LITERACY

NEWS
In This Issue
Library Statistics
Challenge Winners
After SRI Testing
21st Century Skills Feature
Coming Up

December Library Statistics

Total Book Checkouts: 1,049
Students using SRC read a total of 1,137,833 words in the month of December! Way to go
SRC users!
Photo Caption

Happy New Year Stars!

Welcome back to a new year Shining Stars! I am excited about all of the literacy and 21st Century Skills 2014 brought
us. Cheers to continued progress in 2015!

December Reading Challenge

Each month the student who was successfully completed the highest number of SRC quizzes will be invited to the
library to enjoy a special breakfast treat: Krispy Kreme Donuts! Congratulations to our December winners:
Dellinger- Balliah Saunders,
Hodges- Ethan Shaw
Mason- C-Moni Gorman
Kausak- Jada Dyson and Rykah Mallette
Sigel- Devon Rogers
Cotter- NiShaya Williams
Hartzell- Terrence Williams
Bradley- Xayvion Nixon, Brian Miller, Alex Harrison
Bressler- Dasia Roland
Griffin- Janechia Guity

Snipes Academy of Arts & Design Media Center Newsletter

January 2015

Helpful Tips:
Across from student computers, you will find bins with books sorted by Lexile range. This allows students to do a
quick pick of books on their level.
Individualized classroom incentives and celebrations contributes to continued reading growth. SAM has a wealth of
certificates already created for you! They are just a click away!
Use SAM reports to create letters to send to home updating parents on the success of their students.These letters
have already been written by Scholastic. All you have to do is print & sign them!
Remind your students of the monthly reading competitions!
Use the Scholastic Reading Counts book wizard to check and see if a book has a quiz!
When students are searching for quizzes in SRC, make sure they try searching by author if they cannot locate the
book by title.
Ask Ms. Neal if you need help! = )

Integrating 21st Century Skills

Becoming a 21st Century learner is imperative to the success of our students. Using technology is a GREAT way to
hone these skills but it is not the ONLY way! Many 21st Century Skills your students practice everyday.

Everyday Skills
Here at Snipes we have a heavy focus on rigorous instruction and time is precious! Giving your students a task to
complete, informing them of the allotted time they have to complete a task and giving them the freedom to solve
problems that may arise while working has already covered several 21st Century Skills: Initiative and Self Direction,
Productivity and Accountability and if you let them help each other, youve added Leadership to the equation.
Working on projects together? Now youre collaborating! Dont let new terminology scare you, you are already giving
your students the tools necessary to master these skills!

21st Century Skills: A Thorough Look

The most comprehensive yet succinct explanation of 21st Century Skills I have found (I use it daily) has been
provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
Link: http://www.imls.gov/about/21st_century_skills_list.aspx
Google Search Term: 21st Century Skills Definition
Through their list you will find the list of 21st Century Skills AND helpful definitions!

21st Century Skills List

21st century interdisciplinary themes
Global Awareness
Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy
Civic Literacy
Health Literacy
Environmental Literacy
Learning and Innovation Skills
Creativity and Innovation
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
Communication and Collaboration
Information, Media and Technology Skills
Information Literacy
Media Literacy
ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) Literacy
Life and Career Skills
Flexibility and Adaptability
Initiative and Self-Direction
Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
Productivity and Accountability
Leadership and Responsibility
5th Grade Girls: Tips on Collaborating: Give jobs to each other, compromise, figure out a time for each thing, take turns
doing different jobs, think about time, be fair, use knowledge!

Suggested Steps After SRI Testing

Remember, SRI testing is the first step. Through SRI your students will receive their Lexile information
(reading level). After their Lexiles have been given, let the reading fun begin!
Have students create bookmarks (or use the template on the shared drive) with their Lexile Range.

Bring your students as a class (or small group) to the Media Center between the times of 7:45 am 9:00 am or any
of our Flex Times to check out books on their level.
If you feel your students skill is not accurately reflected in their Lexile, remind them of the purpose of the test and the
importance of trying their best! When you feel they are ready, re-test them. Use your discretion for testing,
teacherknows best!
Use Read to Self times to allow students to test on books they have read. Allow students to test in the morning if
they read a book at night.
HAVE FUN!

Contact
Lauren Neal
Media Specialist
Snipes Academy of Arts & Design
2150 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, NC28405
Phone 910.251.6175
Fax 910.815.6974
lauren.neal@nhcs.net
Visit the Media Center Website:
https://sites.google.com/a/nhcs.net/lauren-neal/

Education is all a matter of building bridges.

Ralph Ellison
Sources
"Framework for 21st Century Learning."Framework for 21st Century Learning. Partnership for 21st Century
Skills, 1 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Jan. 2015. <http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/1.__p21_framework_2-pager.pdf>.
"21st Century Skills Definitions."Libraries and 21st Century Skills. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Web. 8 Jan. 2015. <http://www.imls.gov/about/21st_century_skills_list.aspx>.

January 2015