Of course it's a fairly ridiculous prompt. A toddler could practically make a PBJ. But the idea was that the kids could write the steps more clearly if they knew the task at hand well.
Looking back, I probably didn't make the why of the assignment clear. "She thinks we don't know how to make a peanut butter sandwich? Sheesh."
I'm hoping I won't insult your intelligence in a similar manner by writing the steps to reading a review. If you are an old hand at this, feel free to skip the rest of this post. If you are a new librarian, and a few time-saving steps to reading reviews may be helpful, read on!
How to read a review journal...
1. Begin by finding the section of the journal with reviews applicable to the grade levels or ages that you serve. For this example, let's say you're a middle school librarian with grades 6-7-8 at your campus.
2. First flip through the entire review section, glancing at the grade designations as you go.
3. Place an X through any review that doesn't include grade 6, 7, or 8. If the review is for grades 4-6, leave it for now. Ditto for a review of grades 8-up.
4. Go back to the first review without an X.
5. Read only the last line of this review. If it's a negative review, stop reading and put an X over it. You're not likely to order a book that's negatively reviewed, so this will save time. If you feel like this is slacking off, be my guest and read the negative reviews as well!
6. Move on to the next review, still reading only the last line.
7. Proceed in this fashion until only positive reviews for the grades at your campus are left.
8. Start at the first of these positive reviews and read the entire review carefully.
9. Circle the review if it sounds like a book that your students would enjoy or if it would be useful for the curriculum. You may need to be picky if your budget is tight. If so, pay particular attention to starred reviews.
10. Highlight the review and come back to it if you're not sure about the book. Sometimes it's helpful to seek out another review for these books on the bubble. OR your selection policy/guidelines may specify that you need more than one positive review before ordering a book.
11. Know the difference between selection and censorship (Not sure? Your gut or a trusted colleague can probably tell you).
12. Use the front cover of the journal to jot down the page number for the books you want to order.
13. Proceed until you've finished the journal.
14. Use the page numbers on the front of the journal for quick reference, and add these titles into your online ordering tool once you're sure of your selections.
15. Start over with the next journal in the same manner.
16. Transmit your online order when you've reached the desired dollar amount and you have a P.O. number. Remember to over order to account for fill rates.
17. Revel in the great new books when your order comes in.
18. Read, read, read.
19. Match the right book to the reader.
20. Realize that you'll make mistakes and order klunkers sometimes. The selection process will get easier as you go!
Disclaimer #1: Yes, I realize this method is not very techy. But I like working out of print journals in this way because they're so portable, and you can read a bit in line at the grocery store or at soccer practice.
Disclaimer #2: There are tons of ways to read a journal, but this happens to work for me. Other ideas? Share them here!
I like to read my review journals sitting in front of my computer with my online ordering tools open. If I see something I like, I immediately pull it up on the screen. This is helpful to me because I can immediately compare reviews. If there isn't another review and I'm not quite sure if it is one I want to get just based on the one review, I add it to a list of "considerations" in the online ordering site. I find it hard to mark in a journal! (I think it just the book lover it me who doesn't want anything to mar a book or any other bit of reading material!) ;)
ReplyDeleteNothing relaxes me more on a rough day that making book lists with a newly delivered review journal! :)
Anne:)
I like to sit at my computer while reading review journals. I have my online ordering tool open and up, ready to add titles to a list!
ReplyDeleteIf I'm not quite sure about a title, I can quickly see if there is another review available. Or if there isn't another review, I may add the title to my 'consierations' list. I check back to this list frequently and see if another review is available, then I can move the title to an order list or delete it.
I have trouble marking through anything in a journal. I think it is just my inner book lover/library geek who can't stand to mar any book! ;)
Nothing relaxes me more on a bad day than reading through a new review journal!
As a matter of course, this is almost exactly the way I work with my journals...Hmmmm, maybe because I have heard this gem from you before. ;-) I too like to pull up the titles in my online "list" and compare reviews for the books I find in the journals that I feel I want to order. Making my first big order list in the last few weeks was a very stressful experience for me, but I think it will get more fun as I become more experienced!
ReplyDeleteNancy Jo
(Sparkle Fingers!)
Not to be a third "me too", but I read mine with my online ordering tool open as well, not only because it allows me to compare other reviews instantly, but also because it will tell me if I already have a book in my collection. I subscribe to five different review journals, and I read A LOT of reviews, plus I have a collection of our 18,000 items at this point in the library...although I'd love to say I know all the books in the library off the top of my head, I don't, so seeing the "you have this already" or "you already have this on your list to order" sign lets me know not to spend the time reading the review.
ReplyDeleteThe other reason I have my online tool open is so that I can see if it's on any other list. I have a list for every review journal I subscribe to, plus one that says no review, maybe, and not yet published. While you might be thinking this is a lot of work, it works for me because then I can click on a book and see, for example, this was in Booklist, so once I've read the review from say, School Library Journal, I'll put it on my order. I rarely put a book on my order list that does not have a grade-level positive review from at least two review sources, and what better way to cross reference than to have my online ordering tool keep track of this for me?
Make sense? Or did I just confuse someone?
Not to be a third "me too", but I read mine with my online ordering tool open as well, not only because it allows me to compare other reviews instantly, but also because it will tell me if I already have a book in my collection. I subscribe to five different review journals, and I read A LOT of reviews, plus I have a collection of our 18,000 items at this point in the library...although I'd love to say I know all the books in the library off the top of my head, I don't, so seeing the "you have this already" or "you already have this on your list to order" sign lets me know not to spend the time reading the review.
ReplyDeleteThe other reason I have my online tool open is so that I can see if it's on any other list. I have a list for every review journal I subscribe to, plus one that says no review, maybe, and not yet published. While you might be thinking this is a lot of work, it works for me because then I can click on a book and see, for example, this was in Booklist, so once I've read the review from say, School Library Journal, I'll put it on my order. I rarely put a book on my order list that does not have a grade-level positive review from at least two review sources, and what better way to cross reference than to have my online ordering tool keep track of this for me?
Make sense? Or did I just confuse someone?