Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! In March the 6th grade students celebrated Dr. Seuss' Birthday with Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! This was the last book conceptualized by Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel. After his death in 1991, Geisel's editor, Janet Schulman, received some rough sketches and verse that would become Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! Children's poet Jack Prelutsky and award-winning illustrator Lane Smith were called upon to collaborate and complete Geisel's final work. The story takes place at a school with quirky, creative teachers who encourage and enlighten the minds of their young students. Then, one day the dreaded news comes that all the students must take a standardized test and if they don't pass their beloved school will close causing everyone to transfer to the dreary school in the next town. After listening to the story, the students were asked to create a unique teacher. The real challenge came when the students were told they had to draw a picture of their teacher using Google Drawing and they would be collaborating with a partner who would draw on the same picture as them at the same time. The students were to also give their teacher a name and describe the unique class they taught. As the students rose to the challenge, they discovered an increased need for communication and division of tasks. With our previous programs, one student usually did all the work and the other gave some input, but didn’t have a real active role as a collaborator. With the new Google tools, students are finding the true meaning of collaboration and accountability for performing their portion of the project. Once the drawings were completed, the students emailed them to Ms. Lehman, who printed them out and displayed them in the library. Students have enjoyed coming into the library and showing their creations to their friends. LARNED MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY MARCH MONTHLY REPORT GWEN LEHMAN, LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST JANICE KNEISLEY, LIBRARY ASSISTANT