Grades 3, 4 and 5 at Denton Elementary attended programs in the library media center today featuring Michael P. White, children's book illustrator, from Atlanta, GA. Mr. White earned his degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of Atlanta nearly 3 decades ago and became a children's book author quite by accident! He had his artwork on display at a large festival when a famous author bent down to retrieve a lost earring that had rolled into his booth. When she stood up she fell in love with his work and asked him if he ever thought about illustrating children's books. Mr. White talked about his evolution as an artist and all about the process of illustrating books. Students helped to brainstorm ideas and were encouraged to follow along and learn to draw like Michael with this highly-engaging and entertaining program. Mr. White said he was "born to draw", having drawn nearly every day since he could remember. Now, he draws 8 hours a day 6 days a week! He's completed over 30,000 pieces of artwork and draws 500 different images for a single book. Only 32 of those images make it into a picture book, and the process takes several years. Mr. White left behind the artwork he created during the event for students in the school to enjoy. He encouraged students to have an open mind when drawing, to keep practicing, and told them to always sign their work! This was definitely an experience that those students will remember.
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Teen Tech Week is one of the most successful programing events that we hold at East Davidson High School. Teen Tech Week is a week for the Libraries to spotlight digital resources and services that are available to teens. Typically at East we schedule a whole weeks worth of activities and this year was no different. The theme this year was “Be the Source of Change” so we spotlighted resources that students could use to get engaged in learning! Here was our schedule of events for the week: All of our activities were scheduled during lunches, so the Media Staff set up tables each day outside the cafeteria so that students coming to, during and leaving lunch could participate. We found that by taking the activities to the cafeteria we typically have more interaction with students. Monday was Take a Trip Monday. Students were able to stop by the Green Screen and take pictures with props and different backgrounds. This is always a popular activities that we use with many classes so the students are familiar with how it works. Since this is becoming such a popular activity we have students and teachers come to us with fun ideas. Like can you put me on the boat in the movie “Jaws?” Tuesday was Stop Motion Tuesday. Students had the opportunity to create their own stop motion videos using iMotion and Stikbot Studio. This is always a fun day because we sit out the iPads and a random collection of items and let the students’ imagination roll. Some of their favorite items to use to create are old Scrabble pieces and legos. Wednesday was Virtual Reality Wednesday and this is a student favorite. We set up tables with various VR activities. We have iPad apps like Discovery VR, YouTube 360, a VR Roller Coaster App and the Quiver App. The Google Cardboard Headsets and VR ViewMaster VR Headsets with ViewMaster targets are always fun for students to try out. Students and Teachers are always excited about the Nintendo Virtual Boy that I bring from home to share with them how VR isn’t a new concept and that there were VR headsets and game consoles even in the 1990s. This is always a busy day for us. Thursday was Low Tech Thursday where we share with students low tech resources and activities like legos, k’nex and other building resources. It is fun to see how into building some of our students get. They get serious about their creations and will check back to make sure that another lunch hasn’t dismantled their creations. Friday was by far our most popular day with our Flashback Friday: Game Edition. We bring out a variety of gaming activities, from old Sega Genesis Games to the Nintendo Virtual Boy to Mrs. Pacman and Wii games. There are handheld game systems like original Gameboys which the students are amazed are still working to Nintendo DS and even a Computron that still plays games. The Media Staff has found that this particular day we know that we will be slammed and end up spreading many of these games out down the hall to accommodate the students and teachers that come out to participate. Do you need some ideas about how to go "all out" for book fair? Then be sure to consult @dcsnc's own personal Pinterest board, Shanna Leonard, this spring or next fall when you are planning your event. Her ideas are simple to recreate and build tremendous enthusiasm for book fairs at Tyro Elementary. Thanks, Shanna, for sharing your ideas and pics! Do you have more ideas to share? Be sure to comment below or submit ideas and pics for a blog post. Decorations: We decorated the entrance of the Book Fair like a camp site with a tent, campfire, and picnic table. We had " I'm a Happy Camper" t-shirts made to wear during the Book Fair Preview Party and for our Parent Night. Preview Party: During the Teacher Preview Party, teachers completed Wish Lists as we served Camping Snacks such as Fishing Supplies (gummi worms), Bear Claws (fudge rounds), Smore Trail Mix (mini marshmallows, Golden Grahams cereal, and mini chocolate chips), Bear Poop (Whoppers candy), and Spring Water (mini water bottles). Contest: We hosted our First Annual Unusual Reading Spot Contest. The students were asked to take a picture of themselves reading in an unusual place with a matching book. Pictures were posted in the hallway and judged by local Photographer Mike Rowe and his wife Martha Rowe who is a retired teacher. One grade level winner was chosen and awarded $10.00 in Scholastic Bucks to spend at the Book Fair. We were amazed at the entries. Examples of the entries included: a student reading Cinderella at Cinderella's Castle, a student reading Charlotte's Web in a barn with a live pig, and a student reading Who Was Daniel Boone at Boone's Cave. The contest was a great way to get the students excited about the book fair.
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