February/March 2018 Highlights

With the February break followed by a quick spring break, the months of February and March seemed to both blend together and fly by!  It was a busy time with a variety of projects across subjects and grade levels.

February began with a seventh grade Spanish Flipgrid project with Ms. Marcinkowski, a sixth grade Greek mythology project with Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Whalen, and an attorney visit as part of The Outsiders unit with Ms. Beauchamp and Mrs. Gembka.  Click on the links in this paragraph to learn more about the students' work during these units!

There were a number of visits to the library during February 2018.

World War II/Holocaust Research Project
The largest event in the library, spanning both February and March, was the combined eighth grade ELA/Social Studies project with Mr. Baumgartner and Mrs. Maulucci.  A solid two weeks was booked in the library for the completion of this project.  Students were required to use reliable sources for research in order to develop a thesis statement about a topic pertaining to either World War II or the Holocaust.  Once a thesis was developed, students then crafted a 3-5 page paper, complete with an MLA-formatted Works Cited page and in-text citations.

Planning and preparation helped to make the project run as smoothly as possible.  Mr. Baumgartner, Mrs. Maulucci, myself, and sometimes Mrs. Mule were available during both ELA and Social Studies classes to help all students.  This ensured that students always had access to adults that could help with the history content, writing skills, and research techniques.  This also meant that students would have two full class periods a day devoted to the project, since they visited the library for both ELA and Social Studies.

When students entered the library for the first time, they received a mini lesson regarding the goals for the day.  This would include information on finding sources, citing sources, developing research questions, identifying strong thesis statements, paraphasing/summarizing, outlining, drafting, and using transitions.  After receiving the mini lesson, students were then able to work independently.

Incorporating technology in meaningful ways contributed to the success of the project.  Mrs. Maulucci is very familiar with the use of Microsoft OneNote and Class Notebook.  She was able to put all of the project requirements and resources into OneNote.  This meant that students were always able to access the project resources on their laptops and keep all of their notes in one place.  OneNote also allows teachers to look into individual student notebooks, which helped monitor student progress and areas of concern.  Throughout the project, we disseminated "Research Check Ins" to all students through the use of Google Forms.  This allowed us to collect data on where students needed extra help.  Students also submitted their thesis statements via Google Forms, which helped in setting up individual conferences before students began their draft.  Lastly, students used Microsoft Word to compose their essays.  The references features within Word are great!  They allowed students to easily add their Works Cited information, and the program also formatted in-text citations to use within the paper.  Becoming familiar with the Microsoft features will serve students well as they will continue to use these resources into high school and beyond.

A glimpse into the OneNote notebook where all project materials were housed.

Research Check Ins via Google Forms allowed teachers to
assist students with their specific project needs.

This project was a huge undertaking for the students and required the use of numerous high-level skills.  Students definitely rose to the challenge, and most made good use of their time in the library.  Due to the complexity of this project, mastery of the skills introduced does not happen overnight.  However, this project laid the foundation for the critical thinking, communication, and research skills that will be needed to succeed in high school and beyond.  Our students really rose to the occasion!  We are all proud of the way students dove into the process.

Music Class Visits
Another highlight from February and March was having multiple visits from the Iroquois Middle School music department.  Since music teachers see their general music students for a ten week period, music teachers are frequent visitors in the library for research projects.  Ms. Louttit, Mrs. Kloc, and Mrs. Fox visited with their seventh grade students to perform research on classical composers.  Mrs. Fox also returned with her eighth graders for a project on Rock and Roll history.

Science Class Visits
Seventh and eighth grade science classes visited the library for both research assistance and a station activity.  Students in Ms. Pici and Mrs. Robinson's eighth grade science classes visited for research help for their "Creative Element" project.  Databases such as Britannica and World Book were perfect for learning about the elements.  After learning the history and properties of specific elements, students then made a creative project inspired by their element.  These projects are now on display in the library.

A creative display about Nitrogen.

Many of the creative element projects are displayed in the library.

A huge box of french fries represents Potassium.

Mrs. Ferger and Mrs. Raczkowski brought their seventh grade science students into the library for a stations activity regarding genetics concepts.  Using QR codes and the QR reader app on the library iPads, students accessed a variety of videos and activities about genetics.  Students appreciated the ability to move around the library and work at their own pace.

Book Selection Visits
ELA and reading classes are all at different points with their free reading and reading challenges.  This resulted in many classroom visits to exchange books.  Mr. Marshall and Mrs. Maulucci's students are completing a genre tic tac toe board for their reading requirement.  Both teachers visited the library with their students in order to select new books.  Mrs. Gembka's seventh grade students also visited the library to select a book for their book report.  The sixth grade reading classes frequented the library for book selection.  Mrs. Nicosia's readers received an introduction on the 1990s prior to their all-class reading of Pay It Forward.

RtI Conspiracy Theory Project
Ms. Beauchamp's seventh grade RtI students visited the library in order to perform research on conspiracy theories.  This project was designed to build students' skills in tackling informational text, identifying the main idea and supporting details, citing sources, and writing.  Each student was assigned a specific theory.  After reading about the conspiracy theory, students then used credible sources to "debunk" the theory.  Students created a PowerPoint, then presented their findings to their classmates.  Each PowerPoint contained a slide with their Works Cited information.  It was clear that students really understood their material, as they were able to field difficult questions from their peers.

An example from the presentation about the moon landing.

Library statistics for March 2018.

It's amazing to think that we are already in the last three months of school!  April's schedule will be packed with more book visits, RtI projects, and research.