Happy New Year!!  My "reading resolution" is to read 100 books this year.  How about you? I just finished reading War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (..and then I also saw the movie) and I am currently reading Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.

The Parker Library has LOTS of new books!  Come check them out.

In particular, the library has added several High Interest books for reluctant readers using money from a MAMSE (Michigan Association for Middle School Educators) grant.  The list of books can be found as a Public List in the Resource Lists of the Parker Library Online Catalog (at this link: http://libraries.resa.net/cataloging/servlet/presentbooklistform.do?listID=318642).  Ask Mrs. Lester of Mrs. Hamilton if you'd like to take a look at any of these books. 

posted 1/3/2012 1:00 PM | comment | view comments (0)

 Reading EMPOWERS Us!

To see why - watch this great video produced by Scholastic:

Parents: Take the READING PLEDGE by:                                          
> Helping your student get ACCESS to great books to read. [Encourage them to use the Parker Library!]
> Allow your student to CHOOSE what he/she wants to read.
> Get INVOLVED with reading and help your student to find at least 15
minutes to read every day.

Print out and use the Reading Pledge Bookmark.

• Reading Pledge Bookmark (pdf - 199K)

The Library of Michigan updated the set of great resources that it makes available for free to all Michigan residents,schools, libraries as of October 1st, 2011.

Staff, students, and parents can access these high quality resources at the Parker Library website, parkerlib.info, at the Research Center page.  There are also links to many of the great MeL resources at each of the Learning Links list of resources.

Highlights of the resources include:

• CultureGramsOnline provides fantastic information on World Countries, Canadian Provinces,US States... there is also a Kids Edition (Elementary & Middle School use)
• GaleVirtual Reference Library provides high quality reference ebooks.  (Lots of new titles added as of October 1st).
• SIRSDiscoverer & Gale General Onefile allow users to search for periodical articles by Lexile level.
• LearningExpress Library has free ACT, SAT online prep courses and practice tests, math and reading skills resources, and more.

If you have any questions or need assistance with accessing these resources, you can contact via email: lesterk@howellschools.com or by phone at 517-552-4600 xt87550.

posted 10/6/2011 10:44 PM | comment | view comments (0)

posted 9/14/2011 10:33 PM | comment | view comments (0)

New Research Shows that more Librarians Means Higher Reading Scores"

posted 9/14/2011 9:01 PM | comment | view comments (0)

The Parker Library is ready to welcome staff and students on the first day of school!  Our library at Parker is more than just the physical space and the print resources housed there.  The library includes many electronic resources that can be accessed through the library website.  Check it out at http://parkerlib.info.

You'll notice that the new website has links to our new library catalog.  This catalog is now available on the Internet.  The catalog includes book cover images and has other great new features as well.

Students, if you read 4 or more this summer, bring in your form and stop by the Parke Library; Mrs. Lester will have a special prize for you.

Looking forward to a great new school year of reading, researching, thinking, and learning!

Mrs. Lester

posted 9/2/2011 1:46 PM | comment | view comments (0)

I apologize that I haven't been blogging lately (although I haven't stopped reading!).  I've been really busy unpacking and setting up the library at Parker.  I'm very excited about welcoming all the Parker Middle School students and staff to the library.  I know that the new library will be a great place to fulfill the mission of the library (see below).  I'm looking forward to welcoming back Three Fires students who will be coming to Parker as well as meeting all of the students new to Parker.  See you soon!

Parker Library Mission
The mission of the school library media program is to ensure that students and staff are effective users of ideas and information. The school library media specialist empowers students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information.

posted 8/27/2011 7:33 AM | comment | view comments (0)

The setting for The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is a school during the school year.  Yet, I think it is still a great SUMMER read because it is such a fun, enjoyable book!  Read my comments about it at the Parker Book Blog.

posted 8/2/2011 9:06 PM | comment | view comments (0)

What's summer without a rip-roaring adventure read?  The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, the first book in a new series about modern day Greek Gods and Half-Bloods, is great!  Read my comments about it at the Parker Book Blog.

posted 7/26/2011 8:14 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kids series, recently wrote an article for Time Magazine.  Find it here.  In the article, he talks about how kids ideas of a "classic" may differ from those of adults.  I agree -- and I want students to read, read, read.  Choose something you like - whether it is a magazine about video games, a non-fiction book about sharks, or a novel - and read!!  :-)  Email me or comment here about what types of reading you enjoy.

posted 7/26/2011 8:00 AM | comment | view comments (0)

posted 7/20/2011 8:56 AM | comment | view comments (0)

posted 7/13/2011 3:48 PM | comment | view comments (1)

Summer and baseball - two things that go together perfectly!  So, summer is a great time to read the fast-paced novel Baseball Great. Read my comments about it at the Parker Book Blog.

posted 7/11/2011 9:41 AM | comment | view comments (0)

posted 6/25/2011 11:09 AM | comment | view comments (1)

Throughout the summer, I'll blog about what I've been reading.  The first book, Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Bryce, is "out of this world."  Its theme-park ride emphasis makes it a great summer read!  Read my comments about it at the Parker Book Blog.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer & reading some great books!

posted 6/20/2011 11:14 AM | comment | view comments (0)

READ this Summer!!

Studies show that students who read four or more age-appropriate books  over the summer do better on reading tests in the fall.

Join the new Parker Middle School Summer Challenge!  Read four books over the summer, fill out a form (which you can find here), bring the form to the Parker Library in the Fall, and receive a PRIZE!!!

Choose books that you want to read!

Need ideas for books to read?  Check out the Book Lists at the Three Fires Library webpage.

Also, you can see what Mrs. Lester is reading this summer or comment & blog about what you are reading RIGHT HERE at this Library Blog!

Please only use your FIRST NAME in comments/posts!  The email address you include won't be shown on the site.  Be patient... Mrs. Lester has to approve all posts!!

posted 5/11/2011 8:16 AM | comment | view comments (1)

Remember Spring Break is a perfect time to relax & read whether you are travelling or staying at home!!  Need a good book recommendation?  You can check out the Book Lists link at the 3fires Library website or email Mrs. Lester.

Have a great Spring Break!!

posted 3/30/2011 11:19 AM | comment | view comments (0)

New This Spring!  Shop at the Online Book Fair for books - with FREE shipping to our school.  Our school earns profit from all online purchases and you get a chance to shop for books not available at our In-School Book Fair including books for younger siblings.  Friends and family who are not able to come to the Three Fires In-School Book Fair can also shop online.  Shop at the Online Book Fair from February 26 - March 7 at http://scholastic.com/schoolbookfairs.  Help spread the word in order to support and spread the love of reading at our school!!

The In-School Book Fair will be open this week from Monday, February 28th through Friday, March 4th.  All students will get a chance to visit the Book Fair at some point during the week with their ELA classes.  Parents can also stop by and shop!  The Book Fair will be open all week during normal school day hours. Get more information and a sneak peak of featured books at: http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/homepage/3fires.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact Mrs. Lester, School Librarian at 517-540-8395 or email her at lesterk@howellschools.com.

posted 2/26/2011 10:28 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Are you looking for a Lexile Level for a particular book that you've checked out from the Three Fires Library?  Or want to find books in a particular Lexile Level Range to read? You can use the Three Fires Library Catalog!

You can find the Library Catalog Icon (Three Fires Patron) on any computer at Three Fires.  Double-click the icon and open the catalog.  If searching for the level of a particular book, just type in the name of the book in the bar below "Search for:" and then open up the information for the book (by double-clicking on the title name).  If the Lexile Level exists, it will be listed along with the other information of the book under the heading "Reading Program". 

If searching for books in a Lexile Range, click on the "Expanded Search" Tab.  Then in the pull down, select "Reading Program", then type in -- Lexile-nnn-mmm , where nnn and mmm are the particular values of lexile that you are looking for.

Questions?  Ask Mrs. Lester.  She's always available to give you a quick demo of how this works!

• Directions to Find Lexile Levels in the Library Catalog (pdf - 519K)

There are some fantastic books with settings and characters from countries around the world!  Learn about other cultures in a fun and interesting way by reading.  There is a list of books listed by continent and country at the Three Fires Library Booklist Webpage.  Find it here.  You can also see a short description of all the books here.

Some of these books are new thanks to Book Fair customers.  They include:

Crispin End of Time by Avi

Keeper of the Grail by Michael Bradlin

Alchemy & Meggy Swann  by Karen Cushman

Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliot

Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

posted 1/3/2011 3:57 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Thanks again to book fair shoppers!  Due to their generosity, we were able to add new books to the library including some books in the following categories:

• series or popular authors, 
• high-interest non-fiction
• scary
• "Around the World"
• historical fiction
• realistic fiction

The books from series or popular authors include:
(Books from other categories will be highlighted in future blogs).
Hero by Mike Lupica
Mike Lupica is a popular sportswriter and his books like Travel Team are usually about sports.  However, Hero is about a boy with super powers!

Heist Society by Ally Carter
Ally Carter is the author of the Gallagher Series.  Heist Society is an adventure/mystery about a daughter of notorious thieves who has to steal back a set of paintings that belong to a mobster.

Football Hero by Tim Green
Tim Green is an ex-football player who writes great sports novels!

Heart to Heart by Lurlene McDaniel
Lurlene McDaniel is know for her emotional & inspirational novels.  This book tells about the friendship of a teenaged girl, her best friend, her best friend's boyfriend, and a young heart transplant recipient.

Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Sabotaged is the third book in the series: Missing.

Big Nate Strikes Again by Lincoln Pierce
This is the second book in the Big Nate series.

Scumble by Ingrid Law
This is the follow up to the Newbery honor book Saavy.  Both books are rollicking adventures with both heart and humor.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
This is the sequel to the "steam-punk" novel Leviathan.

Maximum Ride: Graphic Novel, Vol. 3
The third volume in the Graphic Novel version of Jame's Patterson's best-selling Maximum Ride series.

Bone: Tall Tales by Jeff Smith
Another book in the graphic novel series Bone.

posted 12/17/2010 11:21 AM | comment | view comments (0)

Last week, ChannelOne News did a story about a Chicago school that was fighting against student "drop outs".  At the ChannelOne website:  http://www.channelone.com/news/dropouts/, you can find out how much that diploma is really worth. Use their online calculator to track the real-world cost of dropping out.

This reminds me of Reading Reason #7: Reading well is financially rewarding.  (See blog post from 10/12/2010).  Research shows that if you read well, you do better in school and can get a better job.  So, keep reading and stay in school!!

posted 12/15/2010 3:31 PM | comment | view comments (0)

We need to look at more than just lexile scores when matching students with books or articles.  The new Common Core Standards for English Language Arts include a three-part model for text complexity.  Thus, in order to match a book with a reader, three factors should be taken into account:

1) Qualitative evaluation of the text:  Levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands.  [This may include the theme, setting, or content maturity.]

2) Quantitative evaluation of the text: Readability measures and other scores of text complexity.  [This would be a measure like the lexile score.]

3) Matching reader to text and task: Reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (such as purpose and the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed). [This would include a student's background or prior knowledge among other things.]

More detailed information about text complexity and how it is measured can be found in Appendix A of the English Language Arts Standards: http://www.corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf.

The Common Core Standards for Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects can be found here:  http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf.

posted 12/1/2010 6:13 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Thank you to everyone who supported the Three Fires Book Fair!  The new Wimpy Kid book: The Ugly Truth was the top seller.  The picture to the left is the Wimpy Kid Balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.  Greg has certainly become a celebrity! 

Thanks to the generosity of all those who visited the Book Fair, the Three Fires Library was able to add several books to the library collection including several copies of the new Wimpy Kid Book, the new Guinness Book of World Records 2011, the new book in the Gallagher series: Only the Good Spy Young, a new Gary Paulsen book: Woods Runner, the third Maximum Ride graphic novel, and many more!  Stop by the library to check out the new books!  Also, look for more details about the new books in an upcoming blog post.

posted 11/30/2010 10:57 PM | comment | view comments (0)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!  The winning entry in the 19th annual Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade Float Design contest features a LIBRARY!  The winning design by 13-year old Za'Cyrus Gaiter of Detroit is a drawing of his "Dream Neighborhood."  Front and center in this neighborhood is the library (the red building in this picture with the sign "Read All About It.")  You can read more about the float in the Detroit Free Press Article here.

My best wishes for a great holiday with time to relax and read!

posted 11/22/2010 1:31 PM | comment | view comments (0)