... her [Patricia Reilly Giff's] latest work of historical fiction and the companion to NORY RYAN'S SONG and MAGGIE'S DOOR, continues the tale of Nory Ryan and Sean Mallon's newly established life in America, following their intrepid journey from Ireland in the mid-1800s. The narrative --- this time, relayed in the alternating voices of Bird (Nory and Sean's daughter) and Thomas (the boy upstairs of the same age) --- is just as engrossing as the previous two installments, and stands as an evocative snapshot of the immigrant Irish American experience in late 1800s New York.
...A beautiful and richly drawn family saga set against the volatile backdrop of an ever-expanding city landscape, WATER STREET is historical fiction at its best. Giff does a superb job of slipping in factual details for kids to sink their teeth into and discuss (i.e. the side story of the Roebling family: John Roebling, the engineer responsible for designing the Brooklyn Bridge; his predecessor and son, Washington, who also contracted caisson's disease; and Washington's wife, Emily, who ultimately took over for Washington and saw the project through to its completion). She expertly captures the feelings of hope and excitement that reverberated throughout late 19th century New York, despite the gritty and cramped living conditions, and poetically instills the Bridge with a personality all its own.
Mrs. Redito's and Mrs. Livingston's fifth graders are now immersed in an amazing election project, Meet the Candidates. This project asks students to take on the role of campaign managers for the two candidates. They are in the process of creating campaign commercials, podcasts, vodcasts, timelines and posters. By researching election resources provided in the project and by interpreting data from polls they are creating, students are using higher order thinking skills. Additionally, over 50 classes from around the country are participating in our project! We will videoconference with some of those classes in October. All classes will hold an election on October 30th and results will be posted on an online, interactive map.
For the younger grades, September is a month of library orientation. We focus on book care and the parts of the library. In kindergarten we read the book, Mr. Wiggle's Book. We discussed the proper way to take care of library books and practiced how to check out books. We used the smartboard to review book care rules that would make Mr. Wiggles, a bookworm, happy. 
After creating a list of things in I.Q.'s library, students, clipboards in hand, inventoried what is in our library!
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