Boonville Elementary Media Center
Welcome to the BES Media Center Webpage (2020-2021 School Year)
I am excited to be having students returning to use the Media Center! It will be a different kind of school year, but I look forward to sharing fun stories, lessons, and activities. For days that students are learning from home, I have included a few of the e-book, audiobook, and story resources below that were listed on this webpage last year.
-Mr. Tysinger
Some Tips For Families with Younger Kids to Get the Most Out of Story Time:
If you are reading aloud with younger children, encourage them to use the following comprehension strategies. I've used these with my K-2 Media classes, so they should be familiar with them.
1. Predicting: Children use clues from the story to predict what they think might happen next. Kids enjoy guessing how a story will unfold, and it helps boost their engagement with the story. In addition to thinking logically about what will happen next, predicting is a great tool for determining what kids already know about a story.
2. Questioning: Children ask questions about the story to help develop understanding. These questions do not necessarily need to be answered for the child to comprehend the story. (Example: "I wonder why Froggy's face turns red when he's embarrassed?")
3. Clarification: Children make sure they understand the story by answering questions that need clarifying. Sometimes a question will need to be answered that is keeping the child from fully comprehending the story. (Example: "I don't know what this word means" or "I'm confused about why the character did that".
4. Summarizing: Children find the main ideas and say them in their own words. In addition explaining what has happened in a story, encourage children to talk about what they learned from a story, as well as how it made them feel.
Families With Older Kids: Get Involved With Their Reading as Well!
It may seem difficult to get involved reading with older children who are reading independently. But don't be hesitant to use the four reading comprehension strategies mentioned above with them as well. Encourage older kids to also make predictions about how plots might unfold, to ask simple and clarifying questions about a text, and to use summarization to determine what they are learning from their reading.
One of the best ways for parents to get involved with sharing books with older children is through audiobooks. Listening to audiobooks offers educational benefits to all ages, and the connection of listening to a story together can provide great moments for discussing a book with your child.
Here's my recommendations for reading and story resources, the first of which is my favorite for checking out free audiobooks for young listeners.
Recommended Reading and Story Resources
NC Kids Digital Library: Thousands of downloadable e-books and audiobooks:
A great site for current, popular e-books and audiobooks for children to young adults. Free access is provided to students in Yadkin, Surry, Stokes, and Alleghany Counties. This resource is one of many offered through NC Cardinal Student Access (https://nwrlibrary.org/studentaccess), a service provided by the Northwestern Regional Library in conjunction with the State Library of NC. Students use their School ID number and last 4 digits of that number as a PIN to log in. Available e-books and audiobooks can be checked out and downloaded for up to 21 days. See website for required apps/devices and further instructions.
Storyline Online: Celebrated Actors Read Children's Books
Storyline Online is a website offered by the Screen Actors Guild, featuring videos of actors reading popular children's books. Actors involved in the project include Kristen Bell, James Earl Jones, Kevin Costner, Betty White, and many more. The videos can also be found on Storyline Online's Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/StorylineOnline.
Audible Stories: Free Streaming Audiobooks
Amazon’s Audible is providing a collection of free audiobooks to steam on your desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. Available categories are Littlest Listeners, Elementary, Tween, and Teen. Many popular classic titles are included, such as Winnie-the-Pooh, Alice in Wonderland, and Anne of Green Gables. Visit the link above to start listening.