September 13, 2013 by plemmonsa

International Dot Day 2013 @ Barrow

Ms. Kelly Hocking’s class mural inspired by Chuck Close

International Dot Day has become a special day at our school and it seems to grow a bit each year. This day was created by author/illustrator Peter Reynolds. Each of Peter’s books focus in some way on creativity, expressing your individuality, and making your mark on the world. It’s so much more than a day to create dots. It’s a day to embrace your own uniqueness and express the things that you truly love. It’s a day to establish an environment of innovation and encourage students to express their ideas through multiple formats.

This year at Barrow many classes came to the library to read The Dot by Peter Reynolds and Press Here by Herve Tullet. Students made digital dots using Drawcast and Glow Coloring on the iPads. They made coffee filter dots with markers and water. They used the super cool app colAR Mix to create augmented reality dots. The media center windows have filled with dots throughout the past week to the point that you can barely see in. Our principal even let us have a Dot Dress-up Day today. It was so much fun to look down the halls and see dots everywhere.

Mr. Plemmons with pumpkin dots, converse dot, and Scaredy Squirrel dot.

A unique project that emerged was Ms. Kelly Hocking’s Kindergarten class. Kelly always listens carefully to her students’ interests and this year she has heard their interest in art. They are looking carefully at multiple artists and recently started looking at Chuck Close. His artwork had a direct connection to dot day with its many dots to make a larger image. This spark took us on a great journey. We read Sky Color by Peter Reynolds where students were introduced to murals. We spent time learning about Diego Rivera’s murals. I shared my own mural that is in my son’s room and how it was designed and painted. Students started looking in the community for murals. Some even began to report back about the murals that they saw while in Atlanta. Ms. Hocking facilitated her students in deciding what kind of mural they could make and over several class periods they penciled in their mural onto a large piece of paper and began filling it with dots just like they had seen in Chuck Close’s art. Today, their dot mural was displayed on the large window of our media center. The sunlight gave the mural a stained glass effect. It was breathtaking and so many people were in awe as they saw it. When I posted the picture of the mural on our media center facebook page, it immediately was showered with likes. The mural was surrounded by window cling dots that a Barrow parent discovered and collaborated with other parents to purchase some for the library.

Today was also a day for students to come and tour the dot gallery on the media center windows. I had all of our iPads available for classes to come and interact with the colAR dots on the inside and outside of the windows. Ms. Li’s Kindergarten class was here bright and early to look at the dots. Look at how much fun they had!

Reading The Dot with Van Meter

At the end of the day, Mrs. Wyatt’s 1st grade class skyped with Shannon Miller’s students in Van Meter Iowa. We read the dot together. Then, Mrs. Wyatt’s class used Google Earth to go on a virtual tour of a walking field trip that they will soon take in 5 Points. Each stop on the tour was of course a dot on the map!

Our Van Meter dot friends

I look forward to next year and how we might celebrate even bigger when we aren’t in the middle of moving in to a new school.

Ms. Kelly’s K class posed with their mural

August 30, 2013 by plemmonsa

International Dot Day: First Steps

Today, the very first classes came to participate in International Dot Day lessons. Ms. Olin’s 5th grade class read The Dot by Peter Reynolds. We talked about what it means to make your mark on the world. I loved hearing their ideas because they really had a sense of how they could make a difference. I had 2 separate areas setup for them. One area had coffee filters, a variety of coloring supplies, a water bottle, and tables covered in black butcher paper. They could use the materials in any way they wanted to be creative making a dot. The other area had iPads loaded with Glow Coloring and Drawcast. Students who chose iPads used a stylus to draw a dot and save it to the camera roll on the device.

Students chose where they went. I made no requirements about doing a dot at both locations. Some students chose to make several coffee filters dots by trying different techniques of using markers, crayons, color pencils, and water. Others chose to make multiple iPad dots. A few chose to do both. Once students’ dots dried, I started making our dot gallery on the windows of the library.

Later in the day, Mrs. Kelly Hocking’s Kindergarten class came to begin a dot project. They are going to be studying several artists and learning how they can express themselves through art. One of the artists they will learn about is Chuck Close. This is a perfect tie-in to Dot Day since Chuck Close creates paintings that are made of numerous dots that come together to make a larger picture. I had already read Sky Color to her class and they became very interested in painting murals. Today, I showed them pictures of a mural in my daughter and son’s room and how the idea for the mural came from several children’s books. Then, we read Diego Rivera His World and Ours. The book details how Rivera traveled Mexico to get ideas for his murals. It also raises the question about what Rivera would paint if he were alive today. I love that the book ends by saying, “Today Diego is not around to make this happen. So it is up to us to make our own murals and bring them to life.” This was Mrs. Kelly’s lead-in to the mural that they will now create using dots in their classroom. The mural will be displayed in the library, and we will probably have some more lessons before it is done.

I also discovered a great new iPad app after reading about it on Fablevision. colAR Mix is an augmented reality app that brings coloring pages to life in 3D. They have made a special coloring page just for dot day. I made a practice dot, and it was so much fun seeing it pop off the page on the iPad. You can take a picture of your 3D dot and save it to the camera roll. I’m sure several classes will try this one out.

April 23, 2013 by plemmonsa

World Book Night 2013

In the bag: A letter about World Book Night, discussion guide, Wimpy Kid bookmark, and Middle School the Worst Years of My Life

Today is World Book Night. This year, our library was chosen to be “a giver” for this special annual celebration. Our selected book was Middle School the Worst Years of My Life by James Patterson. My original plan was to target a specific group of our 5th graders who will be transitioning to middle school very soon. However, after reading the book, I really thought that it was a book that all of our 5th graders should get the chance to enjoy. With support from PTA and some book fair profits, I was able to buy extra copies of the book to add to the 20 copies given to me by World Book Night. Our local independent bookstore, Avid Bookshop, was incredibly fast in getting the books to us and they even had them shipped to our school. Avid was also the pickup spot for our box of books from the World Book Night organization. Our family engagement specialist, Mimi Elliott-Gower, helped me plan a special time for our 5th graders. She even made them all a bookworm snack.

Today at 1:45, all 5th graders gathered in the library. We skyped with Shawn Hinger, media specialist extraordinaire at Clarke Middle School. She answered a lot of questions that students had about the middle school library. She had several of her students join her, and many of them answered questions about the library too. I loved the participatory feel of our Skype.

Next, Tad MacMillan, Clarke Middle School principal, spoke to our 5th graders in person. He discussed the summer learning slide and how reading could help deter that slide. He encouraged kids to think beyond reading 15 minutes per day and instead think about how many minutes they actually had in their summer. Wouldn’t a goal of 45-60 minutes per day be even better? He ended his time by reading from one of the other World Book Night selections, The House on Mango Street.

Then, it was time for the big reveal. I told the kids about World Book Night. Some of the kids had already asked me if I was going to be a giver, so I book talked my book to them and let them guess which book I was giving away. Once they guessed the title, I told them about how I wanted to give more than just 20 copies of the book away and with the help of PTA and book fair that was exactly what I was going to do right now! I went over the discussion guide with the kids and urged them to read the book with their families and begin to talk about their goals and worries about middle school. Then, we passed out bags to all students in 5th grade. Each bag contained a letter to families about World Book Night, a bookmark, a discussion guide, a bag of bookworms, and the book.

Even though I deviated from my original plan for World Book Night and even though I didn’t really randomly pass out the books like WBN suggests doing, I feel like this was the right thing to do. Fifty two copies of the book were distributed, and I feel like there will be at least 52 excited kids who will possibly have some great conversations with their families based in a humorous, yet gripping book. So many of the kids came up and thanked me for the books, and when I went into their classrooms to check on them, I saw several of them already reading. What an exciting day!

WHAT IS WORLD BOOK NIGHT?
World Book Night is an annual celebration dedicated to spreading the love of reading,
person to person. Each year on April 23, tens of thousands of people go out into their
communities and give half a million free World Book Night paperbacks to light and nonreaders. In 2013, World Book Night will be celebrated in the U.S., the UK, and Ireland.
World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t
regularly do so. But it is also about more than that: It’s about people, communities and
connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways—
through the sharing of stories.
World Book Night is a nonprofit organization. We exist because of the support of
thousands of book givers, booksellers, librarians, and financial supporters who believe in
our mission. Set for April 23 each year to honor Shakespeare’s birthday, World Book
Night was successfully launched in the U.K. in 2011, and World Book Night was first
celebrated in the U.S. in 2012. Thank you to our U.K. friends for such a wonderful idea!
WHY IS WORLD BOOK NIGHT IMPORTANT?
Why does World Book Night exist? Reading for pleasure improves literacy, actively
engaging emerging readers in their desire to read. Reading changes lives, improves
employability, social interaction, enfranchisement, and can have a positive effect on
mental health and happiness. Book readers of all ages are more likely to participate in
positive activities such as volunteering, attending cultural events, and even physical
exercise.
Or more simply put, books are fun—and they can be life-changing.

In the bag: A letter about World Book Night, discussion guide, Wimpy Kid bookmark, and Middle School the Worst Years of My Life

April 12, 2013 by plemmonsa

Poem In Your Pocket Days 2013 (Part 2)

Yesterday, we had a great day celebrating poetry in our poetry cafe. It is truly amazing that almost every student in the school takes the time to get up in front of their peers (and the world) and read an original or favorite poem. Also, more amazing things happened today. Students volunteered to read poems for students who were too nervous to get up. A group of students logged into our Adobe Connect from their own devices and started leaving encouraging comments for peers. A student read a poem from a cell phone. A student made up a poem on the spot about not having a poem in his pocket. It was so much fun!

We had guests joining us online from: Athens GA, Valdosta GA, Randolph OH, Milton FL, Tucson AZ, Indiana, Richmond VA, Lexington KY, Kirkland WA, Belvidere IL, Fremont IA, Lawrenceville GA, Germany, Blue Ridge GA, Jasper GA, New London WI, Tampa FL, Vermont, Baton Rouge LA, New Mexico, and more.

You can enjoy all of the poetry sessions again by viewing the recordings below.

Today’s Recordings:

April 11, 2013 by plemmonsa

Poem in Your Pocket Days 2013 (Part 1)

Today, the first classes came to read their poems in our poetry cafe. We broadcast the poetry readings via Adobe Connect. The room was setup with paper tablecloths, paper confetti, lanterns, and flowers in vases. The microphone was surrounded by fabric and lights with a poet step & stool to read from. Students read their poems and snapped to celebrate each reader. Each student got a lollipop when they left. We had online visitors from: Athens GA, Lexington KY, Buffalo NY, Hinsdale IL, UGA, Jasper GA, Cook County IL, Mason City IA, West Central MN, Bogart GA, Dacula GA, Hall County GA, Colbert GA, Gowrie IA, Fremont IA, and more.

As in the past, the comments from an authentic audience fueled the energy of the students. They loved hearing shout-outs about their poetry. An interesting thing that happened was that classes within our school were watching and students in those classes sent shout-outs to brothers and sisters. It was so sweet to hear words of encouragement between siblings. Thank you teachers for making that happen. Each year unexpected, wonderful things happen. This has become a day we all look forward to.

You can enjoy all of the readings again at the following links:

Join us tomorrow, too.

Friday April 12, 2013

Time	Class
8:00	5^th Cross
8:30	K Carney
9:00	K Boyle
9:30	K Li
10:00	PreK Doneda
10:30	3^rd Spurgeon
11:00	4^th Olin
11:30	K Vertus
12:00	5^th Slongo
12:30	PreK Clarke
1:00	2^nd Ramseyer
1:30	3^rd Griffith

To login to Adobe Connect, follow these instructions:

Go to http://clarkecounty.adobeconnect.com/barrowmediacenter
Click “enter as guest”
Type your name
Click “enter room” & wait to be approved
Enjoy listening to the poetry and type your comments for students in the chat box.

March 6, 2013 by plemmonsa

World Read Aloud Day 2013

Wow! Even though a major snowstorm was making its way across the country, we celebrated World Read Aloud Day with multiple authors and classrooms around the country. Educators around the world have been orchestrating this day for quite some time through multiple social networks. Through Twitter, Facebook, Google Docs, Skype in the Classroom, and Kate Messner’s excellent author website we have planned day-long and even week-long reading events for our students.

Twitter was buzzing this morning with authors and librarians having to reschedule due to the snow, but here at Barrow most of our scheduled stayed secure. Matthew Winner had to cancel due to snow impacting his flight to NC, so Kathy Schmidt and her students stepped in for us. Anne Marie Pace, author of Vamperina Ballerina, had to reschedule since the Virginia snow shut off her power. It’s pretty amazing that we were able to pull off so many connections even with bad weather.

Highlights from the day included:

Okle Miller, librarian in Tampa Florida, and I read We Are In A Book. Okle was Piggie and I was Elephant. Kindergarten students loved it! We tried to play into the cameras in order to look at our audiences.
Kathy Schmidt in Gwinnett County, GA had students listen to me read Same, Same but Different and talk about what was the same and different about living just 48 miles from each other.
The amazing Laurel Snyder shared a favorite picture book with 2 fourth grade classes and then gave them a sneak peak of a new chapter book.
Jesse Klausmeier, author of Open This Little Book, skyped with our students and Shannon Miller’s students in Van Meter, IA at the same time. A favorite question from one of our students for Jesse was “Did it make your family happy when you wrote your book?” We all almost teared up. So sweet!
I shared a favorite story by Colleen Sally called Epposumondas Saves the Day with Mary Priske’s 4th grade in Mt. Vernon, IA and Mrs. Griffith’s 3rd grade joined in too. Students in both states chanted “sody, sody, sody sallyratus” as I read.
Laura D’Elia, librarian in Massachusetts, and I read Same, Same but Different and compared living in GA with living in Massachusetts. Students in Massachusetts had 1:1 iPads while we have 1:1 netbooks.
Lisa Waggett at GoForth Elementary in League City, TX and I read Same Same but Different to 1st grade classes and compared our 2 states.
Mrs. Brink & Mrs. Ramseyer’s 2nd grade students read poems in 2 voices with Jeff McHugh’s 4th grade students in Arlington Heights, IL. Our students had a lot of energy and it was fun to combine our voices across the miles to read poetry.
Jody Feldman, author of the Gollywhopper Games, read aloud to our 5th graders and allowed them to ask questions. She also gave them a preview of the sequel.

What a packed day filled with releasing words into the air across the country. Skype is such a powerful tool to connect us beyond the walls of our school. It was so interesting to see how much our students don’t know about beyond the boundaries of Athens. I predict that the work that we did today will lead to many long-distance collaborations with libraries around the country. Let’s continue to share the power of reading, connect our students, and understand what it truly means to be part of a global community!

March 1, 2013 by plemmonsa

Read Across America and the World!

We can’t just celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday and Read Across America Day in one day at Barrow.

Look at all these readers!

The Trufflemakers, our winning 5th grade team

Making a game plan

On Thursday, we kicked things off with our 5th grade battle of the books. Five teams competed in 3 rounds of competition. The Trufflemakers and the Fellowship of the Books made it to the final battle. I didn’t think either of them were going to miss a question. The scores ended up being so close, but in the end, the Trufflemakers came out on top. Prana, Gabriel, Sarah, Taylor, and Cassie will now move on to the district competition. Good luck team!

Today, we held our annual Dr. Seuss Day with more guest readers in classrooms than I can count. Ever year just when it seems we won’t have enough people, we end up with 2-3 readers in every room! Many thanks to Kim Ness who took over this project for me and recruited all of our readers. She was such a huge help in this fun day! We had parents, community members, Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers, and even UGA athletes read Dr. Seuss books to our students.

I’m even more excited about what we have coming up next week. March 6th is World Read Aloud Day.

It’s a day to unite our voices around the world, celebrate the joy of reading, and change the world! Through twitter, facebook, and a Google Doc, I’ve collaborated with authors and libraries around the country to have a skype session every 30 minutes with lots of class is our media center. Just take a look at our schedule:

8:30	Carney K, Vertus-K	Okle Miller Tampa, Florida
9:00	Boyle – K, Li K	Matthew Winner Maryland
9:30	Freeman- 4th	Laurel Snyder, author http://laurelsnyder.com/ Atlanta
9:45	Hocking – K	Jesse Klausmeier, author http://www.jesseklausmeier.com/ & Shannon Miller’s Students
10:30	Olin- 4th grade	Mary Priske 4th grade Iowa
11:00	Yawn – 2nd gradeWright-2nd grade	Ann Marie Pace, author http://www.annemariepace.com/ Virginia
11:30	Selleck-4th	5th Grade Laura Beals D’Elia Massachusetts
12:00	Stuckey – 1st grade	Lisa Waggett GoForth Elementary League City, TX
12:30	Watson-1st	Kathy Schmidt Gwinnett County
1:00	Ramseyer – 2nd Grade Brink – 2nd Grade	Jeff McHugh Arlington Heights, IL
1:30	5th grade	Jody Feldman, authorhttp://jodyfeldman.com/ Missouri

I can’t wait to connect our students with so many students, libraries, and authors around our country. In many of these experiences, we will do a shared reading. I will read parts of a book and the skyping guest will read part of the book. Also in each session we will have time to make connections with our guests. We’ll find out a bit about where they live, what they like to do, etc. With each experience, students will broaden their world beyond the walls of our school and beyond Athens. I can’t wait to see what happens!

January 18, 2013 by plemmonsa

2013 Spelling Bee

DSCF1338

Today was our school spelling bee for 4th & 5th grade. We broadcast the event to classrooms and families via Adobe Connect. If you would like to view the archive:

Click here

December 19, 2012 by plemmonsa

Polar Express 2012 & Participatory Culture

5th Graders received special blue bells this year

Every year our Polar Express Day is an event that students, teachers, and families look forward to. We of course wear our pajamas and listen to the story in the school library, but it’s much more than that. We want students to experience the story. A conductor with a flickering lantern meets classes and leads them to the train tracks of the Polar Express. The path is lined with multiple decorations: lights, student-made art, train tracks, a ticket booth, railroad signs, and more.

Here’s what the students saw this year:

A sample of music from the Polar Express movie plays while students enter the library and take their seats. A spotlight illuminates the book that awaits them. The hot chocolate song comes on and students are served hot chocolate with marshmallows. After listening to the story, every child receives a bell placed around their neck with the words “always believe” whispered in their ears. Students immediately begin shaking their bells, which sounds like this:

As they exit the library, they receive a candy cane. Many of our 5th graders cry on this day as they experience their final Polar Express Day. We have even started having a Polar Express alumni night for people to come back and experience the magic.

This year, I’ve been thinking about our participatory culture and how much participation is involved in this event. Here are some examples:

Our principal organizes a schedule, volunteers, and materials
Our lunchroom staff makes hot chocolate
Parent volunteers purchase all of the materials and supplies
Parent volunteers (and some students) string the 450 bells
Parent volunteers pour and serve the hot chocolate and place bells around students’ necks
Teachers and students work with me to decorate the library and hallways. Many teachers come back at night to decorate in order to have the element of surprise on the morning of Polar Express. Every year, the decorations are different depending on what the teachers dream up in the moment.
This year, for the first time, many students made decorations to line the hallways with. One of our enrichment clusters made decorations and some students made decorations on their own.

At times, I’ve felt guilty that so many people help with this event, but this year things began to click in my mind as I realized that this is an event sponsored by the library that is truly owned by the entire school. I hope to think more about this in years to come and look for more ways that students can be involved in this special day.

: 5th Graders received special blue bells this year

October 25, 2012 by plemmonsa

Storybook Celebration 2012

Today was our annual Storybook Parade now renamed as “Storybook Celebration”. The name change comes because we have expanded what this day means for our school. Rather than just have an assembly and a parade dressed as storybook characters, we used the entire day to celebrate the joy of reading.

Students began the day with guest readers arriving in their room to read story. We’ve never done guest readers as a part of storybook celebration, and it was a challenge to find people. Many of my regular guest readers were unavailable, and I found myself struggling for readers. The power of digital communication and social networking came through for me though. Many thanks to Jen McDowell, David Ragsdale, Ellen Sabatini, and several other unnamed parents who willingly recruited readers for our classrooms. We ended up having 2 readers in almost every room. Here are a few of the reactions & reflections from some of our high school readers this morning:

My experience with reading to the Kindergarten students at Barrow Elementary today was very fulfilling. The kids interacted and seem to respond to me asking them question that related to the book. And it made me day to be asked out by a kindergarten student today. Seeing their faces light up while reading to one my personal favorite child hood stories was absolutely amazing.

– Jackie Gordon

The reading was fun. I think the kids were excited. A lot of them already knew the story and wanted to help me read it. The teachers were very nice, too.

-Jada Haynes

Reading to younger kids has always been an uplifting experience for me. Reading to the kindergartners at Barrow Elementary was no exception. The kids engaged in the story, were respectful, and were very cute. I had a great time and really enjoyed sharing books with elementary school students.

-Henry Siebentritt

I had such a great time reading with the kindergardeners! I went to Barrow for seven years and it brought back so many good memories. The class I read to was the cutest ever and it seemed like they were interested in what we were reading to them. I want to go back next time there is an opportunity like this!

-Chloe Alexander

I really enjoyed reading at Barrow this morning. I was in a 2nd grade class and I read A Pirate’s Guide to First Grade. It was a fun and cute story and the students seemed to enjoy it. One girl was especially enthusiastic about the pirates. A parent read a story about a square pumpkin before me and I enjoyed listening to him. This was a great experience overall. I loved getting to share such a fun book with kids and getting to be back in an elementary school again.

– Katie Googe

My experience at Barrow Elementary was fantastic and very nostalgic. I had a lot of fun reading to the second graders and seeing my old teachers. I hope my other classmates enjoyed this experience as much as I did.

-Michelle Legette

There is a kind of magic that pervades the classrooms, offices, and halls of an elementary school, Barrow in particular. Upon entering the school, it is impossible not to be enveloped in a kind of warmth. When we went to read, I was immediately drawn to the bright decorations adorning the school, crafted by students, and the enthusiastic, costume-clad staff ready for the wonderful Storybook Parade. Although in a different building, this day, this atmosphere, this school is exactly the way I remember– it is as joyful as it ever was. Seeing children at this age is so special, because there is so much excitement for everything–to read a book, to dress up, to walk in the halls. The love for learning in this school is nearly tangible. I loved getting to come back and enjoy stories together, focusing on appreciating each next sentence and page. Thanks for setting this up!

–Dory MacMillan

I had a fantastic time reading to the children.They were good listeners and I was happy to be there. It brought back good memories of my time at Barrow Elementary.

-Patrick Humphrey

It was nice to go back to elementary school and read to kids. I enjoyed their costumes and appreciated their interest in the book I read.

-Nida Javaid

Today, volunteers were given the opportunity to read at Barrow Elementary. I read a book by Lemony Snicket, 13 Words, That taught the kids words like “despondent.” Reading to the costumed kids was an enjoyable –experience, and more people should do it.

– Alanna Pierce

Following the readers, we enjoyed our huge outdoor space at our temporary school by going out to the fitness loop (track). Grade levels sat together along the inside perimeter of the loop. Parents and guests sat on the outside of the loop. Each grade level stood and paraded around the fitness loop while the whole school cheered them on. I served as the announcer and read blurbs from each grade level and some individual classes.

After the parade, 5th graders enjoyed some hot chocolate while the rest of the school went back inside to begin reading activities for the rest of the day. Grade levels individually planned how they would spend the day. All of the specials teachers and the library offered literature-related activities for classes to sign up in the place of their specials. For a 30-minute block, teachers had common planning time while their class was at a “special”.

In the library, I read election-related books such as Grace for President, Duck for President, My Teacher for President, Babymouse for President, and Otto for President. After reading some of these (and looking at a few others), students used our 10 iPads and a Google form to vote for which storybook character should be president. Once voting was complete, we analyzed the results on the smart board and saw who was taking the lead throughout the day. The students and I used my phone to tweet the live election results via our media center twitter account and facebook page.