This chapter focuses on how having a good classroom library
can help to improve the reading level and interest of students within a
classroom. Having a classroom library
that is organized and accessible to children is very important and this chapter
gives suggestions on how to do that and the benefits of it. It walks teacher through a process of
evaluating the classroom library they currently have and the giving ideas of
how teachers can obtain new books for their library, how to include students in
the decision making process of organization and books to include, and how to
display books to gain interest.
I have
to admit that reading this chapter made me long for the classroom library that
I had at my pervious school. When I
first started teaching, I was very fortunate to inherit a classroom library from
a teacher that was retiring and didn’t take any books with them. There were thousands of books that were in
good condition. I went through all these
books and sorted them into baskets that based on topics and labeled the baskets
accordingly so students would be able to find the easily. I bought very few books during the time I was
at this school because I pretty much had majority of what I needed. When I came to Bobo, I did not have the same
type of library waiting on me. Majority
of the books that I have in my room now are ones that I have purchased on my
own. I got most of these books from
places like Goodwill and consignment sales.
I have been able to build up my classroom library to where it is
adequate to meet the needs we currently have but I still have a long way to go
to get it to where I would like it to be.
I still have my books in baskets labeled based on the topic in order to
make it easy for students to find books.
The primary way I use my library is during guided reading. I have it set up as a center for my students
to go to while I am working with groups.
I very rarely have students reading from the library during independent
reading because I would prefer them to be reading at their level during this
time and I don’t have a lot of books to accommodate all levels in my classroom
library. Other than that, I felt that a
lot of what the article talked about are things I have worked on putting into place over the years.
My students often want to read materials that are way below or above their reading level. I feel that so much comprehension is lost when they do this. I find it very difficult to find appropriate reading material for the classroom library as well because it takes a lot of time to research the best books to purchase. I remember while in school we had to use a book called Best Books for Children during one of classes. The book gave you a list of really good books to use to teach certain concepts. While I believe this is important, I also find it difficult to do when you have so many other things to research.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to build a great library! Many "hand me downs" or cheap books are not of high interest to my students. I have found that eye appeal is half the battle with getting a student to try a new book!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! Students tend to pick books they can relate to and in my case they like things they watch on tv but most of my books that I inherited when I got my classroom were older.
DeleteErin, you are so right, collecting books for an ample classroom library takes time. Hand-me-downs and gently used books are great finds for a classroom teacher. But I know there are times when you wish you had specific titles students may be requesting.I know you stated that during independent reading your students read mostly leveled text. I am just wondering if you have considered more choice during independent reading to emphasize student choice. I know that many times when a student is reading a book of their choice, they read much more.
ReplyDelete