Mrs. McClure

The Palmer Book Blog is up and running again for the 2009-2010 school year! Students are invited to share summaries of the books they've read and discuss what they are currently reading with each other.  I, too, have posted summaries of the books I've been reading in an effort to get the ball rolling.  I hope that students can also refer to the blog for reading ideas when they don't know what to check out.

We encourage everyone to participate and look forward to communicating together!  Click here to visit!

2009-10 School Year

This year we are pleased to announce that we willhold a Scholastic Book Fair the week of October 26th.  That Monday will be a Preview Day for our Platinum K.L.U.B. members but the fair will be open to everyone starting Tuesday, October 27th.  We will also have a Celebrate Literacy community night that Tuesday the 27th.  More details to come!

Our second Scholastic Book Fair will be during Conference Week. As always, it was a huge success last year with all profits directly benefiting our media center collection. This year, Conference Week will be Janurary 22-29, 2010, and the Book Fair will be open at that time.

We want to thank everyone who supports the Palmer Media Center through this fundraiser! 

File Conversion

Want to use a picture or file but it's not in a compatible format?  Go to www.zanzar.com and convert the file to the format you need! 

Saving Documents at Home

We often have problems with students saving documents at home and then not being able to open them at school.  Here are a few suggestions that might help in this matter:

1) We no longer have floppy drives on our computers at school.  Therefore, please save documents to a jump/flash drive or burn to a CD.

2) We do not have access to Works, only Word.  When saving a document, you can choose the "File Type" at which point you need to choose Microsoft Word 2003 or XP. 

3) We do not have Vista yet, so please save to Microsoft 97, 2003, or XP.

4) If you burn to a CD, please make sure the document is actually there before bringing it to school.  More often than not, the burning was unsuccessful and the CD is blank.  It helps to double check before leaving the house.

4) We do not allow students to access their email accounts at school.  If you must email a document, please send it to me (janell.mcclure@cobbk12.org) or to the teacher for whom the assignment is being completed.  All teacher emails can be accessed through the Palmer web page under "Faculty" (www.cobbk12.org/palmer). 

Evaluating Websites

Although we discourage students from using search engines such as Google at school, we tell them that they may use it at home with parent permission.  We do teach them, however, to evaluate a website prior to using the information to ensure the resource is valid and reliable.  The sources we use at school are listed below for reference at home.

Instead, we encourage students to use the Cobb Virtual Library which includes several databases purchased by the county for school and home use.  Any information found in these databases can be trusted and therefore provide a safe internet environment.  Students can obtain the username and password information for home use at school. 

Download eval_websites_checklist.doc

Cobb Virtual Library

Citing Sources

In Cobb County, students cite sources using the MLA format.  Below are several sources taught and used at Palmer that may help in the process.

Download source_note_sheet_final_with_photo.doc 

MLA Reference Guide

MLA website

Noodle Tools

Research Process

I teach students to use the Big 6 process when completing research.  This provides students a step-by-step model for successful completion of a research project and/or paper.  Please visit the Big 6 website or click here for more information.