LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Here are the highlights of my TARGET-> evaluating, promoting, and using YA lit
question. All the suggestions I got back were very helpful.
Thanks to:
Betty Dawn Hamilton Pamela Gibb
Rachel H. Carlson Janet Johns
Betsy Stine Priscilla Bennett
Theresa Toy Karen Jean Hollenshead
Sandra L. Parks Linda S. Locker
Bonita Kale (whose posting I swiped off of PUBYAC)
jconstant@umassd.edu carolan@ids.net
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
EVALUATION TOOLS
VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) - iiii
- "it reviews SciFi the best"
- "includes unique evaluation codes that predict potential teen popularity for
titles, which are extremely helpful"
Booklist - iiiii
- "the reviewer doesn't always indicate the presence of 'sophisticated'
material; by and large, it's a good source"
Book Report - iiiiii
- "their reviews are done by [library media teachers] and are usually pretty
good"
- "includes a picture of book jackets for the titles reviewed, another helpful
feature for selection when dealing with discriminating teens who only select
books with book jacket appeal"
School Library Journal - iiiiiii
ALAN Review - ii
KLIATT (paperbacks) - i
nominees for California Young Readers Medal - i
Journal of Reading - i
- "has a list of young adult favorite books for the year"
School Library Media Quarterly - i
Best Books for Senior High Readers - i
- "features a lot of paperbacks, and the subject/genre divisions are very
useful for identifying books/themes"
Best Books for Junior High Readers - i
Emergency Librarian - i
Wilson Library Bulletin - i
student recommendations - ii
teacher recommendations - i
("i" indicates the number of people citing the source, out of 11 respondents)
"I'm a firm believer in reading for pleasure, so I try to select books that
appeal to students' sense of adventure, special interests (sports, surfing,
dance, music, etc.), or genre preferences (lots of sci.fi. fans at one school;
lots of mystery/thriller fans at another)"
"I have a copy of my selection criteria at my desk, and read it every once in
a while. I am careful about using the YA label exclusively as criteria for
suitability to my audience."
LITERATURE PROMOTION ACTIVITIES
Booktalks --
* "I will booktalk books to a class anytime a teacher requests, and it works
really well. Sometimes I think half the battle is letting kids know what's
there . . . . "
* "both formal and informal on the spot"
One on One Recommendations --
* "Kids will ask what's a good book."
Displays --
* "I use displays (a different theme every month) . . . . "
* "I have a special browsing rack for the paperback YA's. It's pretty popular."
Summer Reading Lists --
* "One thing we do is to send our copies of titles on the Summer Reading List
to the public library, where they can circulate throughout the vacation months"
USING YA LITERATURE
Book Buddy Programs --
(more public library oriented, but could be used in elementary school
libraries or between teachers successfully)
* "Children 3rd grade and under sign up as little buddies, 6th grade and over
as big buddies. The idea is for them to meet once a week in the library, for
the little buddy to read to the big one. Buddy reading time counts for
stickers, etc."
Independent Reading Programs --
* "I have worked closely with the Language Arts department to develop [this]
for our 7th and 8th graders. This program is based on YA lit in the library
[and includes] questions to be used with each book."
* "I have Electronic Bookshelf. Every period, I have 5 students in my
independent reading program. In order to pass, the student has to read 9
points worth of books every nine weeks. I allow the students to write
questions for one book per nine weeks. The student writes the questions and
answers. I edit and return the questions. The student rewrites the questions
and makes new ones if needed. The student then gets the value of the book,
plus two points for writing the questions. This encourages higher thinking
skills."
Projects --
* "for instance, Robin Cook is read in an anatomy class, and a project is
done with the teacher"
* "by reading featured books, [students] may earn extra credit in related
classes AND earn a poster for reading 4 featured books. I got great posters
dirt cheap at an end-of-year book fair warehouse sale"
SSR --
* "One of the English teachers does SSR in the ninth grade on Fridays. It
must be a book. I wish it were run differently, but she is supporting reading,
so I don't complain."
Reading Incentive Contests --
* "California Young Reader Medal Program, . . . sponsored by CMLEA, Cal.
Reading Association, Cal. Association of Teachers of English, and CLA. Books
are nominated each year by teachers and students, and then students read and
vote on their favorite books. Upwards of half a million kids in CA participate."
* "I keep a ring binder notebook out that has the grades divided. In the
sections, I keep a chart of everyone that has read a book. When they are
finished with one, they write the name, author, and give it their own
personal rating. After reading 10 books, they are eligible to go on a field
trip."
ON TEACHERS
**"Some teachers are very hard to cope with and others are a pleasure to work
with. The ones who are difficult think they know your job and when you say
information can't be found on whatever [subject] they tell you that you are
wrong. They assign the projects to the students anyway, and then complain when
the students can't do the project because they can't find the information! The
teachers I love to work with really do collaborate with me and we jointly
create products. Some are great, others fail, but we learn and grow together."
**"HS teachers are hard nuts to crack sometimes."
**"Special ed. and Reading teachers find a wealth of motivational reading among
YA titles, so they're among my steadiest customers. US History and English
teachers with heterogeneously grouped classes will often allow YA titles of
quality as book report or extra reading books."
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