As requested, I am posting some of the responses to my question:
What is everyone doing to get upper elementary students motivated to read? It
seems like they are so interested in TV and video games that books aren't on the
top of their list. Everything that works with younger students does not seem to
matter to the older ones.
Thanks to everyone for your help, you are fantastic!
Responses:
Tie the lastest movie releases with the books: How to Train Your Dragon comes out
this summer, The Lighning Thief is already out, Shiver--rights have been bought,
but movie not yet made.
Make posters and put up in the library about new movie releases and the book.
We had TONS of students read The Lovely Bones and The Lightning Thief before the
movies were released.
Also, try Alex Rider books (Anthony Horowitz, author)
Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series
mangatitles
comic books
magazines
Pamela Thompson, MLIS
Library Media Specialist
Col. John O. Ensor Middle School
13600 Ryderwood
El Paso, TX
915-937-6018
pthomp@sisd.net
visit my YA novel blog at http://booksbypamelathompson.blogspot.com/
I'm doing book talks and book trailers. The book trailers have been especially
popular. They are a lot of work and I'm taking a break from them but they have
been worth it. With the book talks I give them handouts of the PPT slides so they
can remember which books they want. Movie tie-ins also help. Nearly all of 5th
grade seems to be reading the Percy Jackson series. A few weeks ago we did a
Reader's Theater of one of the chapters from The Lightning Thief and then took them
to Greek mythology websites. They researched a god, monster, or mortal and made a
word cloud on a kid-friendly word cloud website.
This is my first year and I'm noticing a lot of kids in our 5th grade reading
picture books. For this week I book talked books about courage and heroes and
tried to give them a variety of fiction/non fiction, mature picture books and juv
fiction.
Does you state participate in award programs? My own 4th grader was a reluctant
reader and suddenly this year he began reading age-appropriate fiction so he could
participate in his schools "best book" award. He's up to his third Percy Jackson
book.
Sometimes it's really the "right book for the right reader." My 6th grader was
also reluctant until 4th grade when I gave her Gail Carson Levine's stories and she
ate them up. In 5th grade she, too, was motivated to read by the opportunity to
vote on her favorite book.
Nadene
Nadene Eisner
Elementary school librarian
St. Charles, IL
Booktalk, Booktalk, Booktalk and then throw in some Book Trailers.
I find that it is easier for me to relate to the students according to what their
favorite tv or movie is. I often ask them that question. It gives me an idea of
what type of book they would like. For example....CSI or NCIS means that they like
mysteries, Survivor means they would like Hunger Games, or anything on Lifetime
means they would like any romance books by Sarah Dessen.
I sponsor a AR party for my 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Students. Teachers set their
goals and those who reach them get invited to a day out at the park. We have
hotdogs, buns, chips, veggies, fruit, deserts and juice. Students get to hang out,
play some football, basketball, listen to ipods or just talk with friends. I put
together door prize baskets and students who go to the party get a chance to win a
basket - We usually have about about 100 students and I usually make up about 30 to
40 basket depending on what I find, we usually have about 30 students who do not
make their goals (some never read a book), but the majority do. We have an added
bonus this year, if we can read 12,000 books as a school our principal will get on
the roof. We are a K-8 school with 330 students. We only have a little over 5,000
books to go so our fingers are crossed.
Cindy
Cindy Glavin Library Media Specialist/Computer Teacher Big Timber, MT,
theglavins@hotmail.com
using graphic novels can help many vidoe games or television shows have novles or
graphic novels based on their plotes (Gossip Girl, Smallville, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, etc.) student know the characters so they're more likely to read the books.
Also, do read alouds I know it soudns strange, but research has shown everyone
likes being read to and you may spark some interest. You could also try a round
robin technique get a teacehr to let you use the last twenty minutes or so of their
class gather a bunch of different oboosk (fiction, nonficiont bios poetry, etc) and
have the student only read the first chap or only read for five minutes then pass
the book alond. Student can use a piece of scrap paper to keep track of titles they
enjoyed. Don't be afriad to do a book talk or book sell either pique their interest
wet their appetie and leave them wanting more.
Good Luck
'm subbing in a middle school library (grades 5-8) and I just did a book display
that seems to
help a little: "Did you like the movie? Try the book!" I pulled copies of good
books that have
been made into movies the kids might have seen--
Harry Potter, Tale of Despereaux, Coraline, Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bridge to
Terabithia, City
of Ember, Inkheart, My Dog Skip, Holes, etc.
It would actually be a really good challenge for some kids to help you set it up--
send them into
the shelves and tell them to find as many books as they can that have been made
into movies.
They'll get a kick out of it and it will help with the display.
Melissa Flynn
Recent library school grad
Buffalo, NY
I'm holding a readathon starting March 1st that will go 1 1/2 months.
Not only will it raise money for the library but there will be prizes
for most pages read for each grade level -- plus a prize for every
student who reads 2,500 pages.
Cathe Olson
Library Technician
Nipomo Elementary School
colson@lmusd.org
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