Welcome to Ward-Highlands Elementary School's Media Center 

Mr. Christopher Lanza, Media Specialist  christopher.lanza@marion.k12.fl.us

 Have a great summer & please keep reading!!!

 10 WAYS TO GET KIDS EXCITED ABOUT READING OVER THE SUMMER!

1. Get Started / Get Carded Planning a vacation is part of the fun, so get your children thinking about books to read over the summer. And visit your local library and get a library card—kids really like “official” documents with their names on it.

2. Think Outside the Book Don’t forget magazines, newspapers, game directions or any print you can get your child’s eyes on to motivate and add variety to the reading experience.

3. Go Places with Books If you’re taking a staycation or leaving home for a vacation, read up on your destination--where you’d like to go or where you are going. Check out nonfiction reads like fact books and atlases, or fictional stories set in the place to be explored.

4. It’s Showtime Reading the book and seeing the movie are a winning combination when it comes to getting kids to reading and talking about books. It is a good idea to read the book first and then see the movie.

5. Start a Series – Bet You Can’t Read Just One If you can match the right child to the right book in a series, the reading habit will grow. A child’s teacher, a librarian or a bookseller can give advice on popular series.

6. Trading Books One way to stretch a book budget and get your hands on more books is to swap books with other families and friends.

7. Four or More Remember that reading four or more books may prevent the dreaded summer slide—a child’s efforts need to add up to enough reading to go back to school ahead of the curve. Take the challenge and join www.scholastic.com/summer

8. Read New Generation Books Books are evolving well beyond the printed page. Technology is such an important part of the life of kids today, so e-books are an attractive option. Also, today’s readers are attracted to books that combine print in traditional formats and online.

9. Start a Summer Book Collection Just like collecting rocks or seashells, collect books with summer themes. Put them in a fun box or container and take them out to celebrate summer.

10. Keeping Track Have everyone in the family keep a log or read. Set a goal and then celebrate when the magic number of books has been achieved, celebrate.

** Tips provided by Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic

Quick Links:

• Mr. Lanza Reads listen to Mr. Lanza read his favorite books 
• You can also access read alouds on Mr. Lanza's Teacher website
• TeachingBooks Great resources for teachers and students 
• Destiny Online Catalog find out which books and resources are in our Media Center, as well as read eBooks online
• ARBookfinder Find out AR book levels, point values, and quiz numbers
• Harry Potters Wizarding World at Home
• Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks
• www.storylineonline.net -- Stories read by celebrities
• www.kidlit.tv -- Read alouds, book trailers, activities, and more
• www.imaginationlibrary.com – “Goodnight with Dolly” Country Music superstar and longtime children’s literacy advocate Dolly Parton reads bedtime stories to children
• Scholastic Learn at Home
• Abcya.com – Various games and learning activities normally available only on our network, but has now been opened up to access at home.
• Dave Pilkey at Home – Author of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. Dave Pilkey at home will feature new video content created by Pilkey himself on Friday mornings at 8 a.m. ET on social media channels and the websites of the Library of Congress and Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company. Beginning April 1, fun and free activities will be available online including how-to-draw demonstrations, engaging read-a-louds and inspiring resources from the Library’s collections. Additional videos and content will be shared periodically throughout the week and will feature downloadable activities, conversations about books and creativity, and tips for kids and families to create their own characters and act out scenes from Pilkey’s Dog Man book series.

Great Resources to use at Home:

Kidinfo bits - an engaging online experience for information on a broad range of topics.  Access through student portal under Library Media Resources, simply click the Gale resources tile.

Worldbook Online - Online encyclopedia and a resource for educational learning and research. Access through student portal under Library Media Resources, click on Worldbook tile and select kids tile with the balloon.

myON! - Access to many books you can read at home.  Click on the myON! tile on your student portal.  

Mission Statement:

Provide students access to instructional resources and multimedia-based educational materials to advance their reading skills as a critical component of their learning experience.

Staff:

Lauren Bontrager & Erin Jenkins, Media Assistants

Hours:

7:20 - 7:30 -- Morning check-in / check-out books

7:45 - 8:00 -- News Show

8:00 - 2:05 -- Classes and check-in / check-out books

2:05 - 2:15 -- Afternoon check-in / check-out books

2:30 - 3:00 -- Planning & Teacher Services

Circulation Policy:

• Each student in Pre-K, kindergarten, and ESE may check out one book per week to be kept in the classroom. 
• Students in 1st grade may check out 2 books until their next assigned day in the Media Center. 
• Students in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade may check out three books until their next assigned day in the Media Center.
• Students may renew a book for an additional week. 
• There are no fines for overdue materials.
• Students may only check out second chance books if they have overdue, lost, or damaged books that have not be returned or reimbursed.
• Parent/guardians may create a WHE Media Center account and check out five additional books for their child.  Parents/guardians can request an account by visiting Ward-Highlands Elementary School and meeting with a Media Center representative.

Gift Policy:

Gifts are always appreciated. They may be added to the media center collection, given to the classrooms, or given to students. All gifts will be accepted and evaluated as follows: Is the gift appropriate for students? Does the gift support the curriculum? Is the gift in good condition?

Sunshine State Young Readers' Award:

Sunshine State Young Readers' Award program includes SSYRA JUNIOR for grades Kindergarten – 2^nd and SSYRA for Grades 3^rd – 5^th. Each program presents a collection of fifteen books chosen for their quality and appeal, and represent some of the best in children's literature today. Students participating in the programs and meeting the minimum requirements for books read are eligible to vote for their favorite book. The author of the book with the most statewide votes is presented with the Sunshine State Young Readers' Award.

SSYRA Junior (Grades Kindergarten – 2^nd):

The Sunshine State Young Reader's Award Jr. program is intended to develop student interest in reading for pleasure by exposing them to a wide range of appropriate literature. Sunshine State Jr. books are selected for their wide appeal, literary value, varied genres, curriculum connections, and/or multicultural representation. Students are encouraged to listen to these books read to them, read them in a small group setting, or read independently to develop skills in fluency and comprehension. 

Students will be eligible to vote in the spring after listening/reading at least three of the books.  The winning author and illustrator will be recognized at the annual FAME conference.  

click here to visit the SSYRA Jr. site

SSYRA (Grades 3^rd – 5^th):

The Sunshine State Young Readers' Award program presents a collection of fifteen books chosen for their quality and appeal, and represent some of the best in children's literature today. Students in grades 3 through 5 are encouraged to read at least 3 of the 15 books to be eligible to vote for their favorite book. Every year, the author of the book with the most statewide votes is presented with the Sunshine State Young Readers' Award.

In addition, students reading 10 or more "Sunshine Books" are also qualified to try out for the Ward-Highlands Book Bowl Team. 

click here to visit the SSYRA site