Statistics:

Annual circulation numbers:

41,359 items were checked out of the
FES Library during the 2013/2014
school year.
Class Visits:
An average of 44 classes per week (9
classes per day) visited the FES Library
for lessons and book check-out.
continued on page 2
Author/Illustrator Visits
FES LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT
2013/2014
Six authors and illustrators visited students at Falmouth
Elementary School during the school year. Classroom teachers
worked with me to plan these visits that were tied to the curriculum.
Cathryn Falwell- Rainbow Stew author/illustrator visit with
Kindergarten tied in with Rainbow Stew Storywalk in PE classes.
(May)
Lynn Plourde and Ben Bishop- author/illustrator visit with 4th
grade, part of Maine social studies unit (May)
Kevin Hawkes- author/illustrator visit with 2nd grade (April)
Melissa Stewart- author visit with 3rd grade (February)
Cynthia Lord- author visit with 4th and 5th grades (November)
Author visits were funded PTO Arts Enrichment funds & book fair funds.
Above: Author/illustrator, Kevin Hawkes shows his sketch book to 2nd
grade students
34000
36000
38000
40000
42000
2011-2012 2013-2014
FES Circulation Statistics
FES art teacher, Bonnie Taylor,
created a Wicked Big Toddlah for
Kevin Hawkes visit.
Nonction author, Melissa Stewart,
visited 3rd grade classes in February.
4th grade teacher, Jennifer Merrield,
poses with author, Cynthia Lord. Ms.
Lord visited 4th and 5th grade classes
in November.
Cathy Potter- School Librarian
Jane Sparks- Assistant Librarian
Information Literacy
& Library Classes
K-3 classes visit the library each week
for 30 minutes. During that time
students take part in literacy lessons
with Mrs. Sparks and Mrs. Potter.
Students also select new books to
check out each week. Lessons include
genre studies, author studies, ction
and nonction lessons, introduction to
literary devices and themes, and much
more.
Fourth and fth grade classes are on
a exible schedule; they do not have a
scheduled time for library lessons.
Instead, library lessons are integrated
with the curriculum. Teachers
schedule times to bring their classes to
the library as part of collaborative
lessons and units based on what they
are studying in class. This allows me to
work with classes for longer periods of
time for consecutive days during
longer units and projects.
Mrs. Palmers class wrote their own
Native American Legends and
recorded their stories using the
Shadow Puppet app on the iPads.
Mr. Rosenblums students learn how
to use iPads to keep track of the books
they read using Biblionasium.com
Mrs. Merrields class took part in Mystery
Skype visits with classes in other states
(California, Oklahoma, New York, Illinois, Iowa,
Georgia, and Massachusetts).
Teaching with Technology Course for Staff
Anne Macdonald, Peggy Becksvoort, Dan Wolotsky and I
collaborated to offer a self-paced, technology course for
Falmouth teachers in March and April. Twenty-two staff
members took the course either face-to-face or online.
Examples of Lessons and Units Taught in the Library- 2013/2014
Identifying genres
Identifying theme
How do illustrations help tell a story (artists techniques)?
Visual thinking strategies
Strategies for self-selecting books in the library
Maines sense of place- using picture books and photographs
Effective searching strategies- using the online catalog
Locating and citing photos & images from Creative Commons sites
Evaluating websites
Nonction reading strategies- identifying style & structure
The Newbery Medal- history and criteria
Using Animoto to create book trailers
The research process- locating the best print & digital sources,
note-taking strategies, synthesizing information, citing sources
from AASLs Empowering
Learners:
The mission of the school library
program is to ensure that
students and staff are effective
users of ideas and information;
students are empowered to be
critical thinkers, enthusiastic
readers, skillful researchers, and
Library Programs &
Events
Dot Day- celebrated the week of
September 15
Read Across America Day-
celebrated March 3
World Read Aloud Day- March 5
Library Open House for Families-
March 19
Picture Book Smackdown- Some 3rd
and 4th grade classes took part in a
Google Hangout On Air and connected
with two authors and schools in four
states to celebrate Picture Book
Month in November.
Rules read aloud- All 4th & 5th grade
classes started the school year by
reading aloud Rules by Cynthia Lord.
The book sparked rich discussions
about acceptance, kindness and
inclusion.
Mock Caldecott Program- K-5
students read 6 books and discussed
the illustrations using the Caldecott
Medal criteria. Journey by Aaron
Becker was the school-wide winner.
Mock Newbery Book Club- 60
students read and discussed books
from the reading list. Rump: The True
Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl
Shurtliff was the winning title.
Maine Student Book Award- 84% of
4th and 5th graders at FES
participated in the MSBA program.
Chickadee Award- All K-3 classes took
part in this state picture book award
program.
Webcast with author, Jeff Kinney-
Many 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes
viewed this live webcast in the library
and in their classrooms.
Author Skype Visits- Some classes
and book clubs Skyped with authors,
Megan Frazer Blakemore, Liesl
Shurtliff, Kate Messner, Ame
Dykeman, and Laurel Snyder.
Scholastic Book Fair- May 27-June 2
Sibert Medal Open House for FES
Staff- Teachers were invited to the FES
Library to view the hundreds of
nonction books I received while
serving on the Sibert Medal
committee.
SPECIAL EVENTS
4th and 5th grade students from the
Mock Newbery Book Club hold up titles
from the reading list.
Students from Mrs. Walshs class show
off the dots they created for Dot Day.
The class Skyped with a class in
Wisconsin in honor of Dot Day.
Mrs. Arsenaults 2nd grade class
poses with the dots they created for
Dot Day.
Mrs. Clarks third grade class used
Skype to read Ish by Peter
Reynolds to a class in Texas.
Miss Wheelers class took part in a
Skype author visit with author,
Kate Messner.
Professional Accomplishments
Committee Work
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book
Award Committee- 2014
Chickadee Award Committee (chair)
American Association of School
Librarians- Best Apps for Teaching and
Learning Committee
Presentations Given in 2013/2014:
September- New England Reading
Association Conference: Technology to
Motivate Readers
October- Association of Computer &
Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM)
State Conference- Apps for Content
Creation (with Anne Macdonald)
October- New England Library Association
Conference: Appy Hour
November- AASL National Conference
(Hartford, CT): 2013 Best Apps for
Teaching and Learning
June- American Library Association
Annual Conference (Las Vegas): 2014
Best Apps for Teaching and Learning and
Common Core IRL: In Real Libraries
Webcasts Hosted Over the Past Year
Tech & Learning Webinar Listening
Literacy and the Common Core http://
www.techlearning.com/webinars/0004/
listening-literacy-and-the-common-core-
how-audio-books-improve-reading-
ability/54177
School Library Journal-Using Nonction
in the Library, the Classroom and at
Home (co-moderator)
http://www.slj.com/2014/02/webcasts/
using-nonction-in-the-library-the-
classroom-and-at-home/
Recent Interviews
School Library Journal Third Annual
Picture Book Month is in Full Swing
http://www.slj.com/2013/11/events/
third-annualpicture-book-month-is-in-
full-swing/
Childrens Book Review On the Shelf
with Librarian Cathy Potter http://
www.thechildrensbookreview.com/
weblog/2013/09/on-the-shelf-with-
librarian-cathy-potter.html
Photo of presenters from Common
Core IRL: In Real Libraries session at
the ALA Annual Conference in June
Goals for 2014/2015
Report prepared and submitted by
Cathy Potter, school librarian at
Falmouth Elementary School.
July 2014
Teachers browse nonction books on
display at the Sibert Medal Open House.
Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Sparks and Mrs.
Potter stand in front of the dots
students created in art class.
Meet with the new school-wide literacy team to plan reading and
writing events for the school. We met for the rst time in May and
generated ideas for events for 2014/2015. The team agreed on an
author study of Kate DiCamillo in January.
Work with the 5th grade teachers to develop inquiry-based research
units.
Develop a storytelling and readers theater unit with 3rd grade
teachers.
Teach all K-2 students how to access online articles on Pebble Go.
Align library lessons with the Common Core State Standards.
Continue to collaborate with teachers and co-plan research units
(ex: National Parks research project in 4th grade).
Continue to add quality nonction books to the collection.
Support teachers as they implement the CCSS.
Increase the number of e-books available through the FES Library
catalog.
Educate families about print and online resources available to them
through the FES Library and the Falmouth Memorial Library.
Online Databases and Resources Available to FES Students and Staff
TrueFlix- Nonction e-books for grades 3-5
BrainPop & BrainPop Jr.- Educational videos
Pebble Go- Informational articles for grades K-3
Tales2Go- Unlimited streaming of audio books for children
Facts4ME- Informational articles for grades 1-4
Subscriptions to these online resources are funded with money from Box Tops for Education and from book fair
proceeds.
Additional resources may be found on the FES Library site: http://mrspotter.edublogs.org/