From: gburch at uiuc.edu <gburch>
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2004 20:16:33 -0500

My name is Georgeann Burch and I'm a library media specialist at a K-5 elementary school in central Illinois. I subscribed to ccbc-net about a month ago, and have found the book discussions very interesting and useful! I have a few comments about the topic of student book selection and about our computer-quiz reading motivation program....

Student book selection: From experience the last 10 years in the field, I would say there as many methods of choosing books as there are students! I have had kindergarteners insist on books about countries and books about dinosaurs for weeks on end, and not be satisfied with anything else! I have had kids get hooked on a series, like Redwall or the Silverwing triology by Oppel or the A-Z Mysteries by Roy. I have kids who find too many books to check out one week, and those who use their whole 20 minutes searching and still aren't happy. Kids who will take whatever I recommend and some who are a really hard sell! I guess that's what makes the job interesting, and also sometimes frustrating when I can't seem to help the seeker.

We use a "five finger" rule to help the kids judge difficulty of the text. They start reading a page, and raise a finger from their fist for each word they can't decode or understand. If they get to 5 by the end of the page, we suggest the book might not be right for them YET. I like the strategy shared by Mr. Becki. I may try to modify/shorten it for a bit younger students.

Re: reading motivation programs. This is such a hot topic in our school! We have had a program for about 5 years. The LMC provided technical support for the teachers, and organized books and bought quizzes, but the teachers managed it within their classroom. So it was used to varying extents by different teachers. We have had very good "results" when you talk about kids reading more and kids reading more challenging books. Before this program, I never heard "Mrs. Burch can you help me find a long book that I would like." And, like it or not, many of our children are NOT motivated to learn unless "forced" to or unless extrinisically rewarded. Of course, our classroom teachers all do wonderful read alouds, as well, and use literature in many, many ways. But this year, we had a sub-group of students fail the reach the goal set by No Child Left Behind, so we have a HUGE allschool emphasis on raising reading scores. The literacy specialist have pushed for our computer program to play a role in this. All teachers are required to participate, kids are required to choose at least one "RC" book for checkout, and all kinds of class and school goals are being set.

I am trying to give it time, but my personal opinion right now is that I liked it better when students and teachers had more choice about the extent of the use. There are lots and lots of issues involved, including parent involvement, book selection, quantity of reading vs desire to read, etc. But I have to admit it is pretty exciting to have conversations with 5th graders who are pumped up about challenging books they are reading, which they wouldn't have picked up without it being an RC book! On the other hand, I hate saying to a 2nd grader, "Sorry, you can't check that out because it's not an RC book in your color." We are trying to adjust our circulation policy so students still have a CHOICE.

Georgeann Burch Library Media Specialist Westview School Champaign, Il

---- Original message ---net) programs designed students read and impacting the sides of the motivational limiting their points, rather
Received on Tue 12 Oct 2004 08:16:33 PM CDT