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MPS Media Center a March Flurry of Fun

We’d like to thank everyone for making this year’s Scholastic Book Fair a SUCCESS. Thanks to your contributions we will be receiving some wonderful new titles for the library as well as building up our “scholastic dollar funds” for future purchases. We are already planning next year’s fair! Again, thanks for shopping with us and Happy Reading!

March looks to be a very active month! I think it’s unanimous that most of us would be more than willing to trade our winter gear in for lighter jackets, though we can always be in for a surprise, this is Nebraska afterall! The many events like Quiz Bowl, Track Season, and Easter Celebrations happening this month that will help us shake off the final throes of winter.

The seventh grade library skills class is learning about the components of researching and writing papers. Students are learning how to use MLA citations for print and digital resources as well as how to use in-text citations and copyright free photos. They are completing a mini-research on the history and symbols of Easter. Our next project is a research and multi-media project on planets. Students are learning to use writing plans to organize their questions, categories, notes and reflections. They’ve created great organizers using an application called Popplet. www.poplet.com)

6th grade reading students are finishing a novel about Sacagawea. They will begin their research on Lewis and Clark in a couple of weeks. Students will be working with a partner to design character sketches, book trailers and multimedia summaries of York, Lewis, Clark, Charbonneau and Sacagawea. Students reading Dogsong created character tributes to Oogruk, the main character’s mentor. They will be learning about the Inuit culture, food sources and climate. They will be using Popplet and Lino to create multimedia presentations on their research projects. We’ll also start taking an in-depth look at figurative language and using contextual evidence to back up evaluation and summary statements.

Jr High/High School Book of the Month: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

Who says poetry can’t be “sporty” and “cool”. This book features twin basketball playing brothers who enter middle school and identify vast differences within their personalities. Written from Josh Bell’s viewpoint, readers will feel as if they are reading his personal journal, walking beside him every day. Students will easily be able to identify with the challenges and themes that the characters encounter, all the while reading a selection that doesn’t feel like a book, as this is written in verse fiction. This book is a great change of pace, featuring everyday realities, and creative descriptions for the challenges of teenage years.

Elementary Book: Creature Features by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page

From Kirkus Reviews ~Noses and teeth, horns and beaks, tusks and frills--odd, silly and sometimes scary-looking animal features help them survive. Jenkins and Page have chosen 25 animals from around the world to tell readers how this works. The presentation of these adaptations gives the artist great scope to show off the remarkable images he can create out of cut and torn papers. A single animal head stares out from most pages. The eyes pop, and the curious features are prominent in these striking images, set on solid-colored backgrounds. The informational text is introduced with a question: "Dear hamster: Why are your cheeks so fat?" The voice of the animal answers: "That's not fat--it's my dinner." Feathers can threaten predators or direct sound; feathery appendages on an axolotl are actually gills. A carrion-eating vulture stays clean without feathers on its face. A blobfish out of water is squished by gravity; a puffed-up puffer fish is hard to swallow. The question-and-answer approach draws readers in, offering room for surprise and a child's own theories. The last page shows all 25 creatures (plus an adult human) in silhouette and to scale, noting what each eats. Maps show where on various continents or in which oceans each can be found. From a skilled team, another intriguing invitation to explore the animal world. (bibliography) (Informational picture book. 4-8).