Building a Classroom Library
Today’s classroom is digital and global; students are connected to a rich network of information and peers. But with increasing access to technology, many students lack basic reading skills. With the help of teachers and librarians, students are making up for lost time. Classroom libraries have become popular in classrooms because they provide students with hands-on learning experiences while engaging them with books that inspire them. Students have the opportunity to explore a variety of topics, meet new friends through fictional characters, and develop reading skills that will last them a lifetime. A classroom library serves as the home base for your books and the epicenter for collaborative learning activities. It can be set up in any corner of your classroom–it’s how you use it that matters most! Here are some tips on how you can build one in your classroom:
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Building a Classroom Library #1
With an Amazon Wish List
You can set up a wish list on Amazon to get books that are appropriate for your students. You can set up a wish list with your school name and get books sent to you at your convenience. This is also a great way to get books for students who don’t have access to them at home or who are behind on reading skills and need to catch up. Amazon has a huge selection of books that are broken down by reading level so you can easily find books that are appropriate for your students. It also means that you don’t have to buy all the books yourself and other people or your friends and family can get books for your students.
Building a Classroom Library #2
With Scholastic Books
Scholastic books is another great place to get books. You can get books for your classroom library by signing up for a Scholastic Books account, so you can order books for your students and have them shipped directly to your school. You can also select books based on grade level or reading difficulty. Scholastic Books also lets you buy books in bulk for that reading level. This means that you will be able to get a lot of different types of books for all your students for cheap and in bulk amounts. They have a lot of curated collections for different grade levels for about $5 a book. This means that you will be able to build your library for cheap.
Building a Classroom Library #3
At Thrift Stores
The best place to get books for your classroom library is thrift stores. You can find old, used books at a very low cost and can sometimes find rare, vintage books that are worth a lot of money. Another plus of getting books at thrift stores is that you can pick and choose what you want to put in your classroom library. If there are certain themes you want to explore with your students, you can find books that fit that theme. You can also find a variety of reading levels at thrift stores so you can include books at different reading levels in your library. This is the cheapest option if you are looking to get plenty of books for your classroom.
Building a Classroom Library #4
Poll your teacher friends on what books to get
If you’re new to the teaching world, you can ask your fellow teachers what books are good to include in your classroom library. You can ask them what books they read to their students and which books have inspired their students. This can help save you time in searching for the best books to include in your library. You can ask them the reading levels of the books too so you can be sure to include books at all reading levels in your library.
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Building a Classroom Library #5
Poll your students for their favorite books
If you’re starting a brand new classroom library, you can poll your students on what books they’d like to see in the library. This is a great way to get your students engaged and excited about the books you put in the library. It also allows you to see what books are most appropriate for your students, and what genres they are most interested in. It will also get them super excited for reading these books when they actually come in. This will build an aspect of excitement around reading for them.
How to organize your library
First and foremost, you want your books to be accessible to your students. You’ll want to place your books in a place where students can easily access them. A good place to start is to place the books on a bookshelf in front of your classroom. You can also place your books on a desk or table in front of your classroom. This may be a good idea if you are wanting to feature certain books from your library for certain months. It could let those books that often get lost in a library shine. If you have a large classroom and multiple reading levels you can split up the books by reading level. You can place the younger students’ books on a bookshelf or in one book bin and have different book bins for different reading levels. You could also do the same thing but have them in different bins based on genre. You can even color code the book bins to the books by putting colored stickers on the edge of the books. This will also allow your kids put the books back exactly where they belong.
Building a classroom library
Building a classroom library is about more than just finding some books to put on the bookshelf. It’s about finding books that are engaging, appropriate, and reflect the interests of your students. With a little bit of planning, you can create a classroom library that will inspire your students to read. Once you’ve established your classroom library, you’ll want to make sure you’re maintaining it. You should be rotating your books every 6 months. This will allow your students to be reading higher-level books and also see some books that they didn’t notice before.
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