Organizing and Managing a Classroom Library
Before I start telling y’all how I set up my own classroom library, you need to know that there is no right or wrong way to set one up. It’s YOUR classroom library, and you can set it up however it works for you and your students. I’m going to share how I set mine up with you and how I manage it, so feel free to use some or none of these ideas because I know that every classroom is different. :)
Book Organization
Where do you get all your books?
I was fortunate enough to inherit many of these books from a retiring teacher friend 6 years ago. I also have gotten tons of books from Scholastic Book Clubs and Amazon. I have tons of book lists on my Amazon Storefront that you can find here. Facebook Marketplace, thrift stores, and Half Price Books are all fabulous places to look for books also. Remember- you do not need to have a ton of books to start! Having a few books with a cozy space is all that matters.
Where did you get your book bins?
I have the Lakeshore Learning Neon Heavy Duty Storage Box Bins that can be found here. I prefer these over a thinner book bin because I can store more books in these, and they are extremely sturdy.
How do you organize your books?
I have mine organized by genre/interest/author. My book bins are from my friend Emily Yerty (@PolkaDotsPlease) and they can be found here. I chose to organize my books this way instead of leveling them because I want students to be able to choose what they want to read from this area for pleasure. Here’s my reasoning behind genre organization instead of leveled organization: imagine you are an “A level” reader. You watch as your friends pass you by, moving on to more interesting books at higher levels. You stay stuck in the “A level reader” bin for the entire year (or most of it). Can you imagine what this does to your confidence as a reader? I find it extremely damaging.
How do you organize your books?
I have an area that is separate from my classroom library (it’s behind my small group table) where I keep leveled books for students to read at their instructional level. These books are provided to me through my school. I use these books during small group instruction, and as take-home readers.
Unveiling the Classroom Library
I don’t let students enter the classroom library until the 2nd week of school. I teach them explicitly how to use it, and how to treat books first. I use the “book lover” visuals from my Teachers Pay Teachers resource linked here.
Book Shopping
How do you make sure that books get put back into the correct bin?
The labels that I have (linked again here) also come with stickers for the insides of the books that match the book bin. All students must do as they return books is match the sticker to the book bin picture (the pictures are the same). I haven’t had an issue with books being in the wrong place since I started this system. Every.Single.Book has a label inside, but it is extremely worth it.
How do students pick out books?
I use a “book shopping schedule” that can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here. I spend the first two weeks book shopping with each group to make sure they know how to make their book choices, how to put books back, etc. I explain to them how the library works by showing them how to match the labels to the book bins as they put books away. As the year goes on, students can shop on their book shopping day each time students enter the “read-to-self-station” during our center time.
How many books can students pick out during each weekly book shopping session?
I tell them that they can shop for 6 books a week. They can pick out 3 “good fit” books, and 3 “dessert books.”
· Good fit books are books that students use the 5-finger-rule to determine whether the book is a genuine good fit for them. I do an entire lesson on Good fit books, and we create an anchor chart together about good fit books that I show later in this blog post.
· Dessert books are books that are “sweet treats.” Why wouldn’t I let a student read the book about Spiderman even if it isn’t on their level? If it piques their interest, and they are spending time with a book, I am ok with it being a “dessert book.”
Above you can see a video of an example of the matching book stickers/book bins. This helps keep my library super organized and clean.
Picking out “Good Fit Books”
I use this anchor chart and visual to teach students how to pick out their 3 “good fit books” for their book bins each week. This can be found in my Teachers Pay Teachers store here.
I model for students how to pick out these good fit books by acting out how this might look. I pick out a book from a book bin and put a finger up for every word I don’t know, and if I have 5 fingers up by the end of that page, I decide to put it back. Then I pick up another book and try it again, but this time I don’t stumble over any words at all. I decide that this might be a little too easy for me. Then I pick out a book and stumble over a few words, but I only have 2 fingers up at the end of reading that page. I decide that this book is “just right” for me, and this would be a perfect “good fit book” to go in my book bin. Students will choose 3 of those, and 3 dessert books to keep in their personal book bins for the week.
Managing Book Buddies*
While my students are at the “read to self” station during our ELA center block**, they are able to read with a book buddy. They pick one out and get started right away. When the timer goes off, it goes back into the bin. If snuggling with a book buddy during “read to self” starts looking more like play time or if two students are arguing over a particular book buddy, then the buddy goes back into the bin immediately. That’s it!
If you’re looking for the “book buddies” freebie label, it’s an exclusive freebie on my website that you can get if you sign up for the free Firstie Fam here!
*I wash book buddies in the washing machine periodically.
**I only have about 4-6 students students in a center area at one time, so I have enough book buddies for each student to have their own during their time in the “read to self” station.
Classroom Library Extra Links
· My “READ” pom pom wooden letters are from Hobby Lobby. I hot-glued 1-inch pom poms onto the wooden letters. The pom poms that I got are linked here.
· My pom pom lamp is linked here. I used the same pom poms that I used on the READ letters on the lampshade.
· Black/bright A-Z rug linked here or here
· White IKEA Bookshelves linked here
· Scoop Rockers are linked here
· Rainbow Reading Spots are linked here
