YA section in 3-8 school

[patricia13 <patricia13@HOME.COM>]

        I thought I worked in the only district with these hybrid schools!  My
school contains grades 3 to 8; I have also designated YA books in the
library.  They are clearly marked and students in grades 3 to 5 are
strongly dissuaded from checking them out.  If a student is insistent, I
send a note home, detailing the subject matter and asking for parental
premission.  So far, I have not had any problems - the students don't
complsin when I say the book is too old for them.  I offer an
alternative title and that usually does the trick.
        As for getting your 7th and 8th graders to read, it's an uphill battle
but it can be done.  These students usually want to read, but don't know
what to read.  This year I worked closely with the middle school team
teachers with good success.  We did booktalks, coffeehouses, lots of
student book reviews and lots of free choice reading from lists I
created.  We definitely saw progress.  This year I'm planning a book
club (a la Oprah) for 7th and 8th grade students.  I'm anxious to see
how it goes.  I'd welcome any suggestions from anyone who's tried this.
Good Luck!
Patricia Pavlak
School Library Media Specialist
Orange Ave. School
Cranford, NJ 07016
patricia13@home.com

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