Thanks to The West Geauga Educational Foundation for funding my One Minute Critic grant!!

What is One Minute Critic?

The One Minute Critic program will benefit both students and the Westwood library in many ways. First, our youngest students love to share things that interest them. They already share their favorite books with me on a regular basis in the library. By filming their book recommendations to broadcast to other students, they are opening up their interests to the entire student body.  This will also get them interested in technology. To see the process from filming through to seeing their finished product will be very rewarding for students. 

Students enjoy being the center of attention and even our most timid students will feel empowered when they see themselves sharing their book recommendations with their classmates as well as the entire school.

According to the US Department of Education: Office of Educational Technology, early learners should have an opportunity for self-expression without replacing other classroom learning materials. What better way for students to express themselves than by filming One Minute Critic book recommendations? These One Minute Critic recommendations would promote books in the Westwood library 

Our FABULOUS PTO has done it again! They provided 31 new books for our library collection! Westwood students are going to be SO excited!!!

Thank you to our amazing pto!!! all of these great titles were given to the library for our students to check out. these are new biographies. second graders especially will enjoy new books for their biography projects. we are so lucky to have the support of our pto!!

fun library spaces!

Important Message from the Westwood Library........... 

MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT West Geauga'S virtual library! There are OVER 5,000 titles in OUR virtual library WHICH IS CALLED SORA. the directions on HOW TO ACCESS sora are as follows:

1. type sora into the google search engine. sora will be the first result. click on it and then click on "Find my school".

2. Find NEOnet then click "This is my school". 

3. Use the drop down menu to find West Geauga Local School District and click on it. 

4. Follow the prompts

Sora is our electronic library. all students have access to check out books at any time. 

Sora is.........

A state-of-the-art reading experience.

Whether you’re reading for class or for fun, Sora’s ebook reader makes it easy.

Powerful tools

Add bookmarks, make notes and highlights, define words, and more.

Fixed-layout support

Comic books, graphic novels, picture books, and textbooks as they’re meant to be read.

Read-alongs

Select titles have professional narration so you can follow along with the text.

Reading settings for everyone

Adjust the font type (including dyslexic font), font size, and lighting in most books.

Synced progress

Your place, bookmarks, notes, and highlights sync between devices, so you can pick up right where you left off.

An easy, beautiful audiobook player.

Listen when, where, and how you want to.

Jump around

Swipe on the book jacket to jump backward or forward, or use the seek bar to go to a specific spot.

Set a timer

Customize the sleep timer for a certain amount of time or the end of the current chapter.

Adjustable playback speed

Increase narration speed up to 3x.

Bookmarks and more

Add bookmarks, notes, and highlights as you listen.

Synced progress

Your place, bookmarks, notes, and highlights sync between devices, so you can pick up right where you left off.

Features

Read with a tap

Borrow and open books with one tap.

Assignments

Assigned books show up automatically, and expire on a due date set by the school.

Notes and Highlights

See your notes and highlights at any time in Sora, or export them to PDF, CSV, Google Drive, and more.

Achievements

Earn badges by reading books and using app features.

Reading Stats

See how many books you’ve read, your total reading time, and more.

Search local public libraries

Browse, search, and borrow books from your public library.

The photo below highlights the "new" NEW BOOK section. Following the shelves across you will see multiple books by popular authors. This area is now open to students for their enjoyment. It is an extremely popular space with all students.

We did some rearranging with the help of the custodial staff.

The new shelf configuration makes the library look even more spacious!

MANY POPULAR BOOKS ARE GROUPED BY SUBJECT AND PLACED IN BASKETS ALL AROUND THE LIBRARY. THIS MAKE IT EASY FOR STUDENTS TO LOCATE AND SELECT BOOKS ON THEIR OWN. THEY ENJOY HAVING THE INDEPENDENCE TO BROWSE AROUND AND SELECT WHAT INTERESTS THEM.