fes library annual report 2014

8/12/2019 FES Library Annual Report 2014

1/5

Statistics:Annual circulation numbers:

41,359 items were checked out of the

FES Library during the 2013/2014

school year.

Class Visits:

An average of 44 classes per week (9

classes per day) visited the FES Library

for lessons and book check-out.

continued on page 2

Author/Illustrator Visits

FES LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT

2013/2014

Six authors and illustrators visited students at Falmouth

Elementary School during the school year. Classroom teachers

worked with me to plan these visits that were tied to the curriculum.

Cathryn Falwell- Rainbow Stew author/illustrator visit with

Kindergarten tied in with Rainbow Stew Storywalk in PE classes.

(May)

Lynn Plourde and Ben Bishop- author/illustrator visit with 4th

grade, part of Maine social studies unit (May)

Kevin Hawkes- author/illustrator visit with 2nd grade (April)

Melissa Stewart- author visit with 3rd grade (February)

Cynthia Lord- author visit with 4th and 5th grades (November)

Author visits were funded PTO Arts Enrichment funds & book fair funds.

Above:Author/illustrator, Kevin Hawkes shows his sketch book to 2nd

grade students

34000

36000

38000

40000

42000

2011-2012 2013-2014

FES Circulation Statistics

FES art teacher, Bonnie Taylor,

created a Wicked Big Toddlah for

Kevin Hawkes visit.

Nonfiction author, Melissa Stewart,

visited 3rd grade classes in February.

4th grade teacher, Jennifer Merrifield,

poses with author, Cynthia Lord. Ms.

Lord visited 4th and 5th grade classes

in November.

Cathy Potter- School Librarian

Jane Sparks-Assistant Librarian


2/5

Information Literacy& Library Classes

K-3 classesvisit the library each week

for 30 minutes. During that time

students take part in literacy lessons

with Mrs. Sparks and Mrs. Potter.

Students also select new books to

check out each week. Lessons include

genre studies, author studies, fiction

and nonfiction lessons, introduction to

literary devices and themes, and much

more.

Fourth and fifth grade classes are on

a flexible schedule; they do not have a

scheduled time for library lessons.

Instead, library lessons are integrated

with the curriculum. Teachers

schedule times to bring their classes tothe library as part of collaborative

lessons and units based on what they

are studying in class. This allows me to

work with classes for longer periods of

time for consecutive days during

longer units and projects.

Mrs. Palmers class wrote their own

Native American Legends and

recorded their stories using the

Shadow Puppet app on the iPads.

Mr. Rosenblums students learn how

to use iPads to keep track of the books

they read using Biblionasium.com

Mrs. Merrifields class took part in Mystery

Skype visits with classes in other states

(California, Oklahoma, New York, Illinois, Iowa,

Georgia, and Massachusetts).

Teaching with Technology Course for Staff

Anne Macdonald, Peggy Becksvoort, Dan Wolotsky and I

collaborated to offer a self-paced, technology course for

Falmouth teachers in March and April. Twenty-two staff

members took the course either face-to-face or online.

Examples of Lessons and Units Taught in the Library- 2013/2014

Identifying genres

Identifying theme

How do illustrations help tell a story (artists techniques)?

Visual thinking strategies

Strategies for self-selecting books in the library

Maines sense of place- using picture books and photographs

Effective searching strategies- using the online catalog

Locating and citing photos & images from Creative Commons sites

Evaluating websites

Nonfiction reading strategies- identifying style & structure

The Newbery Medal- history and criteria

Using Animoto to create book trailers

The research process- locating the best print & digital sources,

note-taking strategies, synthesizing information, citing sources

from AASLs Empowering

Learners:

The mission of the school library

program is to ensure thatstudents and staff are effective

users of ideas and information;

students are empowered to be

critical thinkers, enthusiastic

readers, skillful researchers, and


3/5

Library Programs &Events

Dot Day-celebrated the week of

September 15

Read Across America Day-

celebrated March 3

World Read Aloud Day- March 5

Library Open House for Families-

March 19

Picture Book Smackdown- Some 3rd

and 4th grade classes took part in a

Google Hangout On Air and connected

with two authors and schools in four

states to celebrate Picture Book

Month in November.

Rules read aloud-All 4th & 5th grade

classes started the school year by

reading aloud Rules by Cynthia Lord.

The book sparked rich discussions

about acceptance, kindness and

inclusion.

Mock Caldecott Program- K-5

students read 6 books and discussed

the illustrations using the Caldecott

Medal criteria. Journey by Aaron

Becker was the school-wide winner.

Mock Newbery Book Club- 60

students read and discussed books

from the reading list. Rump: The True

Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl

Shurtliff was the winning title.

Maine Student Book Award-84% of

4th and 5th graders at FES

participated in the MSBA program.

Chickadee Award- All K-3 classes took

part in this state picture book award

program.

Webcast with author, Jeff Kinney-

Many 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes

viewed this live webcast in the library

and in their classrooms.

Author Skype Visits- Some classes

and book clubs Skyped with authors,

Megan Frazer Blakemore, Liesl

Shurtliff, Kate Messner, Ame

Dykeman, and Laurel Snyder.

Scholastic Book Fair- May 27-June 2

Sibert Medal Open House for FES

Staff- Teachers were invited to the FES

Library to view the hundreds of

nonfiction books I received while

serving on the Sibert Medal

committee.

SPECIAL EVENTS

4th and 5th grade students from the

Mock Newbery Book Club hold up titles

from the reading list.

Students from Mrs. Walshs class show

off the dots they created for Dot Day.

The class Skyped with a class in

Wisconsin in honor of Dot Day.

Mrs. Arsenaults 2nd grade class

poses with the dots they created for

Dot Day.

Mrs. Clarks third grade class used

Skype to read Ish by Peter

Reynolds to a class in Texas.

Miss Wheelers class took part in a

Skype author visit with author,

Kate Messner.


4/5

Professional Accomplishments

Committee Work

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book

Award Committee- 2014

Chickadee Award Committee (chair)

American Association of School

Librarians- Best Apps for Teaching and

Learning Committee

Presentations Given in 2013/2014:

September- New England Reading

Association Conference: Technology to

Motivate Readers

October- Association of Computer &

Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM)

State Conference- Apps for Content

Creation (with Anne Macdonald)

October- New England Library Association

Conference: Appy Hour

November-AASL National Conference

(Hartford, CT): 2013 Best Apps for

Teaching and Learning

June- American Library Association

Annual Conference (Las Vegas): 2014

Best Apps for Teaching and Learning and

Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries

Webcasts Hosted Over the Past Year

Tech & Learning Webinar Listening

Literacy and the Common Core http://

www.techlearning.com/webinars/0004/

listening-literacy-and-the-common-core-

how-audio-books-improve-reading-

ability/54177

School Library Journal-Using Nonfiction

in the Library, the Classroom and at

Home (co-moderator)

http://www.slj.com/2014/02/webcasts/

using-nonfiction-in-the-library-the-

classroom-and-at-home/

Recent Interviews

School Library Journal Third Annual

Picture Book Month is in Full Swing

http://www.slj.com/2013/11/events/

third-annualpicture-book-month-is-in-

full-swing/

Childrens Book Review On the Shelf

with Librarian Cathy Potter http://

www.thechildrensbookreview.com/

weblog/2013/09/on-the-shelf-with-

librarian-cathy-potter.html

Photo of presenters from Common

Core IRL: In Real Libraries session at

the ALA Annual Conference in June
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5/5

Goals for 2014/2015

Report prepared and submitted by

Cathy Potter, school librarian at

Falmouth Elementary School.

July 2014

Teachers browse nonfiction books on

display at the Sibert Medal Open House.

Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Sparks and Mrs.

Potter stand in front of the dots

students created in art class.

Meet with the new school-wide literacy team to plan reading and

writing events for the school. We met for the first time in May and

generated ideas for events for 2014/2015. The team agreed on an

author study of Kate DiCamillo in January.

Work with the 5th grade teachers to develop inquiry-based research

units.

Develop a storytelling and readers theater unit with 3rd grade

teachers.

Teach all K-2 students how to access online articles on Pebble Go.

Align library lessons with the Common Core State Standards.

Continue to collaborate with teachers and co-plan research units

(ex: National Parks research project in 4th grade).

Continue to add quality nonfiction books to the collection.

Support teachers as they implement the CCSS.

Increase the number of e-books available through the FES Library

catalog.

Educate families about print and online resources available to them

through the FES Library and the Falmouth Memorial Library.

Online Databases and Resources Available to FES Students and Staff

TrueFlix- Nonfiction e-books for grades 3-5

BrainPop & BrainPop Jr.- Educational videos

Pebble Go- Informational articles for grades K-3

Tales2Go- Unlimited streaming of audio books for children

Facts4ME- Informational articles for grades 1-4

Subscriptions to these online resources are funded with money from Box Tops for Education and from book fair

proceeds.

Additional resources may be found on the FES Library site: http://mrspotter.edublogs.org/
http://mrspotter.edublogs.org/http://mrspotter.edublogs.org/

fes library annual report 2014

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