Honesty Really is the Best Policy!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry for the delayed posts. We have been really busy updating our space and purchasing new materials. We spent a lot of time talking about Honesty in March, and had some really good discussions about when it IS OKAY to tell a little lie.... like when we get a gift we REALLY don't like, or when we are trying to surprise someone. Otherwise, it really is not a good idea to tell a lie. We read 2 other books that highlighted what happens when you do not tell the truth, and how sometimes when 2 people are telling a story their VERSIONS do not end up being the same.

The first story we read was the Principal's New Clothes by Stephanie Calmenson. Here is an excerpt from goodreads:


Mr. Bundy, the principal of P.S. 88, is the sharpest dresser in school. In fact, he's the sharpest dresser in the whole town! But when two tricksters come to town and design a suit of magic cloth for Mr. Bundy, everyone is in for a big surprise!

This story is a modified version of the Emperor's New Clothes. The story shows that sometimes honesty really is the best policy!



The next book we read is a personal favourite. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka:

For those who think they know the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big, Bad Wolf, here it is as they've never heard it before. In this highly acclaimed collaboration between Scieszka and Smith, Alexander T. Wolf tells his side of the incident. Was it premeditated swineacide or simply an accident? Readers can decide for themselves in this laugh-aloud tale that's sure to tickle the funny bone.



Our new focus for April is Cooperation. Look for a post this week to see what we have been reading. Keep Reading!

To Tell you the Truth...

Tomorrow is the first day of our break, and it could not have come any sooner. Students have been working hard and they deserve a break. We have also been hard at work here in the Library with many things happening.

Our database was down all of last week, and to keep books in the hands of the students, we were loaning them manually.
Our Biblio-techies created a new and fun announcement for our Just Read it campaign to keep it going as we took a break. They are also working hard to re-organize shelves so that our Library makes sense!

Our new book for the week was a new acquisition for this year. Our Character focus for this month is Honesty, so we read "The Rumor" by Monique Felix.

A review by goodreads.com:

Word travels quickly through a peaceful village when a hungry beast is spotted in the hills. Some say he has ears that can hear a potential meal from a mile away! Others declare that his stink is enough to kill you with just one whiff! Still others report that his snout is stronger than a vacuum cleaner! The threat compels friends to warn one another and in humorous fashion turn hearsay into an increasingly inaccurate rumor. Uncertainty abounds, but by the time the villagers are safely gathered together out of harm s reach, one thing is for sure readers young and old will be charmed by The Rumor!

We focused on the different types of lies that can be told, and how not sharing truthful information can lead to confusion and a lot of unfair situations. We will continue reading some great stories after the break that highlight what happens when a lie is told. Attached to this blog is a letter to parents to help with discussions related to honesty.

Have a great break!
Keep reading!

Click Clack Fair!

Hello Everyone, and welcome back to Monday! We continue our focus on Fairness with....cows...that type! This great and funny story "Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type" By Doreen Dronin is a great tale about the feelings of fairness between 2 groups in a partnership.

An excerpt from goodreads.com:

His cows like to type.

All day long he hears

Click, clack, MOO.

Click, clack, MOO.

Clickety, clack, MOO.

But Farmer Brown's problems REALLY begin when his cows start leaving him notes....

This book is a great example of working together and being fair. We looked at the perspectives of both the animals and the farmer and had great discussions about what is fair. We also discussed that fair does not always equal getting the same thing as someone else.

Click Clack Keep Reading!

My Way!

Hello yet Again!

This is the last post for today and we are finally caught up! Last week we began a new focus! Fairness, just in time for Black History Month. We read a simple book in the Library about some mice. Chester's Way by Kevin Henkes.

Below is a Synopsis by Goodreads.com:

There was only one way for Chester to do things - his own way. Wilson did things the same way; they were best friends. From double-knotting their shoes to cutting their sandwiches diagonally, Chester and Wilson were two of a kind.

"They really are two peas in a pod," said Chester's mother.

"Looks like it," said Chester's father.

From morning to night - and in every way - they were inseparable. But then they met Lilly ... and extraordinary things happened to their friendship.


The story focuses on 2 mice, Chester and Wilson, and they are exactly the same. Then, a new mouse, Lily (of Purple Plastic Purse fame) comes into town, and she is different. Chester and Wilson treat her very unfairly and are not very welcoming nor do they embrace her differences. Well, the end result is quite nice and worth the read, but we did tie in this story to the experiences of Rosa Parks. The students made some great connections, but were reminded that even school yard mistreatment can be just as hurtful as unfairness on a bigger scale.

Keep Reading!

Mosaic Art

Hello again!

2 weeks ago we began discussions about a new and exciting mosaic art project that we will be working on as a school with a talented artist. Students have had an opportunity to look at Mosaics and Tanya MacFarlane's work. After being exposed to Mosaics, we began discussions on themes, and choosing ideas to represent our school. More info will come soon! What a great activity to follow up our focus on Teamwork!

Link to artist:
http://www.tanyamacfarlane.com/

Link to Mosaics (a how-to):

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Mosaic-from-Broken-Tiles

Yo! Yes? It's all about communication!

Our Teamwork focus came to a close at the end of January, and we ended off the theme discussing the importance of communicating with a team in order to accomplish a goal. We read Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka, and looked at Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport.

We focused on Martin Luther King Jr. as a prelude to Black History Month, and also because the timing coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We looked at how he was able to get such a large group of strangers to come together despite their differences to achieve a common goal. We concluded that he was an excellent communicator and listened to others, and was able to speak well.

In Yo! Yes? We meet two young men, who say very little to each other, but they use other means of communication to come together. They focus on each other's needs, and are able to come together.

After reading this story, we tried as a group (each class) to create a shape using our hands. In order to be successful we needed to make sure that in our team, we made everyone feel important and communicated our ideas. The end results varied from each class. Some classes were successful, others were not. Each class however did realize the importance of communication by the end of the activity!

It's been a while!

Sorry for the delay in posts! We have been really busy in the Library and most of our energy has been spent on our physical space! We have some new exciting things happening here! Thanks to the parent volunteers that have joined our team our students have spent time re- branding the Library helpers, and have been working hard to create new shelf labels, book reviews and more. I will segment the 3 weeks missed in posting to create an easier read.

Introducing the Biblio-Techies!

Our Grade 4, 5, & 6 Helpers have spent the last month trying to re-brand themselves so that they can show our community that they do more than just help! We worked through trying to create several names, and finally settled on Biblio-Techies. We thought that it was an appropriate name because we are a dual-language school, and because they not only help to re-shelf, but they help with maintaining the aesthetics of the Library as well as promote books and reading!