Resilience Literature

 Years ago author Laurie Halse Anderson spoke about MG/YA literature she called "resilience literature," and this seemed like a good time to share the idea with students. If there was ever a time for resiliency, now is the time! Seventh graders had class discussions about resilience lit based on a short Slides presentation we walked through together in class.

CLICK HERE to access the full presentation

While our conversations focused primarily on realistic fiction titles, students soon began offering titles that covered a wide range of genres. In a Google Form ticket-out quick assessment, students provided dozens of titles that we later looked at in a Google Sheet:

This collective knowledge then became a stepping-off point for students as they worked on a resilience literature triangle to show their understanding of the topic. Students worked on a Google Slide that included a book with examples of the bad things characters overcame to be resilient. Because students were including images with their explanations, this was a good time to remind them about Unsplash.com images (and its add-on) and clipart.com, both places where students can access copyright-free images.

With Covid-19 protocols in place, sharing our work with one another took on a slightly different look. Students revised their sharing settings, then provided the URL for their work in a Google Form. The spreadsheet of Form responses was something they could access from a link emailed to them, and from there, students could see one another's work. After some time, students participated in a 3-2-1 response activity based on what they'd seen from their classmates:

You can see examples of students' work below:

Genre Work

 Recently sixth graders have been talking about genre in their reading classes, so we picked up the mantle in Literacy Studies for a little "show what you know" activity in Google Slides.

After a class discussion about genre and books in those genres--along with examples of elements from the stories to support the genre--students began their work:

Because this was our first project of the year, we took class time to talk about copyrighted images and places where we can go to get copyright-free images, like Unsplash.com. We're able to use the Unsplash add-on in Slides, so this becomes an even easier way for us to include images in our work.

Students had class time to work on their Slides before sharing their work.

With Covid-19 protocols in place, sharing our work with one another took on a slightly different look. Students revised their sharing settings, then provided the URL for their work in a Google Form. The spreadsheet of Form responses was something they could access from a link emailed to them, and from there, students could see one another's work. After some time, students participated in a 3-2-1 response activity based on what they'd seen from their classmates:

You can also see some examples of students' work below:

Our Fall Book Fair is Online!

With the state of things as they are, our fall book fair has moved to an entirely virtual format. While we will miss sharing our space with families during our student-lead conferences evenings, a virtual fair does allow us to extend our dates and offer students an extended look at the fair during Literacy Studies classes.

Here's the "need to know" about our virtual fair:

• WHEN: Mon. Nov. 2 - Sun. Nov. 15

• WHERE: Online at our DCG MS Virtual Book Fair

• WHAT: More than 200 popular and new titles, along with value packs and book fair exclusives. Thousands of titles and reading-related merchandise also available from The Scholastic Store Online.

• WHY: To support a love of reading and to support our school

In addition to shopping our school's virtual book fair, you also have the opportunity to shop the Scholastic Store Online when you access our book fair website:

Want to explore the fair a little more? You're welcome to check out our Fall Book Fair Choice Board! Just click on the link in the caption to access it.

CLICK HERE FOR ACCESS

While the shopping experience is a little different, we hope you'll join us in supporting reading and literacy and our school by shopping our book fair. Thank you in advance!

Using MackinVIA

 One of the many online reading resources available to us from the Heartland AEA is the online library MackinVIA.

Literacy Studies students spent a couple of days exploring the audiobooks and ebooks available to them from MackinVIA and completed a scavenger hunt to direct some of their exploration. 

Many students found the MackinVIA had some of their old favorites--Alan Gratz & Gordon Korman titles, the Amulet series, A Dog's Purpose, and more!--and also found some new titles that interested them. Some of the books getting a lot of attention right now in the library include:

Students had class time to complete the scavenger hunt and check out any items of interest. Many found that while a title may be unavailable in our own MS library, they were able to check it out from MackinVIA and try the book in audio or ebook form.

You can take a look at the scavenger hunt below:

#MGBookTober 2020

It's been another fun and engaging #MGBookTober on Twitter! Each year a group of authors, teachers, and librarians prepare a list of prompts to promote reading and literacy among readers of middle grade books. This is the third October that I have participated, and this year was another great experience! 

Below are the prompts and my notes about my responses:

Because of others' responses, I've read Three Keys by Kelly Yang and Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson. I'm also excited to read Efren Divided by Ernesto Cisneros, a debut middle grade author in 2020. You can see some of my tweets below:

If you're interested in other #MGBookTober suggestions and responses, be sure to search for the hashtag on Twitter! Happy reading!

2020-2021 Iowa State Award Nominees

 In Literacy Studies classes we have been talking about this year's lists of Iowa Children's Choice Award and Iowa Teen Award nominees. In a post from the summer, students could see what titles were nominated for this year's awards, and recently in class, students have had the opportunity to watch book trailers for the titles and respond with their initial impressions of the books.

Curious about this year's nominees? You can watch trailers for the Iowa Children's Choice Award nominees below when you click on the caption.

CLICK HERE FOR TRAILERS

 You can also watch the Iowa Teen Award trailers--just click on the link in the cap:

CLICK HERE

Feel free to stop by and browse the cases for the state award books! :) Remember, you'll need to have read 2 of the titles from a list to be eligible to vote in the spring. Happy reading!

Online Reading Resources

 With so many options for students' learning--on-site, at home, and online--it's not always possible for students to check out library books in person. Or maybe you've finished your library book and you're looking for another book to read. We can help! In your Google Classroom for Literacy Studies class, you'll find the document for Online Reading Resources.

Remember that our AEA databases offer electronic resources for ebooks and audio books, and many of the options include related websites and other content for books. Need a quick reminder? Here are the options available to you:

Head over to the library main page for the AEA databases link, or you can check your bookmarks--and don't forget to refer to the document for our school username and password. Happy reading!

First Week Flashback: The ABCs of the DCGMS Library

It's the final First Week Flashback, as next month we'll be back in school and blogging about new school year happenings--yay! Before we say goodbye to the First Week Flashback, let's take a quick look at last summer's blog posts, the ABCs of the DCGMS Library.

As you'd expect, the ABCs of the DCGMS Library was a 26-week project that highlighted a variety of activities, learning, and materials from our work in Literacy Studies classes, along with the library space and collection itself. Here's the breakdown:

Want to see all of the posts or read about something more in-depth? You can access the ABCs of DCGMS Library HERE. Enjoy!

Final Week Feature: New Books!

With the start of school just about one month away, it's time to showcase some of the new book purchases from the summertime! 

Several of our new titles are series books--books that add to a series you might already love, series books by an author you might love, and graphic novels in series. For Moon Base Alpha and Spy School fans, the Stuart Gibbs FunJungle series will now be part of the library.

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New books in the Unwanteds Quests series by Lisa McMann will also now be available in the library.

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For those graphic novel fans, we've added to some of the GN series in the collection, including finishing out the Percy Jackson series and the Lumberjanes series.

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Several favorite authors have new books out, as well, and we were fortunate to be able to get them added to the collection over the summer. Look for new titles by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Gordon Korman, April Henry, and Jason Reynolds.

Looking to try something completely new--maybe by a new author or in a genre you're interested in? How about one of these? 

Based on the author's first semester in sixth grade, Rex Ogle describes what it was like as he and his younger brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, were short of school supplies, and was on his school's free lunch program. If you liked The Benefits of Being an Octopus or Crenshaw, this book is for you.

Want to try a survival story with a twist? Why not take a look at Dead Voices, a story about three friends who have to figure out how to escape from a haunted house.

Or maybe you'd like to read Clean Getaway by Nic Stone, the author of Dear Martin? This one tells the story of "Scoob" Lamar, who can't seem to stay out of trouble, especially at school. When he has the chance to road trip with his grandmother, he jumps at the chance. But this isn't your typical roadtrip story!

With almost 100 new books added to the collection this summer, you're sure to find something that interests you! Why not stop in to see what you can find!