Halloween Pics!

Cutest nerds I have ever seen

I'm totally not impressed

Trapped in the locker?

Cold Ali

Monster and Hulk in the library

More monsters

Let's go Duke

Taking a break

New Review: Kepler's Dream

Ella’s mother has been sick with cancer for many years. Now doctors want to try a dangerous stem cell transplant as a last ditch effort to save her life.   While she undergoes this treatment, Ella needs somewhere to stay.  Her parents are divorced, and her father has been absent for most of Ella’s life.  Because he will be busy leading fishing expeditions, he suggests that his daughter spend the summer with her grandmother, a woman Ella has never met.  Having no other options, Ella and her dog fly to Albuquerque and encounter a very formidable woman who lives in the desert without a television or the Internet.

Violet Von Stern has lived alone many years in her New Mexico adobe with only the companionship of her dog and numerous peacocks.  Her husband died long ago and her relationship with her son, Ella’s father, is poor.  Over the years, she has come to care more for her large library of rare books than her own family.  When Ella arrives, Violet does not know how to act.  She spends more time correcting Ella’s grammar and etiquette than helping her granddaughter cope the very real possibility that she may lose her mother. Ella refers to her grandmother as the General Major and calls the residence the Good Grammar Correctional Facility in the letters she writes to her mother.  It appears that Ella is in store for a miserable summer until a mystery arises. An incredibly valuable copy of Johannes Kepler’s Somnium is stolen from Violet’s library.  There are plenty of suspects, but Ella thinks she knows who is responsible; she just has to prove it.  As she investigates the theft, Ella learns the tragic details of her Violet’s life, and she starts to feel a bit of sympathy for her tough grandmother.

Juliet Bell’s debut novel is the kind of quiet story that is appreciated more by adults than by children.  Ella has a wonderful voice that is full of humor and insight.  In fact, all of the characters in Kepler’s Dream are well developed, as are the themes of family, books, and astronomy.   Where the book falls short is in the mystery, which is resolved without much interest.  Though Kepler’s Dream will not have mass appeal, fifth and sixth grade readers who enjoy novels like Walk Two Moons will appreciate this lovely book.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Grades 5-7

Classroom Blogs at Durham Academy

Many of our teachers at DA are embracing blogging as a method of publishing student writing for an authentic audience.  Our teachers have created Edublog accounts with the help of our Digital Learning Coordinator, Karl Schaefer.  I have been so impressed with the very cool topics that students are writing about.

In 6th grade, Mrs. Donnelly's class is blogging about their grammar projects.  Students selected a grammar rule to present to their class, and then wrote a blog entry to explain what they learned from creating the presentation.  These projects are great mini-lessons that Mrs. Donnelly can refer back to all year.




In Mrs. Williams's 6th grade language arts class, students are reflecting about Durham Academy's new 1:1 iPad program.  Students are writing about how they use the iPads, what they like, and what has been challenging for them.  I love their honest reactions to the new program.  One student wrote, "Instead of getting my papers ruined or ripped in a binder, they are safe on the iPad. So far I think the iPads are really good learning tools."  Another student had mixed feeling about the initiative, "iPad is a helpful tool however, I like to use paper and pencils better, some things are too good to change!"

In fifth grade language arts, students review the books they are reading like The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and Artemis Fowl.  Finally, our French teacher has her students blog in French on various topics.  I have to use Google Translate to figure out what they have written!

Speed Booking

About every three weeks language arts classes come to the library to hear booktalks and check out books.  For each booktalk, I present six books that I think are excellent for the students' grade level.  While this program has been very successful and students report enjoying the booktalks, I felt I was barely exposing students to the abundance of great literature we have in our library.  Today we tried a new reading encouragement program with the sixth graders: speed booking.  The program, which is based on the principles of speed dating, is meant to introduce students to a wide array of books and get them excited about reading.

The set-up is so simple.  I pulled A LOT of books from our shelves that are appropriate for sixth grade.  I selected books that students might not notice, particularly non-fiction, and tried to focus on high interest titles.  I placed about 20 books in a pile on six tables.  Students in groups of four sat down at each table. They had two minutes to select a book from their pile and fill out a simple form.  I used Online Stopwatch to countdown the time; when the two minute timer went off, students had to get up, move to the next table clockwise, and start again. 

In just twelve minutes, every student had looked at over 100 books and given their opinions about six of them.  They then had the opportunity to discuss what they saw on the tables with their peers and check out anything that looked interesting.  The students really seemed to enjoy speed booking.  They were extremely well-behaved during the whole process and very interested in the books.  They loved having the opportunity to talk about what they saw with their friends after we were done.  Though no one was required to take a book, of the 21 students who came during the first class, 18 checked out a book from the tables before leaving the library.

The students have a file in their English class where they keep lists of books they might want to read.  They will place their speed reading forms there.

I will definitely continue using speed booking in addition to my regular booktalks.  It is a fun, easy method for energizing students around books and reading.  This program is very student-centered; my only involvement while they were here was to stop and start the stopwatch.  The only downside is that I will have to shelve a lot of books after the program is over, but I can live with that.

Using VoiceThread to Learn About the 1920s

To learn more about the major events of the 1920s, eighth graders came to the library to research a self-selected topic that they would then turn into a VoiceThread.  Students could pick topics from a list we created, or they could find a subject on their own.  I pulled books and articles from our Gale database to help with their research; we also provided students with a list of websites on the 1920s.  While in the library, students filled out a note-taking template that would serve as the framework for their VoiceThread narrative.  Many students used their iPad to research their topics. As they took notes and collected images for the project, students were required to cite all sources using MLA formatting.

After two days of compiling information, student went to the computer lab to create the VoiceThread. The initial setup of a VoiceThread is always a little difficult for students.  Knowing where to click to add to slides is confusing, but once they get in the flow, it is easy to record the slide show.  Our technology coordinator carefully walked them through the steps on their first day in the lab; students could also watch a video that would show them how to create a VoiceThread.  Many students chose to use their time with the desktop computers to annotate their slides using Skitch, import the slides into VoiceThread, and finalize their bibliography.  Several then used their iPads to record the voice portion at home or during study hall.  Students could create the entire VoiceThread using the VoiceThread app on their iPad, but many commented that it is easier to use the desktop version or a combination of both.

Halloween Decorations in the Library

We LOVE an occasion to decorate in library! A giant spider made out of paper, paper clips, and red glitter hangs over the entrance to welcome students to the library. Our little vampire stands inside the door.

Our bulletin board, decorated with items from the dollar store and headstones made out of Styrofoam,  offers students scary books.

Orange lights on the circulation desk gives a festive feel.

Special thanks to the wonderful library assistant, Kathy McCord, for putting such care into our displays.

Middle School Bookclub

The Middle School Bookclub will meet on November 14 at lunch in the library to discuss Rebecca Stead's fantastic new novel Liar and Spy.  Pizza will be served.  Middle School Bookclub is open to all grade levels, but students must sign up in advance to attend.  There are lots of copies of the book in the library available for check out.