...and we're so excited we've pulled together all of these resources for you! Listen here as Chris Grabenstein introduces and shares the backstory for creating Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. Check out the new movie on Nickelodeon based on Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. It's fantabulous! How many of the books and periodicals that appear in Mr. Lemoncello's Library have you read? Curious how the cover was made for the original Mr. Lemoncello's Library? Read about it here. Try out the scavenger hunt at Nick.com. Stop by the Learning Commons to check out a book from the series and then let us know -- was the movie nearly as good as the book?
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All Galvin Middle School students and teachers are welcome to join us for a brand new middle school book club! The first meeting will take place this Thursday at 3:00pm at the Beebe, but we're hoping our monthly meetings can fall on Fridays so other activities don't have to get in the way and all of our friends can join.
We hope you'll come to our first meeting to find out what book we'll be reading first! One of my favorite pieces of the library media world is trying out different Web 2.0 tech tools to support authentic learning experiences. Web 2.0 really does transform students from information users to information creators and producers! ThingLink is a tool that brings interactive links and notes to photos. Icons appear on the picture and each has either a link to a website or video, text or both! I tried it out by making our current NaNoWriMo display in the Learning Commons "virtual" by adding links to the online catalog, a YouTube link and different NaNoWriMo-related links that match the visuals.
Any GMS teachers interested in giving this a try, please let me know! i'd be happy to explore different modes of integration to find what will work best for a full class.
Ms. McCall You may have been wondering what this "NaNoWriMo" business posted around the Learning Commons is all about... well, it's pronounced "nano-rhyme-o" and it's an abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month! Happy November, or NaNoWriMo! What is NaNoWriMo? It's a community of writers who gather for one month [November] to write as many words as they can and in 30 days produce a full novel. Sound crazy? It is! But it's also a great way to connect with other writers and to focus all your creative energy toward one complete product. The full NaNoWriMo program pushes writers to write 50,000 words, but the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program gives student age writers the opportunity to set attainable word count goals that allow for obligations like oh, school, extracurriculars and a social life, on the side. But don't take my word for it! Listen to a young NaNo writer below speak about what it is and why she participates (also I want her book shelf full of YA goodness!) Thank you YouTube user TheReadingFox for the inspiration!
A big part of NaNoWriMo is the social media, forum community and pep talk inspiration. NaNo is not just for amateur writers either... many bestselling published authors have taken on the competition to challenge themselves, including Maggie Stiefvater and John Green. I highly recommend any students interested in writing to take the plunge and write! Visit the Official NaNoWriMo Twitter feed for daily (or more like hourly) motivation, especially reminder to stop editing and start writing. NaNos, we have books and sites to support your writing journey , and you will have all of GMS cheering you on! Ms. McCall Feel free to post any questions if you'd like to know more!
Ms. McCall After decades of writing horror stories for children and young adults, R. L. Stine is at it again... this time on social media! Writing it piece by piece using 140 characters or less, R. L. Stine published a Halloween short story all from his own Twitter Feed. This is actually a tradition from the author, who has written short stories on Twitter around Halloween for several years now.
Check out the story tweets below, curated using Storify, but be warned that it may make you queasy! Have you ever seen or heard a favorite author in person? How about a whole panel of them? Here's your chance! Take a look at the middle grade and young adult authors that will be presenting at this year's Boston Book Festival on Saturday, October 25th. Guess who the keynote speaker is, performing for a crowd of likely thousands of kids, families, and book lovers from all over?! And for free at the gorgeous Trinity Church, a national landmark, located across from the Boston Public Library! I really think that all Riordan-loving readers out there should try to get to this event. And early! He's certainly the biggest name in children's literature that will be featured at the BBF, but many other children's and YA authors featured will sit on panels answering guests' questions and having discussions. I highly suggest attending the Boston Book Festival with your family and finding an event (or two or three...) that everyone might like.
More info and all middle grade and young adult literature authors that will be present are below. The best way to celebrate Banned Book Week? By reading banned books and discussing the right to reading freedom with your family and friends! Chances are that you've read and loved a banned book in your past and don't even know it! Ms. McCall
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