Reflections on a Classroom Library
About 3 years ago now I spent a winter-spring weeding and reorganizing the library in my classroom. Lots of people have lots of ways to do this -- and lots of reasons for what they do.The first thing I did was to throw/recycle or donate books - relentlessly and without much sentiment. I teach in a school where many children do not have access to their own books so, whenever I could, I gave away books. What I was left with was a collection of material that I would enjoy choosing from, and that is key. If you personally wouldn't touch the book, your students probably won't want to touch them either.Responding to what I felt was a need to level books so that children read within a range of levels and a need to expose students to varieties of genres, I did lots of research and found the system Beth Newingham employed in her own third grade classroom was the best fit for what I intended. I color code baskets so that, even on the most basic levels, students can select and return books without any intervention from me (well, most of the time). I have red bins designated for any fiction genres and green bins for any non-fiction genres. I keep a larger browsing crate of poetry. Within each of the two major categories, fiction and non-fiction, there are sub-genres: for example realistic fiction, historical fiction, informational text. Sometimes I've subdivided those categories further: Science and Nature, Lands and People for example.Again, the reason for this is to be sure children are exposed to many different genres. Also, it helps me ensure that I have a balance of book genres; my natural tendency is to load up on realistic fiction. It's been enlightening to see what gaps there are in our library.The labels for each book are afixed to the book front as is the colored dot designating the book level range. I tape the label onto the cover with clear mailing tape and have not have any problem with a student picking off the label.Because the levels in each color range are somewhat broad, I haven't found any problem with students trying to read books at their frustration level, known by my colleagues as "fake reading". We "color conference" frequently using Modified Miscues or Fountas Pinnell Benchmarks and students are coached in conferences. I have found that when the children know there's an opportunity and an expectation for movement from one color to the next, competition is less of a problem. When I had baskets of books in just one level, that was not always the case.Children are fairly accurate in replacing the books in the bin. This is a task and responsibility that I expect from each child. Not every book in the room is leveled or labeled; there are opportunities for children to self-select and decide for themselves whether or not a book is a good fit.Additionally I created a spreadsheet/database for tracking which books are in the library. I keep an alphabetized list (by title) in an index notebook that the children can access in case they are looking for books with more than one copy for a buddy reading or in case they are looking for a particular book title. My children consult this book often when they are swapping books in and out of book boxes. The list also is useful as every so often we get asked to provide an inventory of the books in classrooms. I can sort the list in several ways: color code, Guided Reading Level, author, genre. This is helpful when replacing or adding to a library.For more on how my personal journey in organizing a classroom library progressed, check this link. As Beth Newingham states "Every teacher organizes a library in her own way". This is one that works for me.
The book baskets have been labeled and, when needed there are level reminders on the baskets.On Monday, we talked as a class about the labels and what that meant as far as replacing books or looking for new texts to enjoy. The students listened and asked questions and took their role as initiators of the new library very seriously. During each guided reading group this week, students have been returning all the books that had previously come from the library. Many of these books were either unlabeled -- and therefore not in the database as of yet -- or an inappropriate level for the student.Another part of the process is to get kids picking books at their independent level. First, I created a large wall poster listing all of the levels (color coded). Then, using the last Fountas Pinnell benchmark as a guide, each child got a new book selection bookmark with a colored dot indicating the level of books that should be "just right". Students were instructed to pick 3 books from the library using the colored dot as a guide. They can pick one level up or one level down from the dot. I dislike putting a number limit on the books being checked out of the library and some time I hope to remove this from the groundrules. However, for whatever reason, I have quite a few students who hoard books -- 10 or more at a time -- and I'd like the books to be in circulation for everyone.Using the guidelines for selecting books from the library proved to be a challenge for the students and an eye-opener for me . I thought the obvious benefit was going to be in the newly organized library. Little did I realize how much my students needed structure in selecting just-right books! My students, many of whom are under confident about their reading, gravitated to books that were well below what they should be reading in order to grow as a reader. For example, students who should be reading N chapter books (Yellow 4), were begging to reading Yellow 1 or Yellow 2 picture books. Left to their own, they were selecting materials that would not challenge them to become better readers. The new guidelines definitely appears to be a benefit of the new leveled library -- one that I hadn't even anticipated. We are now having conversations about why reading at your level is a good goal and when reading a very easy book might be okay.So as this project is winding down I can see there have been some real benefit from the work involved. In addition to organizing the materials, and knowing first-hand what is available in the library, knowing how many of each genre and level will help me to make sensible choices when I purchase new books for the classroom. The library has been consolidated so that the organization is more transparent and kid-friendly -- holy cow, they even are putting the books away in the right bins! And it is becoming less easy to slide by picking books that are too far below the students' reading levels to challenge them.Happy new library, Room 207! Now let's get reading.
his week I spent most of a "day off" in school sorting through the books that had been labeled and logged and organizing them into color coded baskets - red for fiction, green for nonfiction, blue for poetry and yellow for special collections. Using both the small nesting baskets from Really Good Stuff and the stackable medium bins has been a good thing. And the shelves are beginning to look like something other than the mishmash that had been. At this point, I have finished the most tedious leveling - those 500+ books that had not been leveled at all - and I am sorting through the baskets in of previously leveld books. Will need to weed out used and otherwise unattractive books.I hate the feel of books that have been sitting on the shelf - in the warm sun and near the blowers for the heating system in the classroom. They feel dusty, the paper pages feel rough and uncomfortable and often the covers are worn or brittle. These are the books that I've been recycling rather aggressively. Those that belong to the school and were purchased with school funds (Title I, building budget, etc.) are shared with colleagues who need to bulk up their own classroom library or with the Lincoln Lenders. The later is a collection of books for our students to swap - something that happens about once each month. Bring a book to trade and get one in return. It works quite well and more and more children are able to have a book of their own.A side-activity to the classroom library sorting is that I have been classifying my own teacher collection of trade 
books - you know, the books that drive a minilesson or those that are used to jump start a writing lesson. By freeing up all those cardboard magazine files, I've been able to sort my "special" collection by writing topic (narratives, letter writing) and by mini lesson. I've also organized the author collections that have accumulated over the last ten years of my teaching.The room is starting to feel organized -- and I feel as if I've got a handle on what books are available to my students. It is tedious and hard work, but I believe it will be worth it in the end. If there is an end!
The second glitch this week was in the color coded baskets. There are WAY too many books -- can you believe it -- for the baskets I have. And the small stacking baskets, while just the right size for paperback chapter books, are too small for the picture books unless I turn the basket on the long side. This means I lose some shelf space and will probably mean the goal of getting books off of the counters in not reasonable. I've noticed that 
Now, what to do with those cardboard magazine boxes? They're too good to throw away (and if you are or live with a teacher you know throwing things away just isn't something we do). I'll need to come to a decision soon as they are starting to take over the table and desk space!So on the To-Do list for the coming week is to finish labeling the rest of the newly categorized library, solve the basket issue, and, oh yes.... get rid of the clutter before it drives everyone crazy.
As I was trolling the web this morning, doing a bit of research, I came upon Southern Connecticut State University's website by Mary E. Brown, 
two, I am able to see where I have duplicates of books that could be shared with students who may not have books at home; and three, the list will result in a closer look at where there are gaps in levels and in genre. I'm able to inventory one leveled basket and a couple of genre/category book boxes each day.Little by little the organization is taking shape. Lots of work, but in the long run, worthwhile.
Here is the "ugly": I have 2 main book areas for the children. The first one is a leveled library of books. Pretty standard stuff, huh. However, having come to Third Grade 3 years ago from second grade (did I mention I taught second grade 15 out of the last 23 years?), I have lots and lots of lower level reading books. Sometimes that is advantageous as I am the classroom teacher in a special education inclusion classroom -- there's quite a range (this year from Level aa to Q/R). Goal #1: I'd like to whittle down the baskets so there's a one- or two-level range of books to choose from.I have a lot of books from my very generous predecesor who retired. I am noticing that the age of the books, the amount of wear and tear, sometimes causes "classics" to go unused. Goal #2: Improve the display of the books in the library.
Finally, having previously personally purchased (is this a surprise to anyone outside of education?) most of the books in my classroom library for my classroom in another school, (yes indeed -- all of those books on the white shelves plus about a third of the ones in the blue leveled baskets) I know I have too many "categories". All of the books on the white shelves are sorted by "genre" or interest or series. Goal #3: Consolidate the book selections so children can easily locate a just-right book.Yesterday I encouraged the students to start making suggestions for reorganizing this choas through suggestions made intheir response journal. I got my first feedback this afternoon:Dear Mrs. Bisson,You should make a catagory for Jack Prelutsky books. You have too many of them.Love,SWell, S, I will definitely take that under advisement -- however, I can't imagine I'll ever have too many Jack Prelutsky books :-)