Media Center

Media Center Lessons for 9/4 - 9/14

                         Kindergarten students are learning all about the library with the help of Mr. Wiggle, a bookworm.  *Media center manners *How to use a space saver *How to check out a book.  It's all new to them and they're very excited!  Our hope is to make every visit to the media center a wonderful experience!

1st - 3rd Graders are reviewing proper care of library books with a special guest - Zee Boook Doctor!  It's a fun, interactive lesson that teaches the importance of caring for all books, especially those borrowed from a library.

4th and 5th Graders are learning how to use our online catalog (Destiny) to find the books they want.  They'll become experts with visual searches, power searches, and keyword searches.  Of course, using Destiny is just the first step.  They must then know how to locate the books on the shelves.  We'll be working on these skills throughout the year with continued lessons, opportunities to practice, games and team challenges.

We Love our Media Center Volunteers!

Media Center volunteers are already hard at work shelving books and manning the check-out desk!  If you're looking for a volunteer opportunity, come check us out!  Our volunteer coordinator, Dianne Fonseca, will put you on the calendar.  Training will take place in early September.

What's Going on in the Media Center?

3rd - 5th Grade orientations revolve around an inter-active Jeopardy game.  Categories include Check This Out, Library Etiquette, Meet Your Destiny, Shelf Talk, and Take a Chance.  Teams choose a category and attempt to earn points by correctly answering questions about the library.  They know a lot!

2nd Grade students match questions with answers to show what they remember about library procedures.  What can you do in a bean bag chair??  Read quietly!  How long can you keep your library books?  Two weeks! 

1st Graders are listening to a fun library story and learning a song about how to use a Space Saver.  It's the Booky Looky, sung to the tune of Hokey Pokey.  Just ask them to sing for you!

Kindergarteners will come to the Media Center after Labor Day.  They're always very excited about checking out their first book!

Welome Back!

Mrs. Clancy and Mrs. Schmidt are looking forward to another exciting year!  We can't wait to hear about all the wonderful books our Murdock students read over the summer!

New Books!

Are you curious about the Grand Canyon or our other national parks?  Want to draw one of the Presidents?  Find out how technology is used in Sports!   Try a graphic novel!  Read all about your favorite NBA basketball team!  We've got lots of new and interesting books to keep you reading!  Come find them all @ your Murdock Media Center!

"Weeding" in the Media Center

The Media Center is constantly adding and removing books to the collection in order to keep the selection current and active for our students and staff.  The process of removing worn out or outdated titles is referred to as "weeding."  We've just completed the fiction section and are starting in nonfiction.  It's a time consuming process, but exciting to know that our book collection is relevant and growing!  Thanks to our wonderful parent volunteers for your hours of help with our spring weeding!

Reference Resources

Cobb Virtual Library

Altapedia

Yahooligans Reference

Smithsonian Encyclopedia

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Fact Monster Almanac

Flags & Maps of the World

Citation Machine

Citing Sources

Copyright for Kids 

Copyright Questions

What is the Cobb Virtual Library?

The Cobb Virtual Library (CVL) is an excellent collection of resources provided to all CCSD students.  They have been chosen as reliable, educational, age-appropriate information sources.  Access to these resources is funded by individual Media Center budgets. 

The databases include World Book Online, Galileo, Grolier, and Electric Library to name a few.   Within each of these databases you'll find atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, subject-specific encyclopedias and an endless wealth of research possibilities.  The CVL is divided into categories for Elementary, Middle, and High School.  Murdock students should choose the Elementary level.  Because these resources are provided specifically for CCSD students, home use requires a user name and password.  These are provided by the Media Specialist.  All 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will receive information cards to place in the front of their planners for easy reference.  Teachers will also post the user name and password in their classrooms.  Feel free to ask Mrs. Schmidt (Media Specialist) or any classroom teacher for this information.

I strongly recommend use of the CVL for Murdock students' research needs! 

   

Book Fair a Huge Success!

Murdock's "Reading Rain Forest" Book Fair succeeded in putting hundreds of books into the hands of eager readers!   Thanks to our students and families for your generous support of the Book Fair!  Profits will be used to expand and update the Media Center collection with ficton, nonfiction, and reference materials for our students. 

Of course, the Book Fair wouldn't be possible without our wonderful volunteer parents!  Many thanks to Kathy Wardlaw and her volunteer staff for your enthusiasm, energy and smiling presence throughout the entire week.  We're already looking forward to our next fair February 26th - March 2nd.

"Destiny" is Coming to the Media Center

Murdock students will soon use a new program called Destiny instead of our old Athena program when they do a computer search for Media Center books.  Destiny has some exciting new features that students will love including pictures of book covers and links to related web sites.  Although Destiny is a new program, students will continue to use the search skills they've already mastered to look up books by title, author or subject.  Media Center lessons will be offered to present Destiny to students and staff.  Destiny should be up and running by December 1st.