2nd and 3rd Grade Research Projects

The 2nd and 3rd grade students of AISF are becoming expert nonfiction writers! Each student has conducted research on a type of animal they are interested in, and has used this information to write a report about the animal in their own words. 3rd graders have used information from four different sources each in their research reports, and 2nd graders have each used information from three different sources. If you read the reports, you will find each research source carefully documented on the “Bibliography”, or “References” page on the last page of the report.

Writing a research report is not easy. The students have learned that the secret to being a good author is not getting it right the first time, but rather continuing to make improvements until the writing is truly great. After doing extensive research and prewriting, the students have had to write three drafts, with lots of revising and proofreading, in order to produce their best possible writing.

All this hard work has really paid off. The reports have turned out better than I could have expected. I am so proud of how the students wrote about what they had learned in their research in a unique way that was all their own. I was also proud to see how well they were able help each other to make their reports the best they could be.

Be sure to talk to a 2nd or 3rd grader if you want to hear more about the process of writing a research report, or to learn some fascinating facts about amazing animals. They are experts!

Mr. Caleb, 2nd and 3rd Grade Teacher 

This is a question we hear from 4th-8th grade browsers in the library. Sometimes it means, "Can you suggest a good book?" and we always have ideas. Their friends do, too, and we love it when everybody in the library starts suggesting their favorites.

But library collections should be regularly renewed, and "Are there any new books?" is a legitimate question. It deserves an answer. During this 2008-2009 school year, 68 new books have been added to the AISF collection, and another four boxes of new books should be arriving any time now. We don't just acquire any item that takes our fancy. The library maintains an ordering list where we jot down ordering requests that students or teachers make, books we need to fill gaps in the collection, books to replace discarded worn copies, and so on. We try to make the best purchases we can using award lists and the Children's Catalog (H.W. Wilson) which helps libraries fill gaps in their collection with quality books. A good number of the books we're expecting to arrive soon are from the list of Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children (NTSE).

Each year some of the new books we receive are donations to the library. We are happy to accept donations that support our school mission, and we place a label on the pocket of each of these to give credit to the family giving it. It's fun being at the checkout desk, stamping a book and saying to someone, "Oh look, this was given by the ________ family! What a supportive family they were! I wonder how their children are doing now?"

Jackie Leigh, Library