Power Pointless

Powerpoint is a great presentation tool, but many who use it make it their presentation rather than using it as a tool to enhance their presentation. It's one thing to master the bells & whistles of the program, but do you really know HOW to make a good powerpoint? Here is a humorous and insightful video by Don McMillan called "Life After Death by Powerpoint".

Snuggle up with a Great Book

This month we are highlighting great books to enjoy while you are trapped indoors during the winter months. Feel free to grab a book from our display or ask for a great book suggestion!

Remember our Caudill 2009 program is nearing the midway point. You have until February to read three of the twenty titles in order to be qualified to vote for your favorite. All of our Prairie votes are sent to the state to help determine the overall state winner. Keep in mind that we also have the extra challenge of reading fifteen books by the end of April. Those of you who are able to reach that goal will be invited to a party in the LMC in May. All of our Caudill 2009 books are on the black display cart so that they are easy to identify. Many of your fellow students are raving about The Lightning Thief, Life as We Knew It, The Green Glass Sea, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

For those of you who really like to read series books, two of our Caudill 2009 books are the first of their respective series. Check out The Lightning Thief where Percy Jackson heads on a quest to retrieve Zeus's lightning bolt. Wolf Brother, the first book from the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, also includes a journey. The main character Tarak and his wolf club seek a demon possessed bear that is threatening the clans who live in the area.

Another new series addition that has hit our shelf is The Calder Game by Blue Balliett. Calder, Petra and Tommy continue their sleuthing in the hopes of finding a missing statue. Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris continues Queen Marigold and King Christian's story. Did they live happily ever after? Coming in just a couple of weeks is the long awaited book five of the Ranger's Apprentice Series titled The Sorcerer of the North. Will, who is now a ranger, searches for the traitors who posioned the king.

Do you have a favorite series that you would recommend? What is it about the series that you enjoy?

Election Day

Have you ever wondered about how the president of the United States is actually elected? It is not as simple as winning the majority of votes cast on election day. Watch this video made by The Common Craft Show that explains our election process in very simple terms.

Electing a US President in Plain English

Stranded with a Good Book

Have you ever been stuck at the airport waiting for the weather to clear so that your flight can take off? That was the situation I was in recently, and thank goodness I had a good book to keep my mind off of the wait. In fact, the book I was reading transported me to India rather than Chicago which was my desired destination.

Kashmira Sheth, the author of Keeping Corner, tells the story of Leela, a widow at the age of twelve. In fact, Leela was engaged at age two, married at age ten and just before her anu ceremony, her husband was bitten by a poisonous snake. When Leela's husband died, she was looked upon as bad luck. She needed to spend a year keeping corner, which was an Indian tradition. During this year, Leela could not go out of the house, had to wear drab clothing and keep her head shaved. According to Indian tradition, Leela was to not marry again.

Can you imagine what life was like for Leela? Although things looked grim, Leela's brother fought for her right to an education and this opened new doors for her. This break with tradition occurred as Ghandi was encouraging the Indian people to break with tradition and fight against English oppression.

I learned quite a bit about Indian traditions and history while I waited for the flight departure to be announced. What good books have helped you through a long wait?

November 4th

Why is November 4th the most important day of the year? It's the day of the presidential election and the day that the people of America get to choose the leader of our nation for the next 4 years. Everytime you turn on the television, radio or computer, the topic of the day seems to be the presidential election. As a kid, you may tune this stuff out and think "I'm not old enough to vote, so why should I care?". According to PBS.com, young people who vote , do so because they learned about the importance of elections when they were kids and they grew to believe it was an honor and a privilege. The internet is a great way to learn about the presidential candidates and the election, but it is important to to know where your information is coming from. Since anyone can post anything on the web, it's best to learn from reliable, un-biased sources.
So, if you'd like to learn more about the election, here are some good websites:
Time for Kids Election Connection 2008
Scholastic News Online Election 2008
Rock the Vote
Kid's Voting USA
PBS Democracy Project
Ben's Guide to Government for Kids

Do you like suspense?

If you are a fan of suspense novels, I have two suggestions for you. Caroline Cooney's latest novels Diamonds in the Shadow and Code Orange kept me on the edge of my seat!

Diamonds in the Shadow has an interesting connection to stories we heard when Mawi Asgedom was visiting. Like Mawi's experience, a refugee family from Africa is sponsored by a church group and moves to the United States. Unfortunately, the apartment rented for this family, the Amabos, is no longer available so they have to move in with Jared, his sister, mom and dad. After the two families live together for a couple of weeks, Jared and his sister Mopsy begin to suspect that these refugees are not who they claim to be. Jared also discovers that the son Mattu is hiding "blood diamonds." To make the story even more suspenseful, a fifth refugee, who arrived at the same time as the Amabos, begins to hunt for them and readers are left wondering why.

Code Orange is just as suspenseful, especially if you can picture what would happen if the smallpox disease began to spread again. As a high school sophomore, Mitty has perfected the art of avoiding homework. However, in order to stay in the same class as a girl he likes, Mitty is told he must complete the research paper on an infectious disease that his biology teacher assigned. While flipping through some medical books in the basement, Mitty runs across an envelope. He opens the flap and scabs fall out in his palm. As Mitty continues his research, he realizes that these scabs were from the smallpox epidemic that hit the U.S. over 100 years ago. Mitty starts to experience some of the symptoms of smallpox and is afraid that he has contracted the disease. Not only is the thought of infecting others with smallpox or dying of the disease himself, Mitty is afraid some terrorists are interested in getting their hands on the scabs themselves.

What suspense novels have you read in the past that you would recommend to your friends?

A new language

SUP
RU in2 IM or txtng?
If you are a text-savvy teen, you are part of a generation that is creating a brand new language of abbreviations being used on cell phones and computers. The problem is that many of these acronyms are finding their way into the writing habits of American youth.

Many teachers have seen the use of IM abbreviations creeping into the written work of their students. The problem is that so many students are becoming accustomed to writing in this type of shorthand language, and they don’t even realize they are doing it. This problem is starting to filter into the real-world as employers are even starting to see the internet lingo used on job applications.

This doesn’t mean that the IM and texting language is all bad news. Many educators feel that this quick writing language has inspired the creativity in many of their students. These teachers also see it as an opportunity to teach students when and where it is appropriate to use these abbreviations.

So, what are your thoughts? Where is it appropriate to use IM or texting language? Is it ever appropriate to use it in school work? How about when commenting on a blog or responding in the online classroom?

Books You Can't Put Down

This week I was torn between rooting on the White Sox and reading a book that was tough to put down. So, I had to compromise. Between innings I would find myself back in the time of King Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin.

Seventeen-year-old Elaine of Ascolat joined the soldiers living at Arthur's camp after her mother was killed by the Saxons. As the only girl at camp, Elaine's life of learning to be a proper lady quickly faded. The real adventure begins when she is captured by the Saxon warriors.

What are some of the books you have read that you couldn't put down? What was it about them that captured your attention?

Books and Technology

Looking for some books on technology? Then look no further than our Prairie library. There are many choices for our enthusiastic technological learners:

Digital Art - Painting with Pixels by Ron Miller

Digital Art is all around us, but did you ever wonder where it came from, or how it works? This book is written by a professional digital artist who answers these questions. If you are interested in a career in digital art, or just want to learn more about various digital arts, this book is for you. Some of the topics include: computer-aided drawing (CAD), graphic arts, 3-D modeling, animation, and special effects.

Virtual Reality - Computers Mimic the Physical World by Sean M. Grady

Virtual Reality makes computer users seems as if they have stepped into another world. It uses a combination of high-speed computers, programming, and interactive devices. This book dives into this world, explaining the history of development, description of the virtual reality concept, how it applies to our everyday life, and the future implications of virtual reality in our world.

People in the News - Bill Gates by Adam Woog

Everyone knows Bill Gates is the most powerful figure in the computer business, but who really is this "ordinary person" who co-founded Microsoft? This biography profiles Bill Gates, offering insight into his life and the impact he has made in our modern world. This book starts with Mr. Gates' childhood, including his behavior issues in school! It follows the discovery of his interest in computers and eventually how Microsoft was formed, before his 20th birthday! It is a great inspirational story and gives good insight into how this computer giant evolved.

Welcome Back!

We are so happy to see you all return, and would like to extend a welcome to our new sixth grade group! We hope you had a wonderful summer and that you got a chance to read some good books. Our Prairie Picks blog will again be devoted to highlighting good books and sharing some tech tips. Please join in our discussion!

Let's begin our year by sharing a book you read over the summer that you would recommend to a friend. Please add a comment that provides a short summary of the book and describes what you liked about it.

Mrs. Stec and Mrs. Woods

Vacation Time

We are heading into our last two weeks of school! We want to take this time to tell you that we will be signing off for now and will come back in August with a lot of new books to write about and a lot of great tech tips. We hope your summer is great and that you get a chance to read many good books. Be ready to tell us about some ~ our blog will blossom with your comments!

Enjoy your summer,
Mrs. Stec and Mrs. Woods

Making a History Connection

Blood on the River: James Town 1607 by Elisa Carbone

Here is a novel that will bring all that you have learned in history class to life! Elisa Carbone tells the story of how Jamestown came to be through the eyes of Samuel Collier, an 11-year-old orphan. Samuel is sent to the New World as a page to Captain John Smith.

Life was not easy for these new settlers. Battles with some nearby Native American tribes, befriending the Powhatan Indians, and learning their ways in order to not offend them, kept the Jamestown people busy. Winter nearly killed them.

Carbone shares her sources at the end of this novel. Her attention to providing historically accurate details makes this a book worth choosing!

Some Cool Websites to Visit

Most of us are familiar with the most popular places teens like to visit on the web. Websites such as Myspace, Facebook, and YouTube are well-known hangouts for teens.
If you are looking for something new, here are some other websites to visit:

• Hairmixer.com – try a new hairstyle on YOUR picture.
• Howstuffworks.com – “Mythbusters” for the web.
• Twitter.com - a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing? Check out this Twitter How-to video...
• del.icio.us - a social bookmarking website - store your bookmarks online, which allows you to access the same bookmarks from any computer and add bookmarks from anywhere. What is social bookmarking?

Illustrations that Amaze

Picture books are worth your time, even as middle school students! These books can help you build background knowledge in a fun and enjoyable way. Many times picture books get overlooked in our library, so I would like to highlight a few that you really shouldn't miss.

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

Picture an all black background with incredible pictures of space filling the pages. These photographs along with actual photos of Mission Control tell the story of man's first step on the moon. You may know a bit about the astronauts' experience, but this book tells the story of the people behind the scenes who made the mission possible. For instance, the astronauts depended on the space suits made by a team of seamstresses who had to stitch, glue and cement material together to create the suit. I was surprised to learn that cement was used! This book won the 2007 Robert F. Siebert Award.

Triumph on Everest: A Photobiography of Sir Edmund Hillary by Broughton Coburn

Have you ever thought about how tough a climb it would be to get to the summit of Mount Everest? If you have a difficult time picturing this, check out this book. Broughton Coburn shows us what an incredible feat this was in 1953, as well as describes Sir Edmund Hillary's humanitarian acts. Sir Edmund Hillary came to love the Sherpa people who helped him achieve his goal of scaling Mount Everest. He used his fame to raise money for schools for the Sherpas.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick

Don't be put off by the size of this book - over 150 pages are pictures. This award winning novel is dependent on the pictures and you will marvel at the intricacies of the black and white pencil drawings. If you enjoy mysteries, this 2008 Caldecott winner should be a definite pick for you.

Keeping It Clean

Do you have a computer or laptop that does not seem to be running quite right? There are many free tools available on the Internet that will clean up your hard drive, minimize registry clutter, remove junk files, eliminate spyware and adware, and streamline the start-up process. Some of my favorites include Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad-aware Free, and CCleaner. I run these programs on a regular basis to keep my computers optimized. It’s also a good idea to have a security suite on your computer to keep the virus and spyware invasions from taking over in the first place. My Internet provider offers the McAfee security suite as a free download to customers, so be sure to check if your ISP offers this benefit.

Also, check out Luke Allen’s Keep It Clean! website. Mr. Allen is a retired computer teacher and he presents a workshop every year at the Illinois Computing Educators conference. His website is a great resource to some of the best free tools available on the Internet.

Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Fast Food

I had a chance to explore a new book to our library titled Chew on This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food by Eric Schlosser and Charles Wilson. Not only did this book provide interesting facts for me to use with eighth grade English students, it GROSSED me out! If you are looking for a nonfiction book to read and you have a strong stomach, this book would be the perfect choice.

Chew on This highlights little known facts about the growth of fast-food chains, particulary McDonald's, and the effect this growth has had on American children. Although this may sound a bit dull, it is anything but that. How can your interest not be captured when you learn "Dactylopius coccus costa... bugs are collected, dried, and ground into a coloring additive. It takes about 70,000 of the insects to make a pound of carmine, which is used to make processed foods look pink, red, or purple" (Schlosser and Wilson 121-22)? This fact will make me think twice about ordering a strawberry milkshake!

Don't miss the chance to be entertained while learning some fascinating facts about foods common to the American diet.

Digital Storytelling

Microsoft has come out with one of the coolest new technologies for creating slideshows using your digital photos called “Photostory”. It’s one of Microsoft’s best-kept secrets and it’s free! Using Photostory, you can simply touch-up, crop and rotate pictures or add special effects. You can also add a soundtrack or your own voice narration and then personalize with titles and captions. To download Photostory or see it in action, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx.

Speaking of digital storytelling, there is a great website in which to obtain instrumental music that can be used in conjunction with a program like Photostory. The website is http://www.freeplaymusic.com/. This website offers instrumental music clips in many different genres. Many of the music clips are also offered in various lengths, which makes them perfect to use in slideshows.

So, get out those captured memories and start experimenting with digital story-telling and these free tools!

Baseball Season Has Arrived!

Neither Chicago baseball team had a favorable beginning yesterday, but we can always hope that this was a slow start and a World Series trip is in one of the team's future. As annoyed as I was with the rain delay during the Cub game, it got me thinking that this would be a perfect opportunity to make a list of some books that celebrate baseball fever for all of you baseball fans.

The following titles can be found in our library. The short summary is taken from our online catalog.


The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
The fate of a small California town rests on the outcome of one baseball game, and Tom Gallagher hopes to lead his team to victory with the secrets of the now disgraced player, Dante Del Gato.
You may also want to check out another John H. Ritter book called Over the Wall.


Heat by Mike Lupica
Pitching prodigy Michael Arroyo is on the run from social services after being banned from playing Little League baseball because rival coaches doubt he is only twelve years old and he has no parents to offer them proof.






Summerland by Michael Chabon
Ethan Feld, the worst baseball player in the history of the game, finds himself recruited by a 100-year-old scout to help a band of fairies triumph over an ancient enemy.






My 13th Season by Kristi Roberts
Already downhearted due to the loss of her mother and her father's overwhelming grief, thirteen-year-old Fran decides to give up her dream of becoming the first female in professional baseball after a coach attacks her just for being a girl.






Any of Dan Gutman's books about baseball are also many students' favorites. Check out some of the following:
*Abner & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure
*Babe & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure
*Honus & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure
*Jackie & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure
*Mickie & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure
*Satch & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure
*Shoeless Joe & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure

We also own many nonfiction titles focused on baseball that may catch your interest.


Play Ball Like the Hall of Famers: The Inside Scoop from 19 Baseball Greats by Steven Krasner
Presents advice on how to play baseball like the pros from twenty big league stars such as Bobby Doerr, Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, Whitey Ford, and others, and includes stories from their childhood and career, tips on making difficult plays, and player superstitions.





Baseball: Startling Stories Behind the Records by Jim Benagh
Relates the stories behind a number of record-setting feats in the history of baseball, in such categories as "Long-ball Sluggers," "Age Gaps, " and "Hitting Feats."

Belles of the Ballpark by Diana Star Helmer
Describes the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which gave women the opportunity to play professional baseball while America was involved in World War II.


Roberto Clemente: Baseball Player by Jerry Roberts
Presents a biography of Roberto Clemente, Latin American baseball player, providing information on his childhood, his education, and his achievements in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Transporting Files Between Home and School

A jump drive is a compact storage device that can be used to save files to or from a computer. They are a handy and durable replacement to writing files to CD or floppy disk. Jump drives are smaller in size than a pack of gum and can be attached to a key chain, or worn around your neck. The jump drive plugs into the USB port of a computer, which then provides easy access to your files. Jump drives are also referred to as flash drives, and USB memory sticks. They can be purchased at every major retail and office supply store. As the storage capacity has gone up, the prices have come down and a 1GB jump drive can be found for under $20. We recommend that every student have their own jump drive and many teachers at Prairie require them for their classes. We do have jump drives in the Library Media Center available to students for a 1 week check-out, and they are very popular items!

Jump drives are the best way for students to transport their files between home and school. CD’s do not hold nearly as much data and are not as durable as jump drives. Many students think they can email themselves documents between home and school, only to find out that access to their personal email accounts are not allowed on school computers. Having a jump drive would alleviate many of the issues of transporting files between home and school and they are a great investment for students!

Rebecca Caudill 2008 Winner

The state winner of the 2008 Rebecca Caudill award is Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick. A total of 38,340 votes were cast across the state and these voters agree with Prairie students that Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie is definitely a book worth reading! The other place winners are:

2nd place: The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn

3rd place: MVP*: Magellan Voyage Project by Douglas Evans

4th place: The Miraculous Journey by Kate DiCamillo

5th place: The Ranger's Apprentice/Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

We have four days left before Spring Break. Stop by the library to check out some books for vacation. We have just added many new books to our collection. Another item for checkout that might help break up a long car trip would be one of our audiobooks. We have many titles on cassette and CD. We would be happy to recommend or help you find a book or audiobook to enjoy over break.

Sharing Books

According to our question of the week, it looks like many of us get book recommendations from friends. So here is your chance. Post a comment about a book(s) you have read recently that you would recommend to one of your friends.

Over the weekend, I finished the book Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. This was the first book in a series called Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. The main character, Torak, along with his wolf friend try to save the ancient clans from a demon bear. It is a true adventure as Torak searches for the items listed in an ancient prophecy that will help him conquer the bear. I really liked how friends played such an important part in the story.

Urban Legends

Have you ever heard of an Urban Legend ? According to Dictionary.com, an Urban Legend is “a modern story of obscure origin and with little or no supporting evidence, spreads spontaneously in varying forms and often has elements of humor, moralizing, or horror: Are there alligators living in the New York City sewer system, or is that just an urban legend?”.

In this age of technology, Urban Legends have found their way into our everyday life. You know those emails that get forwarded to you with stories of “millionaires giving all their money away if you just forward this email to 20 people”? How about the various viruses you can catch from email, cell phones, etc? How do you know if theses stories are true or Urban Legends?

The site I visit most often to sort fact from fiction is Snopes.com. Otherwise known as the Urban Legends Reference Page, Snopes.com is a well-known resource for validating or disproving, Internet rumors, email forwards, and other such stories of uncertain or questionable origin in popular American culture.

Snopes.com is an interesting and fun website to browse and most importantly, it reminds us that not everything we read on the Internet is true!

Rules by Cynthia Lord

I just finished reading Rules and loved it. Catherine, the main character, has a younger brother who has autism. Catherine struggles at times with her brother’s behavior, so she develops a list of rules to teach him.

What I liked most about this book is the insight it gives us about autism. Catherine learns that even though some people struggle with physical and mental challenges, they can be great friends and have a lot to offer.

This book mixes humor with some sad events. I would highly recommend it to all, especially those of you who may know a person with autism.

Click here to see if it is currently available in our library.

Welcome!

Prairie Picks is a new feature to our library page! I love to talk about the books I am reading and hope that you will offer your thoughts about these books as well. Please join in the discussion and let us all know your thoughts!

Mrs. Woods will also be posting to our Prairie Picks blog. She likes to talk about new sites she discovers and tech tips that she learns as she works with computers. Try out some of her suggestions and add your own comments about what you find.

Try the question of the week and some of the other special features included on our blog. If you have any suggestions of what you would like included on this blog, please add a comment.

Let's get Prairie Picks going!
Mrs. Stec