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.