When I saw the title of this chapter from Regie Routman's book, Reading Essentials: The Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well, I got really excited. As a first year teacher I am constantly thinking about how to make my classroom library better. What books should I add? How should I organize the varying text? How can I monitor outflow of the books? How can I further encourage students to visit the classroom library? Thoughts about my classroom library are forever the forefront of my mind.
Everything points to the benefits of independent reading and one of the major ways to encourage independent reading is to have a classroom library that provides choice to the students. I like how Routman says, "It really doesn't matter much what kids read as long as they read and enjoy what they're reading." I feel like I struggle to find some reading material that a few of my students would enjoy. Routman says that "light reading" is essential for turning struggling readers into competent readers, which she says can come from having a selection of comic books, magazines, picture book, series books in the classroom library. I need to focus more on collecting "light" reading material for my library.
Routman writes a lot about what books need to go into a classroom library and how to make books "hot" in the classroom, but one thing I wish she would have provided more information on the actual act of setting up a classroom library. I do like how she writes about having your students help in the library design and organization and how she says have students submit a design, but the only down side it the limited amount of space that I have in my classroom.
The chapter offers valuable information about the value of books and how to model the act of caring for our books and classroom library. I look forward to growing my library and hopefully getting an organized system of books coming and going.
Your great find of the Book Source app was a great step in starting to organize your library. It can be hard for teachers to develop a library that has books on all different levels of all different genres to meet the needs of all of the kids in their class. When I was in the classroom, I had my kids help me decide how to organize our library. If they're the ones using it, it only makes sense that they have a say in how it works. This also gives a chance to have a lesson on genres and how to determine genre. It takes a while but once it's organized, their ownership in the process helps keep it in better condition. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Chloe,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that this chapter provided you with some great suggestions for expanding and organizing your classroom library so that your students are able to easily access books that they choose. I like the Book Source app Heather suggested and I also want to suggest visiting the Pages on Pine used book store sponsored by The Spartanburg Public Library. They provide teachers with a deep discount on books that they discard that are heavily bound and only lightly used. I also have found a new website Dr. K recommended to us called newsela that gives you up to date news articles that you can choose the reading level of that can help you expand your light and high interest reading collection. Sincerely, Dawn