Third Grade Country Research

Third graders are using their library time to research about different countries. Ms. Bowman's students are researching a variety of countries in order to write letters that compare the U.S. to their chosen country. Ms. Stedman's and Ms. McClanahan's classes are researching Ethiopia. All classes are using books and CultureGrams to answer specific questions the students have generated. These projects allows students to narrow their research to answer specific questions by using the index in books and the sidebar topics in CultureGrams.  While it is fun to discover random interesting facts while researching, effective and efficient users of information know what data they are looking for and maintain their focus while searching.

CultureGrams is a subscription online database with "concise, reliable, and up-to-date reports on more than 200 countries, each U.S. state, and all 13 Canadian provinces and territories". Contact me for log-in and password information.

First Graders Read about Nubs

Bennett's First Graders have been learning about the Non-Fiction section of the library. Most recently we read Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine & a Miracle. "Nubs, an Iraqi dog of war, never had a home or a person of his own. But Nubs's life changed when he met Marine Major Brian Dennis. The two formed a fast friendship that led Nubs on an incredible journey that crossed deserts, oceans, and even continents, and touched the hearts of people around the world." I shared this website about Nubs and invited the students to write letters to him. Click on "Dear Nubs" to see examples. Letters and drawings should be brought to me by Tuesday, December 7.

A few of my favorite books!

OK, I did it. I made the list. I'm often asked for book recommendation lists for students. Since I find my recommendations need to be tailored to each student's interests, age and reading level, I redirect parents to the King County Library System. KCLS has loads of lists- recommendations by award winners, genres, and grade levels. Here is my list. My ten most favorite books in the Bennett Library. These are the books I've made my husband and mother read, the books I've read at the dinner table, or the books I've woken up my son on a weekend morning, saying, "You will love this book." In order of difficulty level, (drum roll please....)
1. Harold and the Purple Crayon, 2. Skippyjon Jones, 3. Traction Man, 4. Cowboy and Octopus, 5. Clementine, 6. The Word Eater, 7. Diamond Willow, 8. Love that Dog, 9. Petey. I know that's only nine. I realize that there are no non-fiction books on the list and cannot think of my one and only favorite. So in spot 10 on the list, I'm going with any book written and illustrated by Steve Jenkins. (I've added all these books to my book shelf, so click there for author and cover information.)


Try making your own list, it's hard. Try making a list that's balanced by genre, boys, girls, ethnicities, and reading levels; it's almost impossible. Reading my recommendations is just a start. Oh, and there are over 100 new books available for check out in the Bennett Library. Come make yourself a library account and discover books to add to your list!

Kindergartners learn about David Shannon

While learning about the author David Shannon and where his books are located in the library (The Everybody Section). Students have read along with No David! and Good Boy Fergus. They've watched a film of David Shannon reading his book Too Many Toys and teaching them to draw David.  The kids begged me to read The Bad Case of Stripes. I think this book would be better understood if students could ask clarification whenever the text gets complicated. You can enjoy the book being read online by the actor Sean Astin (Sam from Lord of the Rings) at this fabulous website- Storyline Online.

2nd Graders Learn to use the Library Catalog: How the Library is Organized

Teaching the 2nd graders how to use the library begins with teaching them about how the library is organized, so they will know how to choose an item from their search results. The major sections correspond to the prefix on the call numbers:

 E = Everybody Section where you'll find picture books

FIC = Fiction Section where you'll find chapter books

# (numbers) = Non Fiction where you'll find everything that is NOT fiction- jokes, poetry, fact books, dictionaries, fairy tales, cookbooks, biographies and more.


S = series section- this can be Everybody, Fiction, or Non Fiction


eAUD = Free downloadable audio books through a NetLibrary account. (See post from Sept. 14.)

When students are looking at search results they should be thoughtful about which books they choose to check out. You can visit the Library Catalog with your student. Ask them to tell you what they know about choosing books.

Bennett Library Online Catalog

Zimbabwe Pen Pals Project Begins Anew

Our letters to Zimbabwe are finally on their way! Last May, Bennett's second graders wrote pen pal letters to students in Zimbabwe. These letters tied together classroom and library learning. The second grade curriculum includes friendly letters. The library curriculum includes teaching students how and when to use the district purchased databases. For this project students used CultureGrams to learn about life in Zimbabwe. Students used notes on Sports, Food, School, Holidays, and Life as a Kid to write a friendly letter to a student in Zimbabwe. Then I had the difficult task of getting the letters to Zimbabwe.


Starting in 2005, the organization House of Stone organized a pen pal project between  Bennett's students and students at  Mupumbu Primary school in Zimbabwe. Our correspondence continued for several years. When Zimbabwe destabilized the pen pal project fell apart. Last year I joined the board of House of Stone and decided to resurrect the pen pal project. Without a functioning postal system, I couldn't mail the letters. Fortunately, House of Stone has found a contact who will be delivering our letters next month. Hopefully our now third graders will receive answers to their letters in early 2011.

First Book Club Meeting

The Bennett Book Clubs met for the first time last Thursday night. Over 40 students plus their parents gathered to discuss The Wednesday Wars and Pictures of Hollis Woods. The boys club met with Mr. Drugge and the girls with me. Both Mr. Drugge and I were impressed by the thoughtfulness of our students and their parents. We are looking forward to our next meeting, when we will stay in one large group to discuss Three Cups of Tea.

Mac Barnett's Visit

Bennett's 4th and 5th graders loved meeting Mac Barnett. He shared the crazy, long process of having a book published, printed and distributed. He also shared his biggest fear (being kidnapped) and his second largest fear (being buried alive). Steve Brixton and his chum, Dana, are often kidnapped but so far have never been buried alive. Thank you University Bookstore.

Author Mac Barnett to visit Bennett

Thanks to the University Bookstore, fourth and fifth graders will have a chance to meet Mac Barnett author of several wacky picture books and the Brixton Brothers Mystery series.

 You can find out more about this author at his website: Mac Barnett's website

Here is a link to an interview from the author. From his answers I get the sense that he will be a lot of fun to meet him. Listen to an interview and read another one here: Publisher site for Mac Barnett The

The Curious Garden

The students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade have been introduced to this year’s Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book Award (WCCPBA) nominees. While sharing The Curious Garden by Peter Brown with the first graders, the students became mesmerized by the changes that occurred in Liam’s city. The book begins with a dreary polluted city where no one but Liam ventures outside. After finding a few plants on an abandoned railway line, Liam turns in to quite the garden and changes his city dramatically.

The Curious Garden was inspired by the High Line, an old abandoned railway in New York City that has become a park filled with gardens. Students enjoyed seeing these images of the real park. Take a look.High Line Images

How to find a book at your reading level

Third and fourth graders at Bennett have learned how to search for "just right" books in the library catalog. Students' test scores from last spring were converted into a Lexile score.  Students were then taught how to use a Lexile filter while searching for books on the library catalog, so only books at an appropriate reading level were returned. Students new to Bennett were taught how to find the Lexile level of a book they thought was just right and then use that number to search for new books.  Students were surprised to find out that many picture books had higher Lexile scores than some chapter books. Searching by Lexile level offers students a fast and easy way to find books that will help them grab their interest and improve their reading.

Stop by to learn how to search for books this way!

From a longer article:

What Are Lexiles?

"Lexiles have become the most widely accepted reading measurement in use today; renown as the most accurate way of matching readers to suitable text. Developed by MetaMetrics, Inc., a Lexile is a scientifically-based reading measurement that can be used to match a patron's reading ability to the overall difficulty of a specified text."

How Are Lexiles Measured?

"Using MetaMetrics' Lexile Analyzer software, titles are measured based on word frequency (semantic difficulty) and sentence length (syntactic complexity); the resulting Lexile value is numeric, rated on a scale between 0 and 2000. Generally, the larger the Lexile measurement, the more complex the sentence structure—as well as the frequency with which difficult words are used.  A reader's Lexile level indicates that they are expected to have a 75% comprehension score for a title with the same Lexile measurement. For example, a reader who has a Lexile measurement of 840 should be able to comprehend at least 75% of a title that also has a Lexile measurement of 840."

If you'd like to read more, follow this link: http://www.companioncorp.com/mediawiki/index.php/Lexile

Listen to audiobooks for Free!

The Bellevue School District has an account with NetLibrary where you can download titles from Horrible Harry to George Washington, Spymaster. Books can be listened to on your computer or transferred to an mp3 player.

To create an account, come on in to the Bennett Library. (You need to set up an account from a school computer.) It takes about 2 minutes. I'll give you the directions for setting up the account and for downloading books at home.

Discover why our school is named Richard Bennett Elementary

Our school is named for the artist Richard Bennett (1899-1971) who later in his career would become one of the nation's leading illustrators of children's books. He happened to grow up on the land where our school now sits. Altogether Bennett illustrated over 200 books, including several by best selling and noted writers, as well as seven books that he wrote himself. Those giant black and white prints at the end of each hallway are by Richard Bennett. Every year, the second graders learn about Richard Bennett's life and work in the library. Currently, there is an Exhibit at MOHAI that documents his work. It would be a great outing to learn about this local historic figure who is relevant to your children's lives.

Looking for a good book?

Not to pass the buck on helping your kids find books to read... but let me introduce you to the wonderful world of Guys Read, created by the former teacher and now famed author, Jon Scieszka. (Did you know he was named the first official National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature?) Guys Read's "mission is to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers."  There are loads of book recommendations and links to dozens of authors' websites. While geared to boys, there's plenty to appeal to the girl who is not interested in pink fairy books. Give it a try.

Welcome to the 2010 -2011 school year

Welcome to the Bennett Library. It is a new school year and the library is filled with wonderful treasures- new books, classics, parenting books, science books, art books, wordless books, recorded books. All of the Bennett library materials are available to the students and their families. Parents, feel free to come in and create a library account. You can check out materials for your child or for you.

The mission of the Bennett Library is to guide students to a wide range of great books, to ensure they can access information efficiently and effectively, and to help them become lifelong learners.

Database Lesson for 2nd Graders

Second graders learned how to access two databases to which the Bellevue School District subscribes, PebbleGo and TumbleBooks. PebbleGo's database is filled with nonfiction books on mammals, insects, amphipeans, dinosaurs and more! Most creatures have videoclips and many have sound clips. Students can choose to have the text read aloud. TumbleBooks is a database of stories. Students can choose to have them read aloud. Texts are available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and Chinese.

To access these databases, contact Mrs. Bolivar for log-in and password information.

Science Fair Approaches

Looking for a great science project? The library has a rich selection of experiment books.

Second and third graders have been wowed by the story of how Day-Glo colors were accidently invented.

Nancy Carlson visits Bennett

Nancy Carlson wowed Bennett's kindergartners through third graders on Monday, March 22nd. She shared where many of her ideas came from. Her first and only dance recital in which she cried on stage became Harriet's Recital. She also shared how important imagination is in creating a story. She drew pictures of many of her characters. She taught them how to draw George, Harriet, and a disco guinea pig.

Letters from the first graders showed that not only did they love her visit, but that they learned some of the important lessons her books teach. One student wrote he would be honest, another said that she wouldn't give up.

Check out her website http://www.nancycarlson.com/ to see her lesson on how to draw George. (Click on the video on the top left corner.) The students also enjoy checking out her daily drawing on her blog.

New Award Winners!

Come see the latest Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, and Geisel Award Medal and Honor winners available now. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is the Newbery Medal winner, the Caldecott winner is The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney, the Coretta Scott King Award winner for writing is Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal, and the Geisel Award Winner is Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! Come check one out at the library today!

Welcome to the Bennett Library!

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