Look What's Happening @ the GSE Library

Happy December Sonntag Community! It has been a BUSY week in the #gselibrary. The Sonntag Library Makerspace has picked up SO much STEAM and 4th & 5th Graders have been flying in for some maker fun! 

This week the Kinder Readers were on the hunt for the tricky Gingerbread Man! In the library, the Readers heard The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. Even though many of the Readers have heard this story in the past, they were excited to learn about all of the little extra details the author/illustrator includes in her artwork: Hedgie the Hedgehog, detailed plot presented in the borders of many of the pages, and the inclusion of many favorite characters from other stories. At the end of the week, the Kinder Readers even went on a hunt for the Gingerbread Man all around Sonntag!! 

1st Graders heard the hilarious book Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright. The Readers brainstormed items that are cold, hot, and items that can be both cold AND hot!! It was fun to hear them make predictions!! There were things, like volcanoes (hot) and the moon (cold), that I had never thought of! 

Sonntag 2nd Grade Readers are working hard to finish The Story of Diva & Flea by Mo Willems. We should be finished with this amazing story by the new year. Hopefully we will get all 2nd Graders into the 2x2 Reading Club! 

Sonntag 4th Graders finished up their graphic novels lesson by digging into 4 different graphic novels books. They answered a few quick questions regarding specific parts of each graphic novel. One of the questions even required the students to draw on their prior knowledge! El Deafo by Cece Bell was CLEARLY a favorite and has already left the library with one of the students! 

Sonntag 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Makers are going NUTS for the Sonntag Library Makerspace!! Wow!!! This week, the Sonntag Makers were taken on a tour of the items that are housed in the Makerspace. Students are able to come in on their own time as well as after they check out their books during their library times to work with these creative items. 

Sonntag Makers are even helping to create a display on the library windows by making coffee filter snowflakes. The Makers are having SNOW much fun!! 

Sonntag Wee Readers heard two snowman stories this week! After the stories, the Wee Readers practiced their fine motor skills by building a snowman using glue, pretzel sticks, and mini marshmallows. 

Book of the Day by Mrs. Mattei!!

This week's series will bring you a TON of holiday cheer!! If you like silly, festive, and mysterious reads, you will love Scott Sonneborn's The North Police series!! I hope you love it as much as I did!! Happy holidays!! Happy reading!! 

Want to check this series out? Head on over to E SON in the library! 

Look What's Happening @ the GSE Library

Howdy Sonntag Community! Check out (pun intended) what's been happening in the #gselibrary this week! 

This week, Kinder Readers heard the story The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler. During the read-aloud we discussed descriptive words as well as hunted for the secret snowman hidden in the illustrations. After the story, Readers completed a gingerbread symmetry sheet where they colored their gingerbread men symmetrically.

First Grade Readers heard the story Anna's Wish by Bruno Hachler. The Readers brainstormed things that they have wished for using Padlet:




It was great to hear some of the Readers' connections to this story about a girl who wishes for snow. I wonder if we will have snow this year in North Texas?

Second Grade Readers are still enjoying reading The Story of Diva & Flea by Mo Willems. The students also learned some great facts about the Eiffel Tower since it plays a big role in this story. Second Grade Readers will continue to hear this story over the coming weeks. Hopefully more Second graders will become 2x2 Club Members! 

 

This week, 3rd Grader, 4th Grade, & 5th Grade Readers have been exploring the art of the graphic novel!! Our Sonntag Readers LOVE graphic novels and they have enjoyed exploring the intricate details of the graphic novels we have in our Sonntag library collection. In the coming weeks, the Third Grade Readers will continue to dive into graphic novels by rotating through graphic novel stations. 

Sonntag Wee Readers also listened to the the story Anna's Wish by Bruno Hachler. The Wee Readers loved doing the snow finger-play as well as singing a song using a "snow voice level" (a.k.a no sound). After the story time, the Wee Readers created snowflakes using strips of paper, glue, and lots of stickers! 

Six Flags Read to Succeed is Back!!

Attention Sonntag Readers! Be on the lookout for your official 2016-2017 Six Flags Read to Succeed reading log in your daily folders this week. This year, Sonntag Readers have an extra month to complete 6 hours of free reading in order to earn a FREE ticket to Six Flags Over Texas. 

Don't forget to keep track of everything you read on your official Six Flags Read to Succeed log AND have your parent sign your completed log! All completed and signed logs are due to your teacher NO LATER than Friday, February 17th. No late submissions are guaranteed a ticket!! 

If you have any questions, or need a new log, please contact your teacher or Mrs. Mattei, Sonntag Librarian, at matteie@friscoisd.org. Tickets will arrive and be distributed in May 2017. Happy reading! 

Look What's Happening @ the #gselibrary!

It has been a BUSY week in the Sonntag Library! Look what Sonntag Readers have been up to!! 

This week, Kinder Readers listened to the story I'm A Turkey by Jim Arnosky. We talked about what it would be like to actually BE a turkey. We also well as sang our "Book Nook Song" as if we were actually turkeys and made our hands turn into turkeys (see above)... GOBBLE! GOBBLE!! After we heard the turkey story, the Kinder Readers completed a color-a-sight-word turkey sheet to practice their sight words! 

Sonntag 1st Grade Readers heard George Shannon's turkey story Turkey Tot. This story is a great example to use when discussing the Character Lab trait GRIT! In the story, every friend of Turkey Tot doesn't believe he can reach the yummy blueberries. However, Turkey Tot sticks with it and creatively creates a tool to help him achieve his goal. It's a great story and the Readers LOVED learning about Turkey Tot's journey! 

Sonntag 2nd Grade Readers are currently listening to another Mo Willems' great read The Story of Diva & Flea. Since this book is on the Texas 2x2 Reading List AND is a chapter book, I wanted the students to have an opportunity to hear this amazing story of two unlikely friends. The Readers looked in an atlas to see where the story was set (Paris, France) and even found a few of Mr. Willems' classic characters hidden in the pictures. The readers will be hearing this story for the next few weeks  and hopefully more students will join the 2x2 Reading Club! 

The last groups of Sonntag 3rd Grade Readers completed their final Book Tasting activities. It was such a joy to watch these Readers discover books they may otherwise not pick up. In addition, 3rd grade teachers discovered some great reads to share in their classes as read-alouds! 

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Over the next few weeks, Sonntag 4th & 5th Grade Readers have been and will continue to learn about the art of reading and enjoying graphic novels. It is one of  THE most popular book formats in the #gselibrary but it is also one of the most misread and misunderstood. It's been amazing watching these Readers get excited about learning the finer details of these books. In the coming weeks, the Readers will dive into a few graphic novels and complete some challenges with them. Hopefully this section will continue to grow in size & popularity! 

The Sonntag Library Makerspace is really taking shape. This week, a few 4th graders discovered Makey Makey. Oh, they went bonkers playing Tetris online!! It was so awesome to watch them tinker with different Makey Makey tasks!