1-Thing Wednesday: Participate in a Summer Reading Program

Now that we're officially on summer break, it's time to bring back the weekly themed blog post. This year it's "1-Thing Wednesday," and the focus will be on just one thing related to the library, the school year, or the tech world. To kick off the very first 1-Thing Wednesday, let's take a look at the summer reading programs at the local public libraries.

Librarians from the Grimes Public Library spoke with students at the end of May about the summer reading program, and visiting the Grimes Public Library website will provide all kinds of information, as well as allow you to watch a promotional video:

CLICK HERE to watch the video.

The summer reading program began on Mon. June 5 and will run until the end of July. Here's what their website had to say about the summer reading program:

Want to see their Calendar of Events? You can access it from the library website, or you can CLICK HERE to view daily summer reading events. 

Live in Dallas Center and want to participate in the summer reading program there? They, too, kicked off their program early in June and are excited to sign up readers all summer long! If you're looking for a way to beat the heat, hang out with friends, or try something new to read, why not visit the public library near you and sign up!

Last Round of Book Talks

Seventh graders were in the library again today to listen to the last round of book talks for the year. Serendipity prevailed, and many of the new books that were ordered in April arrived just yesterday, and in the nick of time made it into today's book talk presentation.



The final slide in the presentation specifically promoted 4 of the new titles added just today:

With just a week and a half left to check out books, stop by today to pick up one of the new titles. Or, make a note to pick them up at your public library over the summer! They'll all make for some great summer reading!

Blackout Poetry & Book Spine Poetry

On May Day, how about a look back at April, National Poetry Month, when we celebrated by creating blackout poems and book spine poems. All of the seventh grade language arts classes passed through the library over three days to "write" poetry.

 Students also stacked library books into poems in a book spine activity. After students pulled books to use, poems began to emerge. Take a look below!

Book Talks with a Twist

In this latest round of book talks, our titles reflect a popular expression as we move into springtime and summer: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.



"Something old" refers to titles we've had in the collection for a bit--like Sanderson's The Rithmatist and Brow's The Wild Robot.

Some of our new spring book fair purchases are included in the "something new" category--books like Ghost by Jason Reynolds and Boy X by Dan Smith.

With classic retellings like Heartless popular now, our book talks also include "something borrowed" with Redwine's The Shadow Queen.

And our "something blue?" Cheating just a little, Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth--its beautiful dark blue cover meeting the need. 

Take a look at the Slides presentation--maybe you'll find something to interest you in this last quarter!

State Award Winning Books Announced

Earlier in March, Middle School students used Google Classroom to vote for both the Iowa Children's Choice Award book and the Iowa Teen Award book. More than 130 students were eligible to vote, having read at least two books from the nominations. Winning the Iowa Children's Choice Award was Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt; the Iowa Teen Award winner was Backlash by Sarah Darer Littman.

Iowa teacher librarians met today for their annual conference and state-wide winners were announced. A drum roll please. . . the Iowa Teen Award winner was also Backlash! And the Iowa Children's Choice winner was I Survived: The Great Chicago Fire by Lauren Tarshis. Statewide, 218 schools participated in the Iowa Children's Choice Award voting, with more than 17,100 votes submitted!

Stay tuned for the 2017 - 2018 Iowa Children's Choice and Iowa Teen Award nominees--and remember, if you read two or more of them, you'll be eligible to vote next spring. These great books make for some good summer reading!

Happy School Library Month!

April is here, and that means we're officially celebrating School Library Month, the American Association of School Librarians' celebration of school libraries, their programs, and all they do. Check out the poster promoting this year's theme "Because School Libraries Empower Students."

Just how are we in the library empowering students at DCG Middle School? With a lot of choice and voice and work and building. We're talking about & recommending books to each other; using technology to lean, explore, and create; make connections personally and digitally; and, strengthening our relationships. Visit soon--we'd love to talk with you!

Another Round of Booktalks

Seventh graders visited the library today to listen to book talks and to visit the Scholastic Book Fair. Some of the highlights from the Book Fair were Exo, The Shadow Queen, and Zero Day.

Below is the book talk presentation--including mention of this year's Newbery Medal winner The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Also featured is a new-to-us sports series by John Coy called the 4 for 4 Series.