Another Successful Fair in the Books!

Despite the harsh weather Mother Nature threw at us, another successful book  fair concluded Monday, November 5 at Brookhaven Elementary.  The library raised about $1500 for new book and equipment.  Once again, I am extremely thankful for the support teachers, parents, students and the school administration gives our library.  It is most appreciated.

I have asked teachers what materials they will need to help them meet our new Next Generation standards.  Nonfiction to support our curriculum is a critical need that book fair funds can begin to address.  In addition, I have a very large wish list replete with titles I think will appeal to our avid readers.  

Finally, I would like to purchase a large screen TV for the library.  While at first glance this may seem extravagant and unnecessary, having a new television will enable us to better use the library for instruction and staff development activities.  I will be looking for a set with ample HDMI inputs that will allow us to use the television as a giant monitor.

Thanks to everyone, again, for your support!

Two Weeks Away!

The official back to school date for teachers is only two weeks away, on August 13, 2012.  I know all of our teachers at Brookhaven have been working hard to prepare for the new school year.  It's just one of the many things teachers do on their own time to help make the school year better for our students.  I am certain when I begin venturing back into the library I will find many teachers already there, preparing their classrooms for Day 1.


We have received about 250 new books so far for this school year.  Several are replacement titles for copies that have been worn out. An example of these is the Wimpy Kid and Harry Potter series.  Others represent new series that I hope you enjoy, including the Katie Wu books and Field Trip Mysteries.  New titles have been added to many old favorites, including Jake Maddox and Debbie Dadey titles.  Lots of sports biographies and pet books are also included in this year's selections.


Sad as it is to say, sometimes our students don't get the opportunity to come to the library each and every time they want new materials.  Hopefully our online titles will be beneficial to them.  TumbleBooks offers many books, quizzes, activities and even National Geographic videos.  FollettShelf offers readers more than 150 titles that are also all testable in Reading Counts. These ebooks can be opened on a computer, smartphone or  tablet operating iOS or Android 3.0 and higher. For the Destiny Quest app, go to Google Play or iTunes app store.

Help Decorate the Library with Our New Reading Theme

This year our Reading Counts theme is Blast Off into Reading.  Would you like to help decorate the library with stars and planets?


If you would, here's what you need to do:

1. Buy a package of foam craft balls.  These come in multiple sizes, so you have a lot of choice.  You can find these foam balls at Michael's or WalMart, among others.  You can also purchase these online.  
2. Next, pick out the paint color for your stars and planets. According to Kid's Astronomy stars are known to be blue, blue/white, white, white/yellow, yellow, orange and red.  The blue and blue/white stars are smaller but hotter than the others; The orange and red stars are the biggest but not as hot as the smaller stars.
3. Paint your planets and stars.
4. Plan on coming to the library on the evening of August 10 to hang your stars.
5. Get ready for a great year of reading!

These are the stars I painted today!

Why Your Child Should Read Nonfiction

When my oldest daughter was about five years old, she told me she wanted a book about dinosaurs. Utilizing my keen reference interview skills I asked her if she wanted a made-up story about dinosaurs or a book that contained facts about dinosaurs.  "Mommy," she said, using her hands to punctuate each word, "I want information!"

It has been my observation in the intervening years that most children prefer informational texts to the stories most adults choose to read to them.  Children are naturally curious about the world they inhabit and want to learn as much as they can about multiple topics.  We all should support them in their quests to be self-directed, lifelong learners, especially as reading for information is essential to life in a post k-12 environment.  National assessments have indicated that students in the United States are particularly weak in understanding informational texts.

The Common Core Standards, which have been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia, will be fully implemented by the state of West Virginia in the next few years.  These standards recognize and address documented deficiencies in reading comprehension, particularly in the realm of informational sources. The text below outlines the expectations for students in grades k-12 according to these standards.

• The standards establish a “staircase” of increasing complexity in what students must be able to read so that all students are ready for the demands of college- and career-level reading no later than the end of high school. The standards also require the progressive development of reading comprehension so that students advancing through the grades are able to gain more from whatever they read.
• Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspective. Because the standards are building blocks for successful classrooms, but recognize that teachers, school districts and states need to decide on appropriate curriculum, they intentionally do not offer a reading list. Instead, they offer numerous sample texts to help teachers prepare for the school year and allow parents and students to know what to expect at the beginning of the year.
• The standards mandate certain critical types of content for all students, including classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare. The standards appropriately defer the many remaining decisions about what and how to teach to states, districts, and schools.

(Source:  Common Core State Standards Initiative: Key Points in English Language Arts,  accessed February 27, 2011.

Recommendations suggest that as children are younger, they will read more narrative (fiction) texts than informational texts.  However by the time children are in fourth grade the ratio on informational to fiction texts should be about 50-50.  By the time students are in high school, the ratio should should shift to 70 percent informational texts to 30 percent fiction.

For our library program, this means that informational texts will need to be provided on a wide spectrum of interest and reading levels.  The challenge will be to find books on dinosaurs that are developmentally appropriate and on varying levels of complexity for all students, grades pre-K to 5.  This is a challenge I can fully embrace!