Notes from the Smith School Library

Trimester One

August 2024 to November 2024

Greetings from the Smith Library!

Our school year is off to a wonderful start! I am thrilled to be back at Smith for my eigtheenth year as a school librarian; I love being a part of the Smith family and getting to spend time teaching and learning with your kids.

My library philosophy is very simple. In the library, we become critical thinkers, skillful researchers, and enthusiastic readers. I hope your student has shared some of our lessons and activities with you. I have provided a summary of our lessons below. Additionally, there is a short narrative included on the progress report that highlights library instruction; I encourage you to read it with your student and ask about their weekly library skills time.

I have included my schedule for library skills and checkout on the Smith Library website. Please take a moment to check what day your student has library and help them remember to bring back their books on the checkout day (marked CO on the schedule).

Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the months to come!

Hope Morrison

hmorrison@helenaschools.org

Kindergarten

Our focus this trimester has been on getting to know one another and getting familiar with library procedures. Kindergartners enjoyed several stories about school and libraries and spent several lessons discussing the importance of taking good care of our library books. We read lots of autumn themed stories and spent the month of November on our Makerstories unit, in which we pair research with a readaloud and a hands-on Makerspace activity. I've included some photos below.

Kindergartners have library checkout on Tuesdays. I really appreciate your support in helping them remember to bring their books back and hope you are enjoying reading them together in your homes.

First Grade

The first grade students kicked off the year with lots of great discussions about how to become better, stronger readers. We talked about good fit books and worked on strategies for finding these in the library. In October, we started a multiweek unit on the books of Mo Willems, author and illustrator of the Pigeon books, the Elephant and Piggie books, and many others. We spent several weeks on an art activity to go along with Willems' Knuffle Bunny books; the student mimicked the art style by inserting illustrations of their stuffed animals into a photograph background.

We spent November learning about author and illustrator Todd Parr, who is known for his bright, bold style and stories that support social and emotional learning. His book It's Okay to Be Me inspired the first graders to create these self-portraits:

We finished our Todd Parr unit by reading The Thankful Book just in time for Thanksgiving. We learned how to import pictures into PowerPoint and created these videos. I hope you enjoy them!

Mrs. Jones Class

Mrs. LaForge's Class

Second Grade

The second graders started the year participating in discussions about good character and contributing to our PAX vision board. After a quick review on taking good care of library books, we began a Fractured Fairy Tales unit, wherein the students compared and contrasted traditional fairy tales with "fractured," or alternate retellings. This was a lot of fun, and I continue to get requests for fractured fairy tales at library checkout! In November, we kicked off our Adopt-a-Species research; this year, we are learning about the mountain lion. Ask your students to tell you more about this fascinating animal! The students are using both print and digital resources to build their knowledge.

Third Grade & Lower Montessori

The students in these classes spent the first few weeks getting reacquainted with one another and developing our PAX vision for the library. We spent several weeks reviewing the location of various categories of books in the library (picture books, chapter books, information books, and graphic novels) through a variety of activities and scavenger hunts. In November, these students also kicked off our Adopt-a-Species research and spent the last few weeks of the trimester learning about the mountain lion. Our exploration week, which included the opportunity to feel the pelt of an actual mountain lion, was a huge hit!

Fourth / Fifth / Upper Montessori

The students in 4R, 45H, 5R, and UMB had lots of great contributions to our PAX vision board. We followed that with an introduction to Buncee, a really cool digital media tool, and then a multiweek unit on literary genres. Through a variety of activities, students learned the characteristics of genres, how to search for genres in the catalog, and how to locate books in different genres in the library. We have just kicked off the Young Readers Choice Award program. Each year, students in grades four and five are invited to read the eight nominated titles and vote for their favorites. At Smith, students who read at last three will also get invited to a pizza party in the spring. There are lots of great titles this year; ask your fourth or fifth grader about their favorites - you may even get some ideas for holiday gifts!

Beanstack!

We continue to use Beanstack as a reading motivation tool for our Smith Sabers (while it is open to all grades, it is mostly used 2nd-5th). Beanstack is a subscription-based program that allows students to track their reading minutes. I run challenges throughout the year, and students who meet the required minutes get a prize and a shoutout on the morning announcements!

If your student is interested in logging minutes from home, the easiest way to access Beanstack is through our Smith Library website. Your student will need to know their Clever login to access this tool - feel free to email me if he/she does not have this.

A Note of Thanks

Our October Scholastic Book Fair was a HUGE success! In addition to purchasing many new books for our library, I was able to extend the love and purchase wishlist items for our staff.

Thanks to everyone who came out to buy books and say hello. As I shared in my Facebook post that week, it's pretty fun to work the cash register, but my favorite part is the opportunity to meet so many families and tell you how much I enjoy having your kiddos in the library. We will have a second Book Fair at the end of May.

Speaking of Facebook...

Be sure to like and follow the Smith Elementary Facebook page to keep up on all the fantastic things happening around here! We update it frequently with pictures and stories, and we'd love to have you follow along.

Wishing you and your family a joy-filled holiday season!

Smith School Library

Hope Morrison, Librarian

MS in Library and Information Science

National Board Certified Teacher

Email: hmorrison@helenaschools.org
Location: 2320 Fifth Avenue, Helena, MT 59601
Phone: 406-324-1527
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SmithSchoolHelena