The Learning Resource Blog has been a great tool for use during the unprecedented challenge of remote learning. As of this school year, I will no longer be using this blog for the majority of library communications, however I am keeping it live since there are many great resources available in past posts. Please continue to use them, and as always, reach out to me with any questions: [email protected].
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Do you love graphic novels? Want to have a larger selection of new and popular titles to read from home this summer? If so, you're in luck! Clinton has a new subscription to ComicsPlus, an online home for hundreds of graphic novel eBooks. To browse the ComicsPlus collection, follow these simple steps: 1. Log in through MackinVIA using your CPS username and password. 2. Open ComicsPlus. You can do this from the MackinVIA Home screen, the Groups tab, or the Databases tab (shown below) by clicking the blue Open Now button. 3. Find a comic to read! You can browse using the Featured, Just Added, Popular, or Categories tabs, or search by title or topic. Click a cover to learn more, then click the green Play button to read it online. Enjoy! VIDEO DEMO (you must be logged in with your CPS ID to view): Have questions or need help? Email Ms. Mernick: [email protected].
The Chicago Public Library's Summer Learning Challenge is back! This year's challenge provides all new chances for students to learn and create, with both in-person and at-home participation options. This year's theme is Start with Art and the challenge runs from June 28 - August 22. Kids who read at least 500 minutes and do at least 5 activities will earn a tote bag and a chance to win a fancy art set (including paint, oil pastels, water pencils, etc., in a wooden box that opens into an easel). Students can sign up for the Summer Learning Challenge online at chipublib.org/summer or at any library branch. They can report their reading minutes and completed activities online, by sending an email to [email protected], or dropping off a reporting form at the library. Click the flyer for more details: But that's not all! The Northtown branch is also hoping to display art from neighborhood kids in its front windows. They'll be giving out special grab-and-go art kits and encouraging kids to bring back their creations for others to enjoy. Any artsy kids who are interested should stop by during the pickup hours below to get a kit while supplies last: GRAB AND GO KIT PICKUP June 29 - August 11 Tuesdays from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Drop by the Northtown Branch and pick up a take-home craft kit for kids ages 0-13. Pick up 1 free book every other week. *While supplies last.* Don't just take it from me! Here's Ms. Amy from the Northtown Branch with everything you need to know about the Summer Learning Challenge: The Clinton library has missed having student visits all year. While we still can't host students in the library, we are now able to bring more of the library to you! At long last, remote library checkout is up and running. All 4th-8th students who have clear library accounts may now begin requesting library books using holds in SOAR.
The pickup/delivery process is different depending on whether students are in-person or remote. Choose the link below that applies to you for step-by-step directions about how to request and receive library books: A few things to note:
Students who have questions or need help can email Ms. Mernick anytime: [email protected]. As of this week, the Chicago Public Library is offering free Virtual Teacher in the Library programs for kids who need homework help. Students will be able to work with a certified teacher to get homework help in English or in Spanish. They currently offer sessions Monday-Thursday from 3:00-6:00 p.m. and Sundays 1:30-4:30 p.m. that children can sign up for. Here's a graphic with more details: And that's not all that's new from CPL! They also are launching their Virtual Winter Learning Challenge, which builds on their ongoing Learning Journey program. Kids who complete four or more challenge activities and complete a form by January 31 will be entered to win a boredom buster kit!
Kids can take part completely online or by picking up a paper flyer/log at any CPL branch. See the flyer (in English or Spanish) for more details: Ever wondered if there's a way to look up whether you have a library book checked out? Or when your book is due? What about how to keep your book longer by renewing it? You're in luck! This post will tell you how. (This is an especially good time to know how to do all this, since many students still have library books checked out from before the school building closed in March and may have forgotten what they are or what they look like.) I have compiled both slides and a video below to walk you through how to log into your library account. Just start at the SOAR Catalog and follow a few easy steps! Click to open how-to slides: Click to watch video walk-through:
Earlier this year I shared a Library Choice Board with students in 3rd and 4th grade so they'd have easy access to library resources, activities, and programming during remote learning. Now that I've introduced more resources for the older grades, I have compiled them into another choice board with 5th-8th grade students in mind.
Check out the Clinton Library 5th-8th Choice Board for links to:
Especially during remote learning, eBooks are a great way to find and read books of interest when you can't make it to the library. Fortunately, we have access to thousands of eBooks through CPS and Clinton School - and more titles are getting added each week! Since we buy eBooks from a few different places, you may need to search more than one site to find everything (each company uses a different website to let you read their books). It seems complicated at first, but with the descriptions below and a little practice, you'll be experts in no time. There are four main places to look for Clinton and CPS eBooks:
The sections below give you information about what you'll find at each site. The title link will take you to the site. To see a demonstration of a site, click the picture in each section for a How-To video. NOTE: No matter which site you use, you can sign in using your CPS username and password. They are all linked to your CPS account. You also need to be signed into your account to see the videos below. Clinton Library Catalog: SOAR SOAR is the place to search ALL books (print and online) available for Clinton students. It probably looks familiar to many of you who have used it to find print books that you can check out in the library. A search here will also show you every eBook and audiobook available to you online, either from Clinton or for all of CPS. Look for titles labeled eBook or eResource if you want to be able to read from home. You can also filter a search using the left menu so you only see those books and aren't confused by all the print books that are in the library. The video shows you how. Video walk-through: Mackin eBooks: MackinVIA This site is the best combination of easy to search and biggest selection. All of the eBooks Ms. Mernick selects and purchases just for Clinton students are through Mackin, so you'll find them here. Those books tend to be titles that are popular in our library, and because we don't share them with all the other CPS schools, you're more likely to be able to read them with little or no wait. There are also many other titles purchased by CPS that also will show up on searches here. To make it easier to find titles of interest, Ms. Mernick added a Groups menu on the left side. Click there to browse books by interest group or format, such as audiobooks, graphic novels, and books in Spanish. Video walk-through: Overdrive eBooks: Sora App Search here to browse eBooks CPS bought from Overdrive, including titles from popular authors like Jeff Kinney, R.J. Palacio, and James Patterson. One great feature of Overdrive is that you can access thousands more eBooks and audiobooks by linking a Chicago Public Library card. The video below shows you how to use the site and how to link your CPL account with the number from your library card or eCard. Video walk-through: Follett eBooks: Destiny Discover Visit this site to search Follett eBooks or to access eBooks you checked out from Follett through SOAR. This site has the fewest choices, but still can be worth checking, especially for some popular picture books. Can’t find what you want? Try one of the other vendors for more choices. Video walk-through: Still have questions or need help with eBooks? Email Ms. Mernick any time at [email protected].
Hey, 5th-8th graders! Remember the days Ms. Mernick would read to your class on the rug in the Clinton Library? That's a lot harder now that you're older and the books you're interested in would take much longer to read all the way through. But that doesn't mean you can't take part in a different kind of read aloud. That's why Ms. Mernick is introducing "First Chapter Fridays," a program libraries and schools use to get students interested in new books. Each week Ms. Mernick will read the first chapter of a new or high-interest title you can check out from Clinton Library. During remote learning, all featured titles will be available as eBooks that you can access from home. The FCF readings will be organized using virtual bookshelves, where you can see the titles and videos. If you're interested in reading more, click the book cover to check it out or put it on hold. The images below are just a starting point - follow the link and you'll see an updated version of the bookshelf with even more titles! Click below to visit the Ms. Mernick's Clinton Library FCF bookshelf: And that's not all! This fall, the Chicago Public Library has partnered with authors on their version of First Chapter Fridays. Most weeks, they have new videos of authors reading the first chapter from their own books and sharing other information and questions. Ms. Mernick will share these videos for any books that are available at Clinton. Click below to visit Ms. Mernick's Chicago Public Library FCF bookshelf: Note: The CPL videos are available through Facebook Live, but you DO NOT need a Facebook account to access them.
Every year, students at Clinton and across Illinois participate in the Readers' Choice Awards to read some great books and make their voices heard about their favorites. Check out the Readers' Choice Awards section of this site for more details on the awards and how to participate. Due to remote learning, students looking for Bluestem or Caudill nominees can't just visit the book cart in the library like usual. Instead, use the virtual bookshelves below for each award. Open a shelf and click a title to learn more about a book or to see if it's available. Many of these can be read online as eBooks! (Click here for details on how to use eBooks.) *Suggested for grades 6-8. Most 4th/5th graders will prefer the Bluestems. |
About the BlogWelcome to the Clinton Library remote learning resource blog - a home for tools and information to use in school and at home. Ms. Mernick posts content here for teachers, students and families. Resources support student projects, enrichment, skill practice, and (of course!) reading. Archives
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