DIVERSITY RETURNS...WITH A VENGEANCE

The 8th grade projects have wrapped up their IMC use and now the other grades return. On Monday 6th grade Social Studies is using IMC computers and Reference tables while the advanced 7th grade Reading classes are coming for a booktalk and book checkout. Tuesday, music classes are on the computers and the rest of the 7th grade Reading classes are coming for book checkout. On Wednesday 6th grade Reading classes will vote online for the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book award through the IMC automations system. Starting Wednesday and continuing through Friday some of the 7th grade Language Arts are also using the computers. Thursday, an online student survey will be done during PE classes while advanced 8th grade Reading classes will be checking out books. And finally on Friday, Health classes will be on the computers and 6th grade Reading classes will be in for a booktalk and book checkout. That's a pretty typical week for the IMC at this time of year.

8th GRADE DOMINATES AGAIN

Next week the 8th grade Language Arts classes will continue working on their persuasive speech research in the IMC using the Reference tables and the computers.

Coming in two weeks is the 6th grade voting for the 2013 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader Book Award. Voting will be done online using the library automation system online catalog, O.P.A.C. I will have our local results by the end of school on Thursday, February 28th, when I will send them to the state committee. The announcement of the official winner comes in early March. Then we will compare our local results with the official state vote.

8th GRADE DOMINATES

The IMC computers are in the hands of the 8th grade next week. Monday through Wednesday 8th grade Social Studies will be using them. Then Thursday and Friday 8th grade Language Arts takes over to pursue their persuasive speech research. The last three days of this week 8th grade LA classes have been doing an online research survey on 3 possible topics for their speeches to find what information is available. After counseling with the teacher early next week students will settle on one topic for their speech.

WHEW!!!

The long week of research for 8th grade social studies classes is over. I must compliment the majority of students who used their time wisely, asked for assistance when they needed it, and met their class requirements today. Unfortunately there were a few students who came up short today and will have to work over the weekend or on their own time next week. Starting Monday the students will work in groups determined by political philosophy to prepare a project presenting what they have learned. So the IMC goes from a research facility to a production facility.

Many classes came this week for book checkout. Half of the 8th grade selected Accelerated Reader fiction. The Advanced 7th grade classes selected Holocaust or related fiction. The other 7th grade classes selected biographies or autobiographies. Next week the advanced 8th grade classes will select Accelerated Reader fiction with a book talk. And 6th grade classes will be selected their third (or fourth or fifth or...) 2013 Caudill nominee. When they finish reading a third Caudill nominee they will be eligible to vote for the 2013 Caudill Award. Voting will take place near the end of February online using an aspect of the IMC's automation program.