Listen. Connect. Empower.

This year's Summer Reading took on a new, refreshing feel this year.  Reading Specialist Allison Kieffner and I were given the freedom to develop our own Summer Reading program and we abandoned reading levels, book logs, and reading minutes.  Instead, we partnered with the Public Library and gave our students permission to read far and wide. We planned and launched the program at an assembly at the end of the school year which was hosted by the Student Council.  One third grader shared with us some writing that was important to her and the story behind it.  Next, members of the Public Library staff came to explain what Summer Reading looked like.   They shared with us how to "sign up" for Summer Reading. They shared with us the lanyard that students would receive and explained how they could earn pins by reading across genres. Staff also shared the different types of "items" they could check out of the library.  (I personally have my eyes o...

Every spring I have the privilege to arrange and accompany our 1st grade students on a walking field trip to the Public Library. This year's trip was especially exciting because it offered students an opportunity to "try out" some of the new and exciting offerings at the library and get them excited about Summer Reading. Students try out STEM activities: Students try out no-tech STEM activities: Students learn about how to "sign up" for Summer Reading and choose a book to take home.  Students tour the neighboring greenhouse and learn a bit of local history from volunteers that they recognize from our Chess Clubs and crosswalks.  We are treated to popsicles and plants.   My takeaways This year's visit was especially engaging.  Having so many hands-on activities got students excited about visiting the Public Library.  While most of our students live walking distance from the library, many of...

Our 3rd grade students learn about the history of their town and take walking field trips every spring to local historical sites.  This year I chose several books and activities that would focus our thinking on community art, ultimately leading them to a classroom project where they create a symbol for the town based on what they learned.  We began with the book Maybe Something Beautiful  written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell and illustrated by Rafael Lopez . Part 1 - Laying the foundation (reading the book) After reading I asked students why people create community art.  Overwhelmingly students decided it was to make the community more beautiful and to make people happy, but students had questions.  Was this considered graffiti?  What was the difference between art and graffiti?  We ultimately decided that if someone had permission from an official source, it was not considered graffiti. Part 2 - Digging deeper (meeting the illu...