Sara Dunkerton invited Sgt Heidi Murphy from NH Fish and Game to present the Hike Safe Program to 6th graders at the IRS library. Heidi shared the appropriate winter gear for hiking, survival packs, as well as the items used by NH Fish and Game for their search and rescues. This tied in nicely with their survival unit. Students were studying the Iditarod and recently read The Race Against Death. The students were fully engaged and loved the presentation!
Students and teachers were invited to the library to enjoy hot cocoa and books this week! They read in front of a roaring fire with some gentle Disney piano music playing in the background (all Disney songs because that's Ms. Hollander's favorite). Have a good break everyone!
Sora is a great digital library that has truly expanded our library offerings! Students at Indian River School are using Sora regularly to enjoy more reading choices. In our first month after launching Sora, we had over 250 digital checkouts! The number has remained steady at 185 digital checkouts at our school for the past couple months. January's statistics have not yet been released.
However the students decide to read, whether it be a physical book, an ebook, or an audiobook, just keep encouraging them to read, read, read!
Link Sora to Your Local Library!
Now, students have the ability to further expand their library collection! The Sora student reading app conveniently includes public library access. Through this feature, students can browse and borrow ebooks and audiobooks from their local public library in addition to our school’s digital collection. Sora has also made sure that only age-appropriate titles are displayed so their reading choices are both broad and relevant.
How can students access public library titles for educational and pleasure reading without ever leaving Sora?
Many teachers and parents stop reading aloud to children once they can read on their own. However, research shows that reading aloud to your students—even long after they're reading independently—benefits learners of all ages.
In that spirit, IRS participated in World Read Aloud Day by inviting authors to do live, virtual read alouds! They also gave us some insight about their experience as authors. They spoke about the writing process, including the time to get to the publishing stage. For Shawn Peters, it took 6 years to get his debut novel published, for Jessica Vitalis, it took 6 book rejections to get her first work published. Joshua Levy wrote almost 400,000 words that went nowhere and was rejected 119 times before he was published! The resounding advice was simply to read and write every day, and to write what you enjoy and are passionate about.The Authors:
Shawn Peters, a local author from Massachusetts whose debut MG adventure novel, The Unforgettable Logan Foster, just hit the shelves! https://www.shawnpeterswrites.com/
Jessica Vitalis, author of The Wolf's Curse. Her next book, The Rabbit’s Gift, is set to be released in October. https://jessicavitalis.com/
Joshua Levy, former middle school teacher turned author (and lawyer) is the author of titles including The Jake Show, Seventh Grade vs. the Galaxy, and Eighth Grade vs. the Machines. https://www.joshuasimonlevy.com/
February is Black History Month! This is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.
At the IRS library, we are honoring our observance by highlighting current youth fiction. Jason Reynolds was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2020-2021. He’s a prolific and well-loved author who is featured along with other trending authors like Angie Thomas and Kwame Alexander. Jerry Craft’s New Kid also won the Newbery Medal. Come celebrate Black History Month at IRS by reading African and African-American voices.
HOW TO ACCESS SORA Step 1: Install the Sora app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or go to https://soraapp.com/library/nhssdcnh...
