May Update: 

This week, grades 1, 2, and 4 returned to the library for library classes after completing their final technology rotation. Grades 3 and 5 will continue to come to the library once a week for book checkouts until 5/23. To encourage kids to bring back their books, there are two end-of-year library contests that will begin after 5/23:

 

 

The kids are VERY excited about this. If your child has books that have been missing... please help them start looking for them now! :)

 

In other fun news this week, several classes started using TONIES in the library. Through a generous LSF grant, the library was able to acquire four Tonie Boxes and MANY Tonies. Tonies not only provide a screen-free option to listen to books, they also provide opportunities for collaboration and cooperation when multiple children share them at once. All classes in this current rotation will be exposed to the TONIES and have opportunities to use them during their library rotation. Thank you to the LSF for making this fun tool available in the library! 

 

 

Happy April! It's been a busy time in the library!

 

In kindergarten, we learned about spring and are now learning about hermit crabs through a text set of fiction books, non-fiction books, and digital resources. 

 

First grade and second grades have been coming to book checkout each week and will return to library classes on May 5th. 

 

Third grade has been learning about facts, opinions, and false facts. They are currently using Pebble Go, a digital database provided by the Massachussetts Library System to create an information sheet about a topic of interest that includes facts and some false facts that their viewer will need to verify by checking the source!

 

Fourth grade has been coming to book checkout each week and will return to library classes on May 5th. 

 

Fifth Grade has been learning about some of our digital databases provided by the MA Library System: PebbleGo, Britannica Kids and Britannica Student. Fifth graders are also continuing to learn how books are organized in our library through guided exploration, discovery and then sharing with peers. 

 

Upcoming Local Bookish Event:

The Silver Unicorn Bookstore in Acton, MA will be hosting their FREE Kids Graphic Novel Festival on May 3rd from 11-3. Click here for more information.

 

For the past six weeks, kids in grades K-4 have been studying books for our Mock Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) award. We read seven books published in 2024 and evaluated them based on the criteria below and that I shared in my February update. 

During this past week, each child cast their vote for the book they believed should win. We gathered in the auditorium this morning (3/13/25) for the big reveal. Two children from each grade level presented the nominees to the rest of our K-4 community and everyone cheered when they learned that The Blue Pickup by Natasha Tripplett won our silver medal and CHEERED when they learned We Are Definitely Human by X. Fang won our gold. This was such a FUN community-building activity... I'm already looking forward to another Mock EJK award NEXT year.  

 

Ask your child which book they voted for and why!

 

 

 

 

In other exciting library news, we had over FIFTY Lincoln School students enter the MSLA bookmark contest. I am thrilled to announce that we had a Lincoln School winner! Congratulations to Saige Hamilton for her bookmark design judged to be the winner of the 2nd & 3rd grade division by the MSLA bookmark judging committee. You can see all of this year's winners here. 

 

On Monday, 3/14, we will begin a new library/technology rotation. Grades K, 3, and 5 will have library classes. Grades K, 1, 2, and 4 will have technology classes. Grades 2 and 4 will still come to the library each week for a short book checkout time. Please see the schedule below for your child's library day, or refer to this page on my district website. 

 

KD- Tuesday, KJ- Thursday, KM- Friday

1C,1L,1S - All on Friday

2M, 2N, 2W - All on Friday

3H - Tuesday, 3K- Thursday, 3S - Wednesday

4R, 4O, 4N - All on Tuesday

5B- Monday, 5L- Thursday, 5Sia- Wednesday, 5S- Friday

 

 

Happy February! On January 27th, we began a new library/tech rotation. This means that for the next six weeks, grades 1, 2, and 4 have library classes and grade 3 has technology class. So that third graders stay connected to the library during their tech rotation (and because I would miss them!) they have a 15-minute book checkout time each week on Fridays. Kindergarten has both library and technology classes every week throughout the year. Unsure when your child has library so you can help remind them to bring back their books? Check the current schedule HERE. 

 

During this rotation, we are focusing on a "Mock Ezra Jack Keats Book Award." As a part of this unit, kids are learning about Ezra Jack Keats (EJK) and why he was important in the world of children's book publishing. We are also learning about the criteria used for this book award and have our OWN Lincoln School Criteria (see below.) Each week we read one or two 2024 picture books to decide as a K-4 community which ones we think is worthy of our own Lincoln School EJK Award. At the end of this current rotation, all kids will get to vote for the book they think is best, and we will award a symbolic gold and silver medal to the first and second place winners. The kids are very excited about this, and I love to hear their thoughtful commentary about each of the books. Ask your child which book is their favorite so far and why!

Note: Because 3rd grade does not have library class during this rotation, I am going into 3rd grade on Wednesday mornings to do a grade-level read aloud so our third grade students can also be a part of our Mock EJK vote!

 

 

And speaking of book awards... If you are looking for ways to bring math into your storytime at home, check out these winners from Mathical, which awards book prizes each year to outstanding fiction and nonfiction books that inspire children to see math in all areas of their world. SO many awesome titles on these lists.

 

Finally, thanks to all of the kids who entered the MSLA bookmark contest! We had SIXTY kids submit a creative design (Wooo-Hooo!) Winners will be announced at the MSLA conference in early March, which I will be attending, and my fingers are crossed that one of our Lincoln School library kids will be a winner!

Until next month... Happy Reading Everyone!

 

During the current library/technology rotation, grades 1, 2, and 4 come to the library once a week for book check out. These grade levels will resume library classes again on January, 27th, and I can't wait to spend more time with these library kids each week!

 

In kindergarten, we completed an author study about Mo Willems! We learned the difference between an author and an illustrator and learned that sometimes people are BOTH! In addition to learning about Mo's life and reading lots of Mo's books, students also learned to draw some of Mo's most popular characters... Pigeon, Elephant Gerald, and Piggie!

 

In third grade, we are in the middle of an author study about Oge Mora. We are studying her words and her illustration style and students are falling in love with her work. We are also using her books as a vehicle to help us learn where different kinds of books are located in the library, such as picture books, or biographies. Ask your chid to tell you about the Oge Mora book that s/he/they love best!

 

In fifth grade, we have been studying text sets comprised of a narrative text paired with a complimentary information text. An example of this would be reading a biography about Snowflake Bentley, and then looking at the book he wrote about snow crystals. We are doing this work to help students learn how the library is organized with a specific emphasis on the Dewey Decimal system of organizing informational texts that our school library uses. 

 

To help your child know when to return their library books, library days for this rotation are noted below:

• KD- Tuesday, KJ- Thursday, KM- Friday
• 1C,1L,1S - All on Friday
• 2M, 2N, 2W - All on Friday
• 3H - Tuesday, 3K- Thursday, 3S - Wednesday
• 4R, 4O, 4N - All on Tuesday
• 5B- Monday, 5L- Thursday, 5Sia- Wednesday, 5S- Friday

I hope everyone has a lovey break full of family, fun, and lots of good books and stories!

I’m so happy to be the new K-8 Lincoln School librarian! In all grades, our beginning of the year focus has been on building community and allowing students to find their favorite cozy reading spaces in our redesigned library space. Ask your children in grades one and up what they like about the new library design and to share their favorite spot in the library. We have also been focused on library routines and structures that empower all children to be successful in the library, including a song that is used in all K-8 grades to signal the end of class and prompt a line-up routine. Play this song and ask your child to tell you what it means when they are in the library! 

All K-5 library classes follow a similar class structure: a greeting, a read aloud, a library connection and/or lesson, and book checkout time. Ask your child to share their favorite library greeting so far and a read aloud book they’ve enjoyed. 

 

Here are a few more details about what we’ve been learning in our K-4 library classes:

 

Kindergarten: We have been focused on library routines and read alouds sometimes followed by a simple book-related craft. Until this week, kindergarten students were independently selecting fiction or nonfiction books from curated bins. They are now learning how to browse the fiction stacks to make additional choices. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library class day: KD- Tuesday, KJ- Thursday, KM- Friday.

 

First & Second Grade: First and second graders began their library/technology rotation with technology for the first 7 weeks of school. During that interval, they came to the library once a week for a brief book checkout time. I am so happy they are now in their library rotation so I can get to know them better during their library class! Our focus during this rotation will be on library routines, learning how to navigate the various sections of the library and exploring differences between fiction and nonfiction. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library class day: 1L- Monday, 1S- Tuesday, 1C-Thursday, 2N- Tuesday, 2W-Wednesday, 2M-Thursday.

 

Third Grade: Third graders recently ended their library class rotation and will now be in technology class until after the November Recess. During their library rotation, we focused on library routines and learning how to use the library catalog. We also worked on our alphabetical order skills to support finding books on shelves, and started to learn how to navigate Sora to access eBooks. Third grade students will continue to come to the library once a week for a brief book checkout time while they have their technology rotation. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library book checkout day: 3H, 3K, 3S- All on Friday.

 

Fourth Grade: Fourth graders began their library/technology rotation with technology for the first seven weeks of school. During that interval they came to the library once a week for a brief book checkout time. I am so happy that they are now in their library rotation so I can get to know them better!  Our focus during this rotation will be on library routines, learning how to use our library catalog to locate books of interest on the library shelves, fine-tuning our alphabetical order skills to the third letter to support finding books on shelves, and navigating Sora to access eBooks. Please help your child remember to return their library books on their library class day: 4R- Monday, 4O- Tuesday, 4N- Thursday.

 

Happy Reading! 

Gwen Blumberg

Lincoln School Librarian