We have exciting news here in the Pittsburg School library. As of the fall of 2011, we are now using the Destiny card catalog. This allows you to search our card catalog from any computer that has Internet access, even from the comfort of your own home! Take a look at the card catalog soon, and you will see all of the capabilities that you have. You can create lists of books that you would like to read and even create a citation list for all of the books that you have used in a research project!

If you would like to make use of this useful tool, follow this link:

• Pittsburg Card Catalog

We hope that you will enjoy using this very useful new tool.

NH Public Television

NHPTV has a list of resources that they update daily for parents and teachers. Log on to nhpbs.org to access some great activities for learning at home.

Mo Willems Lunch Doodles:

If you child likes the Elephant and Piggie books or the Pigeon books by Mo Willems, you might want to check in at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tVfVvmJP7E&list=PL14hRqd0PELGbKihHuTqx_pbvCLqGbOkF. Mo Willems, the author of those books, has some lunchtime sessions where he teaches kids how to do simple and fun drawings.

Scholastic Magazine:

Scholastic magazine offers some fabulous learn-at-home books and activities. Log on to www.scholastic.com/learnathome to access these fun, educational resources for 20 days.

Virtual Field Trips:

Do a Google search for virtual field trips, and you will find links to things like zoos, art museums, science museums and so much more to enrich your lives while you are staying at home.

Storyline Online:

This great site allows your children to listen to famous actors as they read storybooks line. Log on to https://www.storylineonline.net/ to access the site. Among those reading stories are Annette Bening, Allison Janney, and Chrissy Metz.

As the library will be used throughout the student’s career at Pittsburg School, students and parents/guardians should remember that all work assigned in the library is designed to help the student to become proficient in accessing, evaluating, and using information. Each year the students will build on the knowledge that they gained in the previous years until they reach the point at which they should be able to access, use and evaluate information with little or no guidance from the librarian or a classroom teacher. With that in mind, it is hoped that all students and their parents/guardians realize that the information taught is useful and not just “busy work”.

Students in grades K-2 will receive library grades each marking period in keeping with the grading policy for the school.

E = Expanding

P = Proficient

AP = Approaching Proficiency

BP = Beginning

IES - Insufficient evidence shown

If you have any questions, feel free to call.

Sincerely,

Ann Gray As of 02/13/2025

It is expected that assignments will be completed in a timely fashion to the best of the students’ ability. If a student is absent and misses an assignment, he or she is expected to approach Mrs. Gray and ask for the missing work. Missing work should be completed before the next library class; i.e. within one week’s time. Please note that this includes students that participate in special activities, such as swimming, that cause them to miss library class on a regular basis.

Any student not completing assignments within an appropriate period of time will be expected to make arrangements to come to the library during his or her own time (before or after school or during recess) to complete the work. If a student fails to complete the assignment in a timely fashion, he or she will receive a 0% for that assignment.

As the library will be used throughout the student’s career at Pittsburg School, students and parents/guardians should remember that all work assigned in library is designed to help the student to become proficient at accessing, evaluating, and using information. Each year students will build on the knowledge that they have gained in previous years until they reach the point at which they should be able to access, use and evaluate information with little or no guidance from the librarian or the classroom teacher. With that in mind, it is hoped that all students and parents/guardians realize that the information taught here is useful and not just “busy work”.

Students in grades 3-6 will receive library grades each marking period in keeping with the grading policy for the school.

E = Expanding

P = Proficient

AP = Approaching Proficient

BP = Beginning

IES = Insufficient evidence shown

If you have any questions, feel free to call.

Ann Gray As of 02/13/25

When I went to Syracuse University to earn my M.L.S., it was my privilege to learn about a research method called The Big6. Creators of this research method, Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz, were still associated with SU so I was able to learn the method under their tutelage. The Big6, used worldwide, teaches individuals to use six simple steps whenever they are faced with any type of information problem.

Doing research well is not something that comes intuitively, and it is something that needs to be practiced again and again before the process becomes a smooth one. Here in the library, I do my best to help make this process easier for our students, and one of the ways that I do that is to work with them and teach them the Big6 method for information problem solving.

At first, research comes to mind when a person says, information problem. However, the Big6 can be used in many areas of everyday life. When you need to decide which car is the best to buy, you need information, right? When your student needs to choose just the right dress for the prom, she needs to gather information to make a good choice. Even deciding which movie to go to see on Saturday night requires information. If you are interested in learning more about the Big6, check out the simple steps below.

Step 1: Task Definition: • What is your task or your job? • What information do you need to answer? • What do you already know?

Step 2: Information Seeking Strategies: • Make a list of all of the possible sources of information • Could you use a book? an encyclopedia? the Internet? • Would a friend be able to give you guidance? • Could you take a trip to see an expert? • Now prioritize this list

Step 3: Location and Access: • Locate the information that you decided would be best in step 2 • Find the information within the source • Could you use an index? a table of contents? the card catalog?

Step 4: Use of Information: • Now that you have the information in front of you, you have to use it • You might read, view, or listen to the source • You need to record what you have learned by taking notes or highlighting

Step 5: Synthesis: • After checking back over your Task Definition to be certain that you have included everything you need to include, you will put together the information in a way that makes sense and then you will present it • You might write a report, or make an oral presentation, or create a video, or buy that beautiful prom dress that you have your mind set on

Step 6: Evaluation: • In order to get better at using information, it is important to do some self-evaluation • Did you use your time wisely? • Did you get everything that you need while seeking out the information? • Did your mother love the gift that you bought for her? • Did the prom dress fit perfectly? • If you had to answer no to any of these things, what did you learn? • What could you do better the next time you are faced with a similar information problem? • What did you do really well this time that is worth repeating the next time you have a similar problem?

And that is the Big6 in a nutshell. If you would like to learn even more, you could visit the official Big6 web site at http://www.big6.com/

Ann Gray, Library Media Specialist

Reading is very important in our lives. It is truly a skill which we use every single day. I believe that the key to creating lifelong readers starts at home. If a child is raised in a home where books and other reading materials like magazines and newspapers are enjoyed on a daily basis, he or she is much more likely to also develop a love of reading. Reading can bring such joy, transporting a reader to another place without even leaving the chair! Our former first lady, Laura Bush, has had a lifelong "love affair" with reading. In an article back in 2008, Mrs. Bush is quoted as saying, "a nation that does not read for itself cannot think for itself, and a nation that cannot think for itself risks losing both its identity and its freedom...Bush called the passion for reading, 'learned behavior that should be taught at home and at schools.'"

Another very interesting thought on reading was quoted by Roberta Messner who was remembering something her friend, Vivian, said. Vivian recalled that, as a young child, she ran home from school to announce, "We're not poor! My teacher said the whole world's mine because I'm learning to read!" Can't you just imagine the excitement of young Vivian when she discovered the riches that reading can provide?

In the June 27, 2014 issue of New Hampshire Union Leader Karen Kaplan reported on the importance of reading. Among other things, her report says, "Books are like medicine, and pediatricians should prescribe their daily use to build up the brains of their youngest patients, according to a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Parents should read aloud to their infants every day and continue to do so at least until their children enter kindergarten, the academy's Council on Early Childhood advised...Pediatricians should emphasize the importance of daily reading during routine health checkups and dispense books to their patients....the experts said. Asking pediatricians to act a little more like librarians may sound strange, but many studies have documented that literacy has lifelong benefits for health...Reading regularly with young children stimulates optimal patterns of brain development...builds language, literacy and social-emotional skills that last a lifetime."

Here is a fact which I find interesting. Reading for just 20 minutes a day for one year will expose you to one million words as well as increase your spelling, grammar, and writing skills. Why not set yourself the goal of reading 20 minutes a day?

Have you ever wondered about how to go about choosing a book for yourself? There are a number of different ways, of course. You might ask a trusted friend for a recommendation or gravitate towards books written by a favorite author. You might look at the cover and be drawn to the picture on the cover or the exciting title. Perhaps you read the little synopsis on the back of the book to get an idea of what treasures the book will hold. Maybe you read the first page to see if the book will capture your attention.

Another trusted way to determine if the book will be just right for you is to use the "five-finger" rule. Just exactly what does that entail? Well, open the book and start reading. Being able to read the text of a book successfully will help to determine if you will enjoy the book. As you are reading, hold up one finger for each time you encounter a word that you do not know. If you get to the end of the page and have no fingers up, then the book is probably too easy for you. If you get to the end of the page and have five fingers up, then the book is probably too challenging for you at this time. If you only have a few fingers up at the end of the page, then this book will probably hold your interest and will probably be just right for you.

I hope that my own personal passion for reading is evident to the staff and students at Pittsburg School. I do my best to choose books and magazines that cater to the needs and interests of my patrons. If there is a specific title or genre that you would enjoy seeing in the library, please let me know, and I will do my best to oblige.

I hope to see you in the library sometime soon.

Mrs. Ann Gray, librarian