Fox on Wheels part 2

I had students who forgot their books use the iTouch with the microphone to practice retelling the story I read and become comfortable with mobile devices. I found that last year students were scared of using the microphone. I used the iRig microphone and this boy has the sound on low. The button is pushed down. It's better if it is pushed up with a louder sound. By the end of the year students will do a book trailer and this should help scaffold the process. I used Mr. Middleton's script of having students begin by saying the date and day. This helps with nerves and gives them a comfortable start.

Start of a New Year

I read this to 2nd graders and they loved the character of Fox. He is annoyed with his younger sister that he has to babysit, has to deal with his fear of heights, and makes a bad choice by racing in the supermarket with his friends. This tied in nicely with the start of the year and talking to students about appropriate places to run and not run. My huge library is prime ground for sprinting youngsters. Fox is a distinct character with high energy, talks back, shows he's annoyed with younger sister while at the same time showing that he cares about her as well. He's mischievous and likeable.

This transitional book has repetition, slang, and plenty of action to keep students engaged. The author has surprising elements that balance well with the predictability of Fox's actions. For instance, when Louise hurts herself Fox feels guilty and gets her anything she wants. She gets more outrageous with her requests and while she asks Fox for things, he replies, "Of course" meaning of course he will get her what she wants. It isn't until her friends show up and she pops out of bed that Fox realizes she is taking advantage of his attention. There is a depth to how the characters act that allowed for some good discussions with students and laughter to-boot.

This is a level three book with greater frequency of compound and complex sentences and the pictures function more as decoration versus explanation. Although the illustrations do help with understanding some sections and words such as when Louise climbs a ladder and falls off while Fox watches TV. The students like the ending that shows Fox being punished by using a push mower and his other friends being punished as well by washing the car and using a push mower. Many students didn't know what a push mower was but they got the idea that it wasn't as fun as skateboarding which is what Fox is trying to do throughout the entire story. The other phrase they didn't understand was "hold your horses" and laughed when I explained it.

The first page of Fox on Wheels draws readers in with Fox wanting to skateboard with his friends and his mom telling him he has to babysit his younger sister. There's nothing like not getting your own way that pulls a reader into a story. I inevitably have someone blurt out, "I have to watch my sister too!" They are sympathetic toward Fox immediately and drawn by the fun of skateboarding. The three chapters are episodic with the action beginning at the start of the chapter and a resolution happening at the end.

Reading Level 1.9

5 out of 5 Smileys

Using iMovie on the iPad to Welcome Patrons to the Library

It's a new school year! We had a blast making this movie for the library. It took about 2 hours.

I purchased the iMovie app for our iPad to make a movie introducing our staff. We'll put the movie on the LCD screen outside the library. Originally, I tried to make a book trailer but had too many words. I abandoned that project and started tinkering with the preset trailer templates. I decided we could be "Super Librarians" and had Ms. Lin Photoshop a logo like "Superman's" except with an SL versus an S.

Overdrive Digital Library

Parents have been asking for reading levels of the books in Overdrive because it is hard to tell if they are picture books or chapter books. I put together a list of all the books and leveled them.

The following list has 317 eBooks and audiobooks:

May 2012 list of eBooks and Audiobooks

Giddy-up, It's Summer Reading

The dreadful book list question. I get it every year. I've tried to keep book lists, but they get outdated as soon as I make them. I wish I could whip 'em out like a lasso but I'm catching air. And spinning in circles. It's really time-consuming. So when I find a good website with lists of books it is a giddy-up moment!

Here's one:

http://www.readingrockets.org/books/booksbytheme/

Please help me add to it and leave a comment.

Best review I've read on Hunger Games

Stanley Fish authored this great review at http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/staging-the-self-the-hunger-games/?hp

Here's info on Mr. Fish

Stanley Fish is a professor of humanities and law at Florida International University, in Miami. In the Fall of 2012, he will be Floersheimer Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He has also taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Duke University and the University of Illinois, Chicago. He is the author of 13 books, most recently “How to Write a Sentence,” a celebration of sentence craft and sentence pleasure; “Save the World On Your Own Time”; and “The Fugitive in Flight,” a study of the 1960s TV drama.

Overdrive Digital Library

The Lower School and Upper School are piloting Overdrive Digital Library. I purchased 100 eBooks and audiobooks while the Upper School bought 50.  I introduced it to parents last week and 96 books have been checked out in 6 days. I'd say they like it! I put together videos on how to use it. Overdrive has a help file but it is a little confusing to use with all the options.

What is wonderful about Overdrive is that the check in and check out is automatic. Also, people can put books on hold any time and any place. There is no worry about books getting lost or damaged. Some drawbacks to Overdrive are that it doesn't work on the Kindle, there are limited book selections internationally, and the audiobooks have mostly wma versus mp3 files. The mp3 files work with the Overdrive app and are easier to use than the wma files.

I am connected to three Overdrive libraries which allows for quite a variety of choices in books. I use the Taipei Public Library in Taiwan, the Hennepin County Library in Minnesota, and our school's.