Reading Counts
Reading Counts is a reading incentive computer program that has been in use in our school library for over 16 years. Students in Grades 3-8 read a book that is on the Reading Counts list and then they take a short multiple choice quiz on a computer that runs the Reading Counts program. The student then prints a report that shows if he/she has passed the quiz. Each teacher makes the decision whether to require their reading students to pass a certain number of quizzes during the school year. We have over 1475 quizzes in our Reading counts database. Lists of Reading Counts titles are available in the school library and also at the Kids’ Desk at the Arlington Hts. Memorial Library, as well as the link at this web site. This is the sixth year that the library staff is sponsoring a Reading Counts contest to encourage all OLW students in Grades 3-8 to use the Reading Counts program for fun.
To view the reading counts page Click Here.
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READING COUNTS GOAL FOR GRADE 3 IS 1200 POINTS PER ROOM
The classroom goal for the Grade 3 homerooms is 1200 points per room. Reading Counts Thermometers in the library hallway keep track of the points earned by each classroom. Some students pass more quizzes than others in their quest to reach the class goal of 1200. We'd love to see every third grader earn at least 50 Reading Counts points.
Third grade students will enjoy a party in the library during school hours when they reach their classroom goal. Over the past five years, every third grade classroom has earned their Reading Counts party. Parents and students, please be aware that any student in the class who has accumulated less than 15 points by the day before their class party will not be attending the party. Everyone in the class needs to work toward the class goal.
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Support the Scholastic Book Fair
Our school library benefits greatly from the success of the book fair each year. Library staff selected $3,100 worth of free books from the fair itself in February, 2008. We bet you didn’t know that cash profits from the book fair are also used each year to purchase new library books. In April, 2008, we purchased $2,400 worth of new fiction and nonfiction titles, including a new set of "Mallory" books, Horrible Harry titles, a new set of "Series of Unfortunate Events" books, Grade KDG & 1 beginning readers, sports titles, and books about countries. Books make great gifts, and the OLW Library staff is proud to support this wonderful book fair.
Elementary Building Computer Lab
The computer lab that is used by students in the elementary building is located in the Library/Media Center. There are 16 HP-Compaq Windows XP student computers with flat panel monitors. An additional three computers are reserved for students taking Reading Counts quizzes. The teacher workstation is connected to a large screen projector, which is used daily for instruction.
Each student in grades KDG-5 has a scheduled computer time in the lab each week. Students learn a variety of computer skills as we incorporate curriculum related projects into their computer lessons. We own science, language arts, math, drawing, keyboarding and creativity software, along with Microsoft Office and its kid-friendly partner, Scholastic Keys Max-Write (Word), Max-Count (Excel) and Max-Show (Power Point). Because this computer lab is in the same room as the library, some computer and library activities are combined into larger projects which take place in both areas.
(Answer to Trivia question: Mrs. Stein has read 315 JH Fiction books.
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READING COUNTS GOALS FOR GRADES 4 THROUGH 8
Any student in Grades 4 through 8 who reaches an individual point goal may choose a prize from a treasure chest in the library. Books that students read with their class (classroom sets) count toward their point goal. Point goals need to be reached by the end of the third quarter.
The point goals are as follows:
90 points for Grade 4
140 points for Grade 5&6
160 points for Grades 7 & 8
Highlights of the Curriculum
Kindergarten students start with the basics, like the proper way to hold a mouse, and practicing beginning phonics and math skills. Many weeks are spent learning to use Kid Pix and then drawing and printing several holiday pictures.
Story time is an important part of the weekly Kindergarten and Grade 1 LMC time. Grade 1 students have a story time curriculum, in which they are introduced to famous children’s authors and illustrators, and learn the difference between fiction and non-fiction books. A unit on the children’s book author, Tomie DePaola, includes both library and computer activities for three weeks.
Grade 1 students begin word processing lessons. They learn the functions of keys such as Shift, Enter, Backspace, and how to use the menu bar to save and print documents. Word processing lessons continue in Grades 2 through 5, with each grade building on the knowledge gained the previous year. A student in Grade 5 should be able to type a document, edit, format and spell check it, and then save the document before printing.
Grade 2 students spend several weeks learning library skills. These include learning to use the patron catalog, which is on every lab computer. Searching for books by title, author, subject and keyword and then finding the actual books on the library shelves is a life skill that can be used at the public library also. Grade 3 students continue library skills by learning the Dewey Decimal system of organizing non-fiction books by a number related to the subject of the book.
Grade 2 students have “Caldecott Days” in the library and lab, in which they complete activities based on picture books which have won the Caldecott medal for illustrations. We own the majority of the Caldecott winners from 1938 to 2008. Several weeks are spent in the computer lab “Learning about Weather” with an excellent tutorial program by Sunburst. Students listen to nine weather lessons, then write a journal of weather facts and play memory and sequencing games related to weather.
Grade 3 students are introduced to research skills. They learn how to take notes after reading a chapter in a nonfiction book and a student encyclopedia. Then they write a short report, which is typed from a template saved on their lab computer.
Keyboarding is introduced in Grade 4. Students will also be practicing multiplication and division skill using brand new computer software.
Grade 5 students learn how to prepare a “Works Cited” page for reports. After they practice writing citations in the library, they are expected to submit a Works Cited page for every report they write in fifth through eighth grades. Several lessons are taught in the lab on internet skills, including how to determine the validity of a web site by analyzing the URL address and checking the site for the authority that published it.
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