Books On Bullying

To help kick-off the 8th Annual No Name-Calling Week, I've included a list of suggested books on bullying, name-calling and teasing....

FICTION

1. Oliver Button is a Sissy - Tomie dePaola
2. The Berenstain Bears and the Bully - Stan Berenstain
3. Bootie Barker Ballerina - Barbara Bottner
4. Arthur's April Fool - Marc Brown
5. Jake Drake, Bully Buster - Andrew Clements
6. Pinky and Rex and the Bully - James Howe
7. The Rat and the Tiger - Keiko Kasza
8. The Field of Dogs - Katherine Peterson
9. Radio Fifth Grade - Gordon Korman

NON-FICTION

1. Nobody Knew What to Do: A Story about Bullying - Becky Ray McCain & Todd Leonardo
2. Stop Bullying Bobby!: Helping Children Cope with Teasing and Bullying - Dana Smith-Mansell
3. Hot Issues, Cool Choices - Sandra McLeod Humphrey & Brian Stassburg
4. The Meanest Thing to Say - Bill Cosby
5. Mom, They're Teasing Me - Michael Thompson
6. Don't Pick On Me: How to Handle Bullying - Rosemary Stones
7. The Anti-Bullying and Teasing Book: For Preschool Classrooms - Barbara Sprung

There are many more! Contact your school librarian or counselor for suggestions. Or go online.

This Tuesday I will meeting with the first graders and 4-Hildman. The first graders will listen to Snow written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Lauren Stringer while 4-H will work on comparing and contrasting with 'Creepy Creatures.' On Thursday, I will meet with K-Jass and 2-Tangeman. K-J will listen to City Dog and Country Frog written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Jon J. Muth and the 2-T will listen to Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola.

Until next time..

Mrs. Reiter, K-12 Teacher-Librarian

NO NAME-CALLING WEEK, January 24-28, 2011

I know NNCW is next week, but I wanted to give you a heads up about this event. No Name-Calling Week (NNCW) is an annual opportunity for students like you to discuss their experiences and feelings toward name-calling and bullying in the schools. No Name-Calling Week 2011 will be held from January 24-28. Every year thousands if educators conduct NNCW activities in the classroom. Parents/Guardians: this might be a good time to share your feelings about name calling and bullying. Free resources are available at www.nonamecallingweek.org.

This week we will try a repeat from last week as we didn't have school last Tuesday. This Tuesday I will be in Kanawha at the MS. On Thursday (Day 5) I will meet with K-Geelan and 2-Glawe. The Kindergartners will listen to City Dog, Country Frog written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Jon J. Muth. The 2nd graders will learn about books that have won the Caldecott Award for illustrations. They will listen to the 1949 winner The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader.

REMEMBER: No sticks. No stones. No dissing.
Mrs. T. Reiter, K-12 Teacher Librarian

Dorothy Holmberg, Britt HS Teacher

I came across a delightful book titled Tributes to Iowa Teachers, edited by William L. Sherman in 1996. The book contains teacher tributes by Iowans and former Iowans. Britt High School teacher Dorothy Holmberg was honored in a testimony by Don Muhm, Farm Editor (Retired), The Des Moines Register of Des Moines, IA. I thought you might like to read it......

"Several teachers (and professors) stick out in my mind as "favorites" - those who you felt really cared about you and learning and what might happen in your life. To them, teaching was more than a job - much more. And it showed.
One very special teacher was Dorothy Holmberg, who came from Decorah during World War II to teach at Britt in northern Iowa. A Luther College grad, as I recall.
At the time, I was a farm boy with a most uncertain future. I knew I loved to read and write, received good grades in English, but I didn't know where such things would take me. Somehow, in her classes, writing as a career became a distant hope. Miss Holmberg's unbridled enthusiasm (in the classroom or directing the junior and senior class plays) sort of rubbed off on some of us.
In the end, I was to spend my career putting words together, for nearly 40 years, on daily newspapers in Marshalltown, Omaha, and Des Moines.
Her influence came during a critical growing-up time in my life. And, I never forgot her.
P.S. Nearly half a century later, I still remember the name of our senior class play, for which she picked me for the lead role. It was Grandad Steps Out."

This week I will be in the West Hancock district on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday (Day 5)I will meet with K-Geelan and 2-Glawe. The Kindergartners will listen to City Dog, Country Frog written by Mo Willems and illustrated by Jon J. Muth. The 2nd graders will learn about books that have won the Caldecott Award for illustrations. They will listen to the 1949 winner The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader.
On Thursday (Day 1) I will meet with 3-Zuehl and we will review the Dewey Decimal System used to classify nonfiction library materials.

Until next time...
Mrs. T Reiter, K-12 Teacher Librarian

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope the start of the new year was a good one for you! I also hope you were able to set aside a few minutes to enjoy some reading. Did you get a book for a Christmas present?

This week I will be in the WH school district on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, I will meet with 3-Bruns and we will review the Dewey Decimal System; while 4-Kahlsdorf with discuss the differences between primary and secondary resources. On Thursdays, the first graders will listen to the book Under the Snow written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Constance R. Bergum; while 4-Hildman will discuss primary and secondary resources.

DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM CLASSIFICATION: An American named Melvil Dewey devised the Dewy Decimal System in the late 1800s. This numerical system organizes the nonfiction books and other media in the library into 10 categories of knowledge. Each item has a specific set of numbers assigned to it.

PRIMARY RESOURCE: Firsthand accounts communicated by someone concerning his or her experiences or observations. For example, birth certificates, diaries, government documents, interviews, eyewitness accounts, last will and testaments, legal contracts, letters, photographs, Constitution of the United States, and time capsules.
SECONDARY RESOURCE: Materials written after the fact. Such as, editorials, encyclopedias (print and electronic), historical novels, movies (e.g. Apollo 13), newspaper articles, television documents, textbooks, U.S. history books, web site information, and weekly news magazines.

Until next week -
Mrs. Theresa Reiter
K-12 Teacher Librarian