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Summer Reading 2013

 

 

 

Welcome to Nicholson's Summer Reading information center!  This program was developed as a collaborative effort by the Cobb County School District's Library Media Education and Language Arts departments along with the Cobb County Public Library. 
    Summer is a great time to let books take you on a journey of imagination!  The sky is the limit!  Students who read over the summer begin the next school year more prepared--with less 'summer slide'--the loss of knowledge and skills gained during the previous school year.  Students are also encouraged to participate in any of the FREE  reading programs offered by the Cobb County Public Libraries (see information below)
 To participate in the Nicholson reading program, students should:
1.  Read a book of their choice.  Parents may also choose to read to their child--depending on age and ability.  Your child is developing valuable listening skills as you read to them!  Suggested reading lists can be found in the links below.
2.  Choose and complete an activity.  Download the activity sheets below--one is for Primary (K-2) and the other is for Intermediate (3-5)
3.  Complete at least 4 books and activities.  Parents must initial the square on the activity sheet for each completed activity.
4.  Turn the completed activity form to the Media Center when you return to school in August.  Students who participate in either the Nicholson summer reading program AND/OR the Cobb County Public Library summer reading program will receive special recognition when they return to school!

Download Suggested Primary Summer Reading List--revised

Download Primary Activity Sheet      

Download Suggested Intermediate Summer Reading List --revised

Download Intermediate Activity Sheet               

The Cobb County Public Library System is also offering free summer reading programs.  Information for the Gritter's and Mountain View branches can be found below.  Be sure to check out the details of their summer reading program as well as all the fun program activities for kids of all ages!

Summer Reading Program Information

Gritter's Library Program Calendar

Mountain View Library activity calendar 


End of the Year Information

It's hard to believe, but another school year is rapidly coming to a close!  The next school year will bring a fresh new look to our Media Center thanks to SPLOST funding!  All of the books and equipment will be packed up the last week of school, so it's important to get all our materials returned on time!  The Media Center will close for student check out on Wednesday, May 8, and all student books are due in the Media Center by Friday, May 10.  Students who meet this deadline by returning all books and paying for lost or damaged books will be rewarded with a small token of our appreciation.

Summer Reading:
If you are looking for some fun reading activities for your child over the summer, be sure to 'check out' the summer reading program!  Information will be sent home with your child's report card, and links will be posted on the Nicholson website to activity sheets, recommended reading lists, and book logs.  These are optional activities, but research shows that students who read over the summer tend to do better when returning to school in the fall!

Illustrator--Michael White visits on March 22

All students will have the opportunity to meet with local illustrator, Michael P. White, as he visits Nicholson for Career Day on Friday, March 22.  Mr. White will explain the process of illustrating a book and demonstrate drawing techniques. Each student will have paper and will follow along as Mr. White shows how to create a picture.  Michael White says, "I love to get the kids involved in what I'm doing and create a spark of ideas, that's how all books get started."  We have been reading a variety of the books he illustrates so that the students are familiar with his work. Take a look at the artwork your child brings home---their expertise may surprise you!!

 

New Books--Courtesy of our Book Fair!

From the profits of our Book Fair, held the week before Thanksgiving, we were able to pull $600 worth of books for our media center--at no charge!  Featured below are some of the titles we selected---they were a hit as soon as they made it to the shelves!!  These are great reads for the whole family!!  Here are a few samples of the books we received:

'Pete the Cat Saves Christmas'  Local author Eric Litwin certainly made hit when he and James Dean--creator of the character Pete the Cat, combined their musical, artistic, and creative talents to produce Pete the Cat stories.  Each story has a catchy tune to go with it, and teaches children some valuable life lessons.  These books are checked out before they ever get reshelved!!

 

'The Third Wheel'  The seventh book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from Jeff Kinney.  We started with 2 copies of this book from the book fair and have just ordered 6 more copies from Scholastic----need I say more!!  If you have a reluctant reader, this is the series for them--the kids love them!!

 

'Skippyjon Jones: Cirque de Ole'   Skippyjon Jones is a Siamese cat who is convinced he is a Chihuahua.  In this latest edition from author Judy Schachner, Skippyjon wants to perform high-wire acts in the circus.  This is another series that never stays on the shelf long!!

 

'Wonderstruck'--Having lost his mother and his hearing in a short time, twelve-year-old Ben leaves his Minnesota home in 1977 to seek the father he never knew in New York City, and meets there Rose, who is also longing for something missing from her life. Ben's story is told in words; Rose's in pictures.  This 637 page book, like its predecesor, 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret', is a quick read due to the number of illustrations in the book.  A well written story that will leave you wanting more!

'Kaspar the Titanic Cat'  It seems we can never have enough Titanic books--even 15 years after 'Titanic' the movie was released!!  This is the story of fourteen-year-old Johnny Trott, a bell-boy at London's Savoy Hotel in 1912. He becomes caregiver to Kaspar Kandinsky, the Prince of Cats, and soon the two are stowing away on the Titanic, where they are befriended by the Stanton family of New York.  Want to know more--you'll have to read the book to find out!

Thanks for a successful Book Fair!

Many thanks to all of you who supported our Book Fair--held the week before the Thanksgiving break.  The fair was set up and run by many hard-working PTA volunteers---without their help, our Book Fairs would not be possible!

Purchases made at the Book Fair resulted in over $2000 profit for PTA. In addition, Scholastic bonus dollars allowed us to take over $600 worth of books from the Book Fair to add to our media center collection.  This is a wonderful opportunity to get the best selling titles in our students' hands as quickly as possible!

Safe Searching with Destiny WebPath Express

Many of us depend on search engines like Google when we are seeking information.  They are great sites for adults, but present many  challenges for students.  Most of the content is not at their reading level, may not be an accurate match to what they are seeking, and there is no guarantee of the website's validity or appropriateness.

Those problems are solved when using WebPath Express, a search engine created just for students.  It can be accessed within the Destiny Library Catalog, using eitherthe 'WebPath Express' link located in the left hand menu under the Catalog tab or under the 'web sites' tab on Destiny Quest.  Destiny Quest is an updated version of Destiny whose colorful interface is very appealing to students.  Either version of Destiny is easily accessed from home by clicking on the Media Center link of the Nicholson home page.

    These sites are selected by educators for their accuracy, relevance and objectivity.  Each result even has recommendations as to which grade levels it is most appropriate for.  Next time your student needs to locate information, give it a try! There are also lots of fun websites too, so encourage your children to use Destiny when 'surfing' on the Web!

   

There's a Whole Lot of Reading Going on!

The Media Center at Nicholson has been a bustling place this year! With just over 4 weeks of school, we have already circulated 3,289 books! That's about 110 books per day!  Because the new Common Core standards encourage students to read a wide variety of genres, it's exciting to see students discover and enjoy literature that they might otherwise never have considered reading!

Kindergarteners will visit the library again this week, continuing their lessons on book care and library procedures.

Third and fourth graders will be learning how to use Destiny, our online library catalog, to search effectively for that perfect book.  Students are challenged to use Destiny to locate the appropriate information as to where to find the book, and then how to actually find the book in the Media Center!  Sounds simple, but it takes a lot of practice!

This week, 5th grade students are getting an introductory view of life in the times of the Civil War.  Using a variety of artifacts, texts, and replicas on loan from the Marietta History Museum, students work in pairs to answer questions related to these items.  Math, reasoning, research and teamwork skills are put to the test in this activity.

Ready, Set, READ!

Get ready for the best reading year ever!  This year, our goal is to have all our students reading more than they ever have before.  Not because they have to, but because they want to!!  The Media Center shelves are full of all kinds of books--both fiction and informational, and we have something for everyone!

This year we will be focusing on teaching students how to select a book that is just right for them.  They will find book recommendations from teachers, classmates, the Media Center and even on the WSTR morning news!

Practice makes perfect, so the more students read, the better they get! So let's find as many opportunities as we can to let our children read! 

AR News:  As you may have already heard, we will be phasing out of the Accelerated Reader program beginning this year.  The tests will be available for students to take, but there will be no rewards for points earned.  Our current software will not be compatible when we convert to the Windows 7 operating system.  The only option available from Accelerated Reader's parent company is a web-based version that is too costly for our school.

As we move into the new Common Core curriculum, there is a great emphasis on reading.  Students will be taught to choose books based on features such as genre, title, cover, book jacket summaries, and recommendations.  Students will be taught critical thinking skills; to compare and contrast points of view.  Instead of choosing a book by what 'color label' it is, or by point value, they will be focusing on choosing a book that is 'just right' for them.  We want to give students the tools to choose books that are of interest to them and to develop a love of reading that will carry on throughout life.

Summer Reading Resources

Parents,

We hope you will find the reading resources available below, useful as you and your child choose books to enjoy during the summer vacation. These are meant as suggestions; they are not mandatory reading assignments. .

When selecting a book, you may want to choose from the reading list of the grade that your child has just finished, or, go a grade above or below, depending on your child's reading comfort and interest level. It is very important that your child enjoys reading the book. Children will read more when books are interesting to them and the reading level is comfortable. Also, remember we cannot list all the wonderful books by the authors listed here. So if you like a book by a particular author, look for other books by that author---chances are you'll like those too! We encourage parents to read to their children, so books listed on the log can be those read independently or together.

When browsing the various links for summer reading ideas, you may come across reading levels expressed in LEXILES.  Your child's Lexile level can be found on their CRCT score report.  A Lexile measure reflects a student's reading ability plus a book's text difficulty.  It is the most widely adopted reading measure used today.  There is an excellent site for learning more about Lexiles on the Summer Reading page under the link 'Find a Book Georgia - Lexile Information'.

There are a variety of programs offered to help encourage students to read over the summer.  Research shows that reading during the summer will help your student maintain their reading levels and increase academic achievement. We hope you will take advantage of this 'down time' to enjoy some extra reading time with your child!

Lisa Messinger
Media Specialist

Download Summer Reading List all grades