FISW Community Reads George O'Connor

We can celebrate that all of our students at FISW, from First Steps through Grade 8, have been reading George O'Connor's books. As a community, we are preparing for our work with George as an Author-in-Residence from March 30 - April 1. 

Our youngest students, have enjoyed reading together in Library class. We've laughed out loud as we shared If I Had a Raptor and If I Had a Triceratops as well as Kapow and Kersplash. Students can't wait to see George draw dinosaurs and superheroes!

Our students in Grades 2 and 3, are engaged in books clubs with George's humorous series, Captain Awesome and Super Turbo. Aligning with their Readers Workshops units on Character Book Clubs and Series Book Clubs, students are working in groups of 4 or 5 to read, respond and share their thinking. Each book club chose a name, established rules for reading and pacing and practiced working as a team with a common focus. Part of their work was to studying story elements and plotting the characters' journeys on a story mountain.

Grades 4 and 5 have taken a deep dive into the Olympians series. They have investigated graphic novel elements and worked with reading partners to examine aspects such as character design, action across panels, point of view and visual storytelling. Many students are working through reading the entire series of 12 books and have explored other Greek mythology books.

Our Middle School students also delved into the world of graphic novels through the Olympians. Students tried drawing the gods and goddesses, studied character changes and viewed some of George's YouTube series. Our Grade 8 students are currently reading the series in English class.

We will be ready for an AWESOME visit with George O'Connor in just a few weeks!

FISW Author-in-Residence: George O'Connor

FISW Library is thrilled to announce our first Author-in-Residence experience. George O'Connor, author and illustrator, will work with our community for three full days from March 30 - April 1, 2022.

George O'Connor's Work

George is a creator of graphic novels, chapter books and picture books for all ages. His New York Times Best selling graphic novel series The Olympians (12 books) and early chapter books series Captain Awesome and Super Turbo (24+ books) are popular with our FISW readers. George has also created many picture books for younger readers including If I Had a Raptor, If I Had a Triceratops, Kapow and Kersplash.

As an expert in mythology and comics, George brings his sense of humor, artistic flair and is gift of story telling together to delight children and adults alike.

For more information about George's work, visit his website: www.georgeoconnorbooks.com/

And, check out our very own George O'Connor Choice Board:

Author-in-Residence

During his 3-day stay at FISW, George will work closely with students, teachers and parents. Each class will have two workshops engaged in writing and drawing. We will offer some after-school options for students and teachers and a parent presentation. Students will read several of George's books during both Reader's Workshop and Library class. Multiple copies of all titles are available in our library. We'll also have some virtual sessions with George before and after his in-person stay.

Stay tuned for more information in the lead up to George's visit to FISW!

February Choice Board

Enjoy some reading, building, making and playing around a February and Valentine's Day theme! Take some time to create and share a special note or card with someone this month. You'll find some suggestions for making a digital Valentine card, writing a poem and finding hearts in nature. 

 You'll also discover a collection of stories and songs to listen to in the embedded "Reading Choice Board."

And, a FISW favorite, give your best shot at cracking the Breakout Edu puzzles this month!

If you create something amazing, share it with me! Send me an email to natasha_pollock@fis.edu and I'll feature it on our blog.

Festive Fun with December Library Choice Board

Our December Choice Board is here and it's full of festive fun and learning. As many of you know, out choice boards are an invitation to visit our library virtually. You can continue to read, play, make, build and discover outside the walls of our library space. Whether it's over Fall Break II or during our long Winter Break, we have something for everyone!

Click the board below to begin your adventures:

The December board is packed with NEW exciting choices. Why not try our Virtual Stick Together project? You can contribute "stickers" to the larger picture. Together, square by square, we can build a work of art. You might also want to give some Breakout Edu puzzles a try. Crack the code to solve each "lock box" and break out!

In addition, you will find lego building ideas, origami projects, digital drawing activities, holiday read alouds and songs, as well as some exciting websites for research and discovery. Enjoy the selection and please share which choices you try and love. Learners' feedback is always welcome.

Workshop in the Library: Literacy and Making Collide

Students from Primary through Grade 5 are connecting their learning from Readers and Writers Workshop with their experiences in the library. We are practicing the habits and routines of growing readers and writers including reading aloud together, selecting just-right books, reading independently, conferencing with a partner or teacher and thinking critically about our reading.

A typical library visit for elementary students is 60 to 90 minutes. During this time, we plan our agenda, which may look something like this:

1. Read aloud with partner thinking (15 minutes)

2. Select and check out books (15 minutes)

3. Independent reading with one-on-one teacher conferences (15-30 minutes)

4. Choice Maker Time (15-30 minutes)

During our read aloud time, we read with a particular lens. It may be practising Reading Workshop strategies, turning and talking with a partner, writing about our reading or using a book as a mentor text for our writing. For example, students may be jotting down questions, connections, predictions or important lessons as we read aloud. We then turn and talk with a partner and deepen our thinking before sharing our ideas with the larger group. 

Our next step is to apply what we practiced in our own independent reading. As students select books, the librarian and teacher confer with students and may read with them to check for understanding and application of reading strategies.

Our final block of time together is dedicated to personal choice. We weave in tinkering, playing, building, designing and collaboration. Students are invited to tell stories with their building or take on a challenge. Some students work together over several class periods to construct a multi-step plan, others try out a new way of tinkering, and some keep diving into their reading.

In our FISW Library, literacy and making are colliding in meaningful and exciting ways. Students are connecting their learning across disciplines, applying skills to new contexts and pursuing areas of personal interest.

Library Resources and Choice Boards

Our FISW Library Media Center strives to provide learners with access to relevant information through dynamic virtual AND physical spaces. Our resources support both curricular and personal learning for our community. Our digital library resources are accessible through our FISW Library Media Center home page found below (Click the images to follow the link.)

 

Students, teachers and parents can access our library catalog, our subscription databases and our choice boards. Students know that the library home page is a great place to find age appropriate, readable, or audio video, content for learning. It is a starting point for exploration and research. Ask your child to show you some favourite resources on our page.

Within the home page, students will discover our choice boards. We began to interact with our choice boards during our time in distance learning, however, family students and families requested updates all year. Here is our September Choice Board below. The concept is that students can experience a virtual "visit to the library" by reading, building, playing, making and researching.

As a special celebration this month, students read the books The Dot and Be Who You Are, both by Peter H. Reynolds. Around the world, children and adults celebrate International Dot Day or Week. Here are a few dot suggestions to try:

All resources mentioned above are available directly on FISW student devices. From home, you may choose to bookmark these for easy family access. All links can be found on the FISW Library Media Center PowerSchool Learning page.

A new year at FISW Library

We are back in full swing for new learning, new beginnings and new books at our FISW Library! Students have jumped right into to our library routines and have made our new students welcome and familiar with our beautiful library space. 

We have over 600 new books spread out through our library. Student love browsing the new book displays and finding the gold star stickers which show the book is brand new! 

Our young learners love using their imaginations to bring building, tinkering, designing and reading together in the library. The series of photos above captures the art of playful building with a purpose - a place to read (and slide)!

Our students in Primary through Grade 5 are connecting learning in Readers Workshop with our library class time. Students are practicing finding just right books, reading with partners, turning and talking with a partner about reading. We are flexing our reading muscles together!

 

As we build and re-establish our routines and practices around IB learner profile and attributes of learning. Our students are collaborating, inquiring, communicating and pushing their thinking. Below our middle schoolers are engaged in our new Divergent Thinking class. Each week we meet to get "meta" -  to explore the ways in which we learn and thinking critically about our thinking. Students are also setting independent goals around their personal reading.