CEESA Learning Innovated 2016

I am very excited of the opportunity to introduce the journey of our Learning Commons at CEESA Conference, Istanbul Turkey. Our Art teacher, Edna Vahter, and I are presenting at the CEESA Learning Innovated unConference - an innovative professional development event that CEESA is hosting for the second year. The unConference is facilitated by Joseph Barder.

What is an unConference?

Some key ideas:

     # participants set the agenda to explore topics that are highly relevant and important to them in an extremely collaborative and participatory environment;

     # everyone attending comes with the idea of sharing in mind;

     # everyone attending is responsible for their own experience; 

    # the most stimulating conversations generally take place over breaks when participants can interact with each other and discuss various topics, including their own professional interests.

Below Stanford IT unConference video illustrates the concept further.

“So much of life and work is overly structured that it doesn’t give us, or our ideas, the room to run and grow freely. By contrast, the unstructured, high-energy environment of the unConference amplifies ideas,” reflects one of last year's attendee of the unConference.

You can read more about our workshop in the next post.

What available at the library?!

It's my pleasure to let you know of the various on-site and off-site resources available at ISE Library. All resources include materials for all grade levels, students and teachers, for curriculum support, learning, research and leisure reading.

Please visit Learning Commons and Library sites to learn what's happening at the far end of the second floor.

ISE website Online resources page includes links to ISE Online Catalog and subscription databases available at ISE - World Book Online (all school range research and e-books database) and EBSCOhost (premier academic research database for IB DP).

ISEOnline catalog offers access to all the books at the library and to our e-reader platforms, MackinVia and FollettShelf.

Please contact Ms. Kadri, kadrit@ise.edu.ee , for the log-in information.

There is also a link to Ms. Tomson Recommends – Online Resources wiki offering free resources for online reading, learning and research; carefully selected by Ms. Kadri Tomson, reviewed and recommended by fellow librarians and information specialists.

Please find Ms. Kadri in the library for further questions. Come yourself and/or bring your students, children. 

Make the most of the resources our library offers. Check it out as one needs beauty AND the brains:)

"There is no greater sadness than the end of a book"

I just have to share the the below video of love for reading featuring a very young yet eager reader. He knows no greater sadness than the end of a book. Do you sometimes feel like that at the end of a great story? If only books and reading would leave such strong emotions to the most of us, so we couldn't live without them...

Video "The saddest bookworm", Youtube, uploaded by leesedanielle, 1. Sept, 2015

Welcome to the new school year PYP!

The school year has started and we are at the full swing at ISE and in the Library by now.

Below is some info about how library time is allocated at PYP, primary school, level. This year I will also be looking for further collaboration with core classroom teachers to teach and learn about information literacy skills in an authentic setting while exploring UOI topics.

Lower school students come to the library for weekly library and information studies class. During that time we learn about library behaviour, book care, and an orientation to library matters and subjects according to their grade level. Research skills are essential for studying and learning; therefore these skills are reinforced in information studies lessons at the upper elementary level.

We read stories with younger students every lesson, discuss and explain what is happening in the story. Students have an opportunity to show their communication – viewing, listening and speaking; thinking and social skills, and share their experiences. Stories are often connected to the UOI topics learnt in homeroom.

Upper elementary students focus on learning research skills; how to locate, organize and use information. We search ISE Online catalogue, and learn to use reference tools available at ISE library. We talk about plagiarism and what is “good” information.

At the end of the class students have a chance to find a book for home reading. Students start taking books home beginning Reception class. The choice is up to your child, as to what she or he wants to read. Each child has a blue library bag. All new students will get a bag from the librarian, and it has to be returned at the end of the school year. Children can keep their books up to 4 weeks, but new books can’t be checked out until the previous one is returned. Therefore, younger students might need a reminder to take their books back to school at the right time.

I am looking for happy exploring and exciting discoveries at the library and occasionally some cookies:)

My Grandfather's Clock

Hear the song and read the story behind the piece "My Grandfather's Clock" from the previous post.

New book! Wonderstruck by Brian Selznik

From Brian Selznick, the creator of the Caldecott Medal winner THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, comes another breathtaking tour de force.

Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey.

Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories--Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.
Age level 9 and up
Grade level 4 and up
Scholastic Press

The Joy of Books

I hope that books bring color and joy to your lives as well!

Book Week in the library

Take a look at some of the Book Week activities in the library.

Reception reading with Franklin and Grade 1 drawings of bunnies the Jan Brett way.

We have looked at these inspirational video clips below on what does it mean to be an author and/or an illustrator. What inspires these wonderful writes to create their books. Here are the authors PYP students picked.

Reception

Paulette Bourgeois
Classic Franklin stories; Paulette Bourgeois and Brenda Clark talking about their teamwork to make Franklin books come alive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFkSrSzUdCk
Totstock 2011; Paulette Bourgeois reading an excerpt from Franklin in the Dark, her first Franklin story ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM51TA8Fy3k

Grade 1 Jan Brett
http://www.janbrettvideos.com/video/video_main_page.htm
Jan Brett at Home; where does she get the ideas for her stories.

All about the Hat; what inspired this story.
How to draw a bunny, grade 1 followed Jan Brett’s instructions and drew a bunny.

Grade 2 Roald Dahl
Biography http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A48OHQ5SlIo&feature=related
The Wonderful World of Roald Dahl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZXEGBfYxo0

Grade 34

Patricia Polacco
On being a storyteller, author, illustrator, what inspires her stories, what to look for in her books
Thank You, Mr. Falker and Thunder Cake books clip http://www.teachingbooks.net/spec_athr.cgi?pid=4369&a=1

Grade 5

Kate Di Camillo
Kate DiCamillo talks about what does it mean to be an author http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ22JDPvg5M&feature=related

Kate DiCamillo short 1:50 minute clips on her books, writing,
and advice for young writers. http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/dicamillo/

Happy readings and adventures in 2012

Welcome back from a long relaxing holiday.

I hope you are ready to discover the magic of books.

Enjoy this VIDEO.

Letting the holiday spirit in the library

This is the view out from my library window and here is a reading recommendation for a snowy day:

"Snow is My Favourite and My Best" by Lauren Child

The weatherman has predicted snow, and Lola absolutely cannot wait. She just loves snow. "Why can’t it be winter ALL the time?" she asks her brother. But on an adventure to the Arctic, Charlie shows Lola why never-ending snow might not be so perfect for kids. How could Lola go swimming or wear her favorite stripe-y party dress if it were always cold?

In this book, Lauren Child brilliantly and hilariously captures every-kid feelings and emotions—this time about the magical first snowfall of the year.

Product Description, amazon.com

Check it out from the library!

In case you love Charlie and Lola see the video Snow is My Favourite and My Best.

Aren't you just as excited about the snow as Lola?

Summer

Gotta keep reading... Do it on a beach, on a plane, in the garden, near the fire, in a cottage! Enjoyable moments with a book! Video