. During the book fair this week I was talking to some of our volunteers about the old "card catalog" and how it was somewhat cumbersome to use. Flash forward to 2016 and it's awesome to see students using the computer catalog with such success! Even 2nd graders are learning how to look up and find a book. The older students have it down cold and have progressed to putting books on "hold". If the book has a waiting list (Think Minecraft or Smile.) And yes, those gaming skills are coming in handy as students navigate screens, click on links, and use their accumulated technology skills to drill down through data to find what they want. And as a bonus, they help each other, as their naturally kind selves. I'm amazed every day with what they learn and can do.
Several times recently students have searched for and checked out books related to their personal lives, and I couldn't be happier! One student's father was going to Alaska and the student wanted a book about Alaska so he could learn about where his father was going. Another student, more recently, had been to visit the Liberty Bell over the "snow holiday". He wanted to read all about it, now that he had actually seen it. I love this! It's so great to see students using the media center as a place where they can learn about their own interests!
It's amazing that students are so attuned to what they want to read. Although this does not happen overnight, it's interesting to watch the process unfold as I see students progress from kindergarten through 5th grade. By the time students are in 2nd grade, many know exactly which books they want each time they come into media class. Today a student wanted a book about baking a cake. When I helped him find the section with cookbooks, he was not happy. He did not want a plain, old cookbook! He wanted a book about making a chocolate cake. After we looked at the table of contents together, he agreed to take the book. I hope it works for him!
I love the way 3rd graders start to race through the series books...and they want them in order! Looking for book #11 of the Magic Puppy series kept me busy for awhile a few weeks ago as the student stood in anticipation. The series books provide a nice comfort zone for newly minted readers. 3rd graders are becoming proficient readers and it's a challenge to keep up with what they want! 5th graders become a league of their own as they find new series and titles all on their own. They are eager to recommend books for the library and eager to tell me what they are reading. The boys have the car and sports section cornered while the girls prefer chapter fiction. It's really exciting to me when students go right for what they want and how they will even put books "on hold" so they are sure to get a copy. Each media class is different and I wouldn't have it any other way! I'm excited about the new format of literature that we can now offer the students. With our new ebook format, students can now access our library books from home or at school using an app and a login. If students have access to any device that has Internet, then they can log in to the CMES catalog (accessible from the CMES homepage) and browse under ebooks. Another option for borrowing ebooks and audiobooks is at your public library. You can download the app called Overdrive and you can download or read online. I personally like both formats for reading. An ebook is nice to have on a plane or on vacation while a print book still feels good in front of a warm fire in the winter! Let me know if I can help you with any of the eformats that you, or your student, might use. I always say the great thing about libraries is that they are free - and that goes for ebooks and audio books as well!
Media Classes are off to a great start! It's thrilling to see that with all the choices children have for entertainment, reading still rocks. Students were anxious to borrow books and tell me about what they had read over the summer. I love watching my students evolve in their reading as they move from picture books to chapter books throughout their years at Cecil Manor. One of the highlights is when students discover new books or series on their own and suggest titles for our media center. A 5th grader recently suggested the Charlie Bone series while a couple of boys asked me to get all of the Notebook of Doom series. And students always let me know that I can never go wrong with princess books or car books.
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