Next year we will be moving our library program to a flexible model of scheduling rather than a fixed model, as it has been for a number of years. The librarian will no longer be providing instruction as a part of the Teacher’s Planning Period. Rather, the librarian will become a partner in learning for the entire DBE Community. Below is an info graphic designed to illustrate the differences between a fixed and flexible scheduling model for library programs and services.
Be Prepared! Even though our #DBEReaders continue to devour books, it is the time of year we need to make plans to return books for the yearly inventory and summer vacation. Here is the schedule of library check out for the remaining weeks:
May
5 – Check out up to 5 books
12 – no Check out … Book Fair!
19 – Check out up to 3 books
26 – Check out up to 3 books
June
2 – no Check out, RETURN ALL LIBRARY BOOKS
9 – no Check out, RETURN ALL LIBRARY BOOKS
DBE Library Blog Dos and Don’ts
Some Sample Classroom Blogs
March Book Madness Continues in the DBE Library. We have 32 books 
competing in 2 divisions (2014, prior to 2014). It has be a phenomenally enjoyable experience for everyone and our students sharing in the joys and wonders of picture books. Stay tuned, as the brackets heat up, we’ll share more!
You can also follow #MBM2015 on Twitter or look for the DBE Library as well @dbelibrary
Brackets are available for Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers and Young Adult Titles. DBE Readers will be looking solely at the Picture Books Bracket.
For the first time, DBE Readers will be participating in a worldwide March Book Madness. Thanks to the Nerdy Book Club, all DBE readers have the opportunity to help seed (select) 64 participants (books) to compete in a bracket modeled after NCAA’s March Madness.
Brackets are available for Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers and Young Adult Titles. DBE Readers will be looking solely at the Picture Books Bracket.
If your student would like to submit their selections, independent of our school wide selections, they can simply use the Picture Books form and list their top ten titles for each of the 2 categories (2014 and before 2014).
For the past 2 years, the DBE Library has been fortunate enough to have been awarded multiple special initiative grants provided by our very generous PTA here at Daniel Bagley Elementary. Most recently we received a grant to revitalize our Gerald and Piggie collection by Mo Willems. At the time of the grant request, the DBE Library had 68 copies of 19 titles that had circulated 4222 times total since the library first began acquiring titles in 2007. Thanks to the PTA, our grant titled “Operation Elephant and Piggie Rescue: Code Name Gerald” added 42 new books to our library’s collection.
All of our DBE Readers would like to say Thank You to our PTA for your continued support!
You’ve made it to the DBE Library Blog, you may have visited our Facebook Page and now, if you are interested you can follow along on Twitter @dbelibrary. The DBE library will post anecdotes, links, and general library items of interest.
We had a busy week this week, Valentines and Friendship books, guessing how much?, reading more of the newest Newberry Award winning novel Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, and wrapping our brains around dichotomous keys (check this dichotomous CANDY key out)! For more information on what is happening in your child’s class during library time, be sure to follow the links above.
On a day like today I LOVE to share a few jokes:
Q: What do you call a very small valentine?
A: A valentiny!
Q: What did one light bulb say to the other?
A: I love you a whole watt!
Q: What did one pickle say to the other?
A: You mean a great dill to me.
Q: What do squirrels give for Valentine’s Day?
A: Forget-me-nuts.
Q: What did one snake say to the other snake?
A: Give me a little hug and a hiss, honey.
Each week the DBE Library posts a brief summary of what is happening at each grade level while students are in the library. This librarian does not simply read stories and check out books. While I do delight in that aspect of the job I am blessed with, I also am very keenly aware of the impact our work in the library can have on student learning within the four walls of our school and beyond.
While the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) do not necessarily govern my desired teaching outcomes, I am keenly aware of how the work we do in the library relates to these new standards. For this reason I have begun to include targeted CCSS for each weekly lesson. In addition, I could easily point to numerous standards that each lesson touches upon. However, for the time being I do still believe the content of the lesson and the learning outcomes are still of greater importance and I will simply be offering one grade level appropriate standard for each lesson.
If you would like to learn more about the CCSS, Washington State’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction offers resources for families that help explain the standards in various formats. Of course if you are really interested, there is “an App for that” called Mastery Connect – CCSS at your fingertips!
Wow! Not only were we able to finish up our unit on snow before the Winter break but we were blessed with snow on the last day of the unit! Two years in a row we’ve had snow during our snow unit. Wondering if I should push my luck next year. Thanks to all out Bees for making the library look so cozy.