Re: 6th grade library class

[Joy Branham <Joy_Branham@KPT.K12.TN.US>]

Janet,
     Set up headphones and story tapes (there are lots of good ones
available for that age).  Make question cards of library skills that they
can complete and turn in to you for credit toward treats, etc.  Read a
story!  I don't have that age any longer, but I did for 8 years, and I know
that they're never too old to enjoy being read to if you are a good reader.
Set up a center where they can review books and post their reviews.  (I've
done that with big bulletin boards or any other space to display.  I've
also done it with the computers--with my Dynix system they can post their
reviews to the Bulletin Board.)  Have a weekly scavenger hunt--find the
answer to a reference question or a book by this author or a picture of a
wombat!  Give a small prize (pencil, bookmark, candy, etc.) to the person
or the team to find the answer first.  Teams are good--that way the
smartest person in the room doesn't win everything.  If you have computers
in the library, set up a signup chart for using them.  Don't do the same
thing every week.  You want them to be excited about the library.  You're
right--at that age, a lot of them have stopped being readers.  They don't
have the excitement that the 2nd-graders do, but you still need to make the
library a good place to be.  We only make children into adult library users
by making good memories of childhood libraries.

Joy Branham
Librarian
John F. Kennedy Elementary School
1500 Woodland Avenue
Kingsport, Tennessee 37665

joy_branham@kpt.k12.tn.us

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