the bill becomes law, it will provide those companies with almost unlimited power that is unchecked and virtually unstoppable. For example, if Warner Bros. feels that a foreign website is illegally streaming a leaked movie trailer, the studio can force Google to remove links to the offending site without waiting for a court order. However, if Google wants to protest this decision, it has five days to file a formal protest in a court of law.

Blacked out Wikipedia

For most people, the wording of the bills, even the names of the bills (Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act) seems to be legitimate reasons to support the passage of these bills into law. While it is true that piracy and the theft of intellectual properties are deeply unfortunate and unethical, the actual language of the bills obfuscates the true purpose of these laws. Namely, it is to censor the Internet and allow it to be controlled by the corporations and lawmakers, all in the name of “protecting” the rights of artists, some of whom have vocally opposed the bills.

So how does this affect us as students and educators?

Some of the websites that would be affected are sites that we, at Chappell, use every day. For instance, the library has started using Scribd to allow students to access homework at home so that they won’t be penalized for leaving their assignments at school.

Scribd

Though most Scribd users do use the site to publish their own materials, there may be a small percentage of users who are using others’ works as their own. As a result, if the law passes, then Scribd would be shut down. The average user will no longer be able to access the materials that is being shared freely. Among those average users are Chappell students.

Blacked out WordPress

Though we are careful not to use copyrighted materials on our blog, other users may not feel the same way. If even one user decides to post an original video using copyrighted music, what is to prevent the music studio from shutting down all of WordPress without distinguishing among all the blogs? These bills are the slippery slope that can lead to companies misuing the law to their advantage. SOPA and PIPA can also have a negative effect on educational content.

The freedom of speech is wonderful in that people are free to say whatever they want. It is also terrible in that people are free to say whatever they want. Attempting to protect copyright and intellectual property with SOPA/PIPA is like removing the entire hand to get at the splinter in the thumb. Protecting the Internet is protecting our freedom of speech and our right, as well as our children’s rights, to interact as global citizens without the fear of censorship or punishment.

Welcome Back!

It’s the first week back from winter break and most of the students haven’t lost their spirit. Well, we’ve hit the ground running and the students will need all their energy to keep up!

In just a few short weeks, the second quarter will be over. The students have been working very hard in December and they will need to keep up the good work. This is especially important now that the ISAT is just a little over a month away. Chappell is proud to be one of the few schools that has consistently met AYP year after year and this year is going to be no exception.

 

Our students work hard even after school!

December Happenings

I am not exaggerating when I say that we’ve just been swamped lately! We have been especially busy in the technology classes. The 8th graders researched various high schools in Chicago and are now presenting their findings using Power Point as their visual aid. I’m very proud of the work that the 8th graders put in. Though we did have about a month to research, some of the students have never used Power Point before and if they have, it wasn’t extensively. All things considered, they have done a good job and I look forward to doing more presentations with them using different presentation software.

The 6th and 7th graders spent this past month learning how to evaluate websites. The set of skills they learn from this unit will be beneficial for them throughout their lives. The way we receive information today is vastly different even from the way we learned things ten years ago and it is important that our students learn how to process and sift through the bad and/or irrelevant bits to get to the quality.

The 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders are learning how to type! They started out learning about the home row and even now, we are gradually starting to learn how to type on the home row without looking at the keyboard. This is definitely not easy, but their eagerness and enthusiasm is really encouraging. I’m hoping that they will be able to type at least 10wpm with a minimum of 80% accuracy when we return from winter break.

The 2nd graders are working very hard, as well. The first two weeks of December, they read Snowmen at Christmas and created their own snowmen using crayons and watercolors.

2nd grade snowmen

This week, we are reading Dr. Seuss’ classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the students will be describing what they would do to make the Grinch smile.

The 1st grade read If You Take a Mouse to the Movies earlier this month and completed TWO activities! The first was a sequencing activity where they had to describe the order of events. While we did a pretty good job, I think we’re going to have to continue working on this reading skill. However, the second activity, where the students had to use adjectives to describe Mouse, went very well. In fact, the 1st graders did so well, their work is now being displayed on the bulletin board in the hallway!

Bulletin board

The Kindergarteners are also working hard. They just recently were allowed to start taking their books home and a couple are having trouble bringing them back, so we need to work on this. In the library, they also read Snowmen at Christmas and they drew their snowmen on construction paper (no paint!). A few of the snowmen are currently being displayed along the windows in the library. We started working on compare and contrast, but I think it will be better if we wait until after break to focus on this skill.

Our snowmen

Finally, we have a Donors Choose project that needs funding. Since we don’t have an art teacher, many of the students are missing out on an essential learning experience. It is my firm belief that students need the opportunity to create while they are in school. Art allows students to express themselves in ways that words cannot. The project is focused solely on art supplies for the library. I hope that our students will continue to be inspired by literature and use that inspiration to create art, whether it is through words or drawings.

Online Book Fair

Want to buy books, but don’t want to deal with the crowds? Couldn’t make it in time to buy the last copy of the popular new bestseller? No worries, just access our online book fair by clicking on the image below.

 

 

Book Fair

The Chappell Elementary School Book Fair will be held on November 16 (Report Card pick up) from 12p-6p to November 17 from 9a-3p. Books make great presents and this is a wonderful opportunity to buy gifts for the holidays! Some of our titles include the brand new Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever and the long awaited Bad Kitty vs the Baby. We also have titles for older students like Matched and the newest Vladimir Tod novel, The First Kill (Slayer Chronicles). Stop by and see what we have to offer!

The School Librarian

I think people are often surprised to learn that I spend more time planning lesson, teaching, and grading, than i do shelving or processing books. I can’t say that I blame them. In fact, when I used to teach, I didn’t think much about my school librarians because they weren’t necessarily the most involved people in the building. Along the way, however, I met a couple of very dedicated librarians who were also very involved with collaborating with the teachers. As I spent more time with them, I learned that the school librarian (or resource center supervisor or school media specialist or information specialist) was fast becoming an important educational resource. This is because she (yes, there are male school librarians, but they are still a rare breed) is trained to collaborate with teachers and to provide support to the staff where and when needed. The school librarian is also trained in the art of information so that she can look up and find what the students and staff are looking. More often than not, the school librarian is also trained in the use of cutting edge educational technology. I know that when I was in my education program, I was barely exposed to technology tools while I couldn’t get away from them in my library program.

For those of you who still believe that librarians are older, bun-styled, glasses-wearing (okay, I do wear glasses) ladies who shush students while pushing books around may be surprised to learn that this is no longer the norm.