Monday
Oct152007
PTA Volunteer - Middle School Book Group
Monday, October 15, 2007 at 05:03PM
Last week, before I was blogging for dollars for the Light The Night Walk, I was busy begging food donations and support for two programs I am coordinating at the middle school:
1) The 17th Annual Inman Writer's Workshop in November. (So I don't have to worry too much about that yet, once I get catering, (help get) writer volunteers for 72 sessions and parent volunteers for 3 days, arranged and coordinated. Fortunately, our middle school media specialist (librarian) is wonderful and has most of the hard stuff well in hand. I am the Parent Chair for the PTA -- woo hoo!(?!) -- so it's mostly budget, begging sponsors & donations, run-around and support.)
2) Books & Breakfast Club outreach program -- a middle school book group for 7th graders identified as "at-risk" for high school graduation.
What have I gotten myself into now?! Today was the first meeting of the Books & Breakfast Club, and it was great. We went through introductions and got to know each other. We talked about their next book report assignment in their Language Arts classes (Non-Fiction), and the 25 books a year (during the 9 months of school) that 7th graders are now expected to read as a result of new Atlanta Public Schools "Performance Standards." We went over some basics on How To Find A GREAT Book In The Library -- it's not as easy as you might think, particularly for kids who might not have had a lot of experience with books, reading at home, or visiting the library or bookstore.
We started with the basics:
What is non-fiction vs. fiction?
(Non-fiction is REAL, fiction is made-up.)
How is fiction organized in the library?
(By the author's last name.)
How is non-fiction organized in our library, and every library in the U.S.?
That's when we get into the fun of the Dewey Decimal System and the groupings, i.e.
The Dewey Decimal System: Ten Major Divisions
You can take that all the way down to 1,000 categories & subdivisions, did ya know?
Anyway, I say we did this and that, and talked, and it was great, but it was a little edgy, too; just a little Dangerous Minds, with 9 Black kids, 1 Asian, and this old (to them!) White lady with little experience in this type of situation, but a love of books and reading, and kids, and the absolute conviction that books and reading saved me, and I know books and reading can save some, hell, maybe even all, of these kids, too, if they just have a chance to learn and experience the safety, escape and motivation to be found in reading and writing.
So there you go.
The kids were great, and I definitely had 10 different personalities: quiet kids, in-your-face kids, sweet kids, belligerent kids, confident kids, scared kids, kids I will be able to reach, kids I might not be able to help.
And here's the funny part: At the end of the hour, the kids went on to their next classes, and the Graduation Coach (the teacher who is working with them, one-on-one, to help them succeed in middle school to bridge the gap to high school, graduation and beyond), came in to talk and review the first meeting. She had asked that I have the kids sign in to the Books & Breakfast, and I also had them fill out a very brief Intro Survey (see below), to try and get to know them and their interests a little. We were comparing lists, and it turns out, I had two kids who were supposed to be there not show up, and two kids who were not officially "invited" or recommended to this program, show up -- and participate. I think that's wonderful. (Not that the two didn't show up, but that the other two came on in -- and they are keepers, as far as I am concerned!)
As I said, there were Moments -- no direct confrontation or anger or rebellion or anything like that, but there were moments, when I was trying to talk to each one at a time for a minute, to try and determine a subject he or she would be interested in for their non-fiction book, it got a little wild around the edges. When I "released" them from the conference room into the main area of the Media Center, it got even a little wilder still: I was trying to lead a quick tour through the non-fiction shelves, so they could see what was there; they were more interested in horsing around and messing with each other...the Media Center Specialist (bless her!) stepped in to yell at them, settle them down a bit, and I appreciated that. At the end, most of the kids walked out having checked out their non-fiction book, except for two that I need to follow up with their Language Arts teacher for special considerations or requirements.
That's all a huge success in my book. I am looking forward to next week!
Here's the Survey I asked them to fill out when they came in -- "At least your Name, please, and anything else you'd like to share." The answers and the response were very interesting. It's always the kids you think will be trouble that surprise you every time. On their Surveys, I put my answers, so they could get to know me a little, too. They liked that, especially talking about my kids and Nintendo DS. I include this for anyone else who might be crazy enough to try and do something like this: Make a difference, start a kids' book group, etc.
I'd say, Go For It! (And Good Luck! ;-)
Intro Survey for Middle School Book Group:
Name: __________________________________
My name is Sherri Caldwell
Tell us something about you, for example (choose one or more):
Where do you live? ____________________
I live in Midtown
Who do you live with? _________________
I live with my husband, 3 children (7th, 5th & 2nd grade), and our dog, Mocha
What are your favorite things? ______________________
I love books. I am a writer, and I love to write, too. I like Nintendo DS - Brain Age!
What do you read? _______________________________________
I read the newspaper, magazines, stuff on the computer & lots of books.
Do you like to read? YES NO Other: __________________
I love to read.
Favorite Books/Authors:
1)
2)
3)
Like I said, the answers were surprising -- they all wrote something, and this will be one of the most valuable pieces of information I have, working with these kids.
More next week--
1) The 17th Annual Inman Writer's Workshop in November. (So I don't have to worry too much about that yet, once I get catering, (help get) writer volunteers for 72 sessions and parent volunteers for 3 days, arranged and coordinated. Fortunately, our middle school media specialist (librarian) is wonderful and has most of the hard stuff well in hand. I am the Parent Chair for the PTA -- woo hoo!(?!) -- so it's mostly budget, begging sponsors & donations, run-around and support.)
2) Books & Breakfast Club outreach program -- a middle school book group for 7th graders identified as "at-risk" for high school graduation.
What have I gotten myself into now?! Today was the first meeting of the Books & Breakfast Club, and it was great. We went through introductions and got to know each other. We talked about their next book report assignment in their Language Arts classes (Non-Fiction), and the 25 books a year (during the 9 months of school) that 7th graders are now expected to read as a result of new Atlanta Public Schools "Performance Standards." We went over some basics on How To Find A GREAT Book In The Library -- it's not as easy as you might think, particularly for kids who might not have had a lot of experience with books, reading at home, or visiting the library or bookstore.
We started with the basics:
What is non-fiction vs. fiction?
(Non-fiction is REAL, fiction is made-up.)
How is fiction organized in the library?
(By the author's last name.)
How is non-fiction organized in our library, and every library in the U.S.?
That's when we get into the fun of the Dewey Decimal System and the groupings, i.e.
The Dewey Decimal System: Ten Major Divisions
- 000-099 Generalities
- 100-199 Philosophy and Psychology
- 200-299 Religion
- 300-399 Social Sciences
- 400-499 Language
- 500-599 Natural Sciences and Mathematics
- 600-699 Technology (Applied Sciences)
- 700-799 The Arts
- 800-899 Literature and Rhetoric
- 900-999 Geography and History
You can take that all the way down to 1,000 categories & subdivisions, did ya know?Anyway, I say we did this and that, and talked, and it was great, but it was a little edgy, too; just a little Dangerous Minds, with 9 Black kids, 1 Asian, and this old (to them!) White lady with little experience in this type of situation, but a love of books and reading, and kids, and the absolute conviction that books and reading saved me, and I know books and reading can save some, hell, maybe even all, of these kids, too, if they just have a chance to learn and experience the safety, escape and motivation to be found in reading and writing.
So there you go.
The kids were great, and I definitely had 10 different personalities: quiet kids, in-your-face kids, sweet kids, belligerent kids, confident kids, scared kids, kids I will be able to reach, kids I might not be able to help.
And here's the funny part: At the end of the hour, the kids went on to their next classes, and the Graduation Coach (the teacher who is working with them, one-on-one, to help them succeed in middle school to bridge the gap to high school, graduation and beyond), came in to talk and review the first meeting. She had asked that I have the kids sign in to the Books & Breakfast, and I also had them fill out a very brief Intro Survey (see below), to try and get to know them and their interests a little. We were comparing lists, and it turns out, I had two kids who were supposed to be there not show up, and two kids who were not officially "invited" or recommended to this program, show up -- and participate. I think that's wonderful. (Not that the two didn't show up, but that the other two came on in -- and they are keepers, as far as I am concerned!)
As I said, there were Moments -- no direct confrontation or anger or rebellion or anything like that, but there were moments, when I was trying to talk to each one at a time for a minute, to try and determine a subject he or she would be interested in for their non-fiction book, it got a little wild around the edges. When I "released" them from the conference room into the main area of the Media Center, it got even a little wilder still: I was trying to lead a quick tour through the non-fiction shelves, so they could see what was there; they were more interested in horsing around and messing with each other...the Media Center Specialist (bless her!) stepped in to yell at them, settle them down a bit, and I appreciated that. At the end, most of the kids walked out having checked out their non-fiction book, except for two that I need to follow up with their Language Arts teacher for special considerations or requirements.
That's all a huge success in my book. I am looking forward to next week!
Here's the Survey I asked them to fill out when they came in -- "At least your Name, please, and anything else you'd like to share." The answers and the response were very interesting. It's always the kids you think will be trouble that surprise you every time. On their Surveys, I put my answers, so they could get to know me a little, too. They liked that, especially talking about my kids and Nintendo DS. I include this for anyone else who might be crazy enough to try and do something like this: Make a difference, start a kids' book group, etc.
I'd say, Go For It! (And Good Luck! ;-)
Intro Survey for Middle School Book Group:
Name: __________________________________
My name is Sherri Caldwell
Tell us something about you, for example (choose one or more):
Where do you live? ____________________
I live in Midtown
Who do you live with? _________________
I live with my husband, 3 children (7th, 5th & 2nd grade), and our dog, Mocha
What are your favorite things? ______________________
I love books. I am a writer, and I love to write, too. I like Nintendo DS - Brain Age!
What do you read? _______________________________________
I read the newspaper, magazines, stuff on the computer & lots of books.
Do you like to read? YES NO Other: __________________
I love to read.
Favorite Books/Authors:
1)
2)
3)
Like I said, the answers were surprising -- they all wrote something, and this will be one of the most valuable pieces of information I have, working with these kids.
More next week--
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