My Classroom Library

Do you love books? I love books. I have acquired in my five years enough books to probably stock a school library. Seriously. I mostly shop yard sales, consignment shops, and the book fair. I have become really spoiled to the bargain books.

I taught at this school my first three years that really did a lot of professional development on classroom libraries and literacy. I loved learning about independent reading and how to really make it independent. I know I am not the only teacher that has sent my students off to read only to find they aren't reading!! I do the Daily 5 which has helped a lot with this, but that's another post!!

Anyway at my old school they really stressed that you needed at least 20 books per student in your class. That's not 20 teacher read alouds; that is 20 books that are accessible to children at all times. I'm not sure who decided on this number and I wish I could tell you. At the time I didn't have anywhere near 500 books out for kids. I had shelves and shelves of books for me but not grade level appropriate texts.

Then I realized I had a problem. I was a book hoarder. It was a hard diagnosis to swallow. I mean, I knew I loved books and I also knew I had lots of them. But I wasn't allowing my students to enjoy them. Worst of all I never was able to read all of the books on my shelves. They were going to waste. Tragic.

So now I do not hoard books. I keep only the most sacred titles to myself and try to train the students on the ways they are to use and care for the books. I will post more about that later. For now I wanted to show you some photos of my classroom library and how it is organized.

 

 First of all the library is near the gathering space. I use plastic baskets from the Dollar Tree to store my books. When I can I put the cover facing outward to entice my readers. This is easier in the younger grades like Kindergarten and First because the books are much smaller. Second and Third is a bit of a challenge because the books are larger.

On the outside of the basket there is a basket label that identifies the type of books found in that basket. I organize based on topic, theme, and genre. It really depends on what I have a lot of! For example I had a spider basket ready but realized I only had like one spider book! I have put that one up for now and am looking to add more texts about spiders.

This is the part that has helped so much in the primary grades. I found that when I didn't help them organize the books they never ended up where they were supposed to be. I spent hours and hours sorting and organizing and within minutes it was wrecked. I'm sure you know the damage a first grader can do with just a little bit of free time!

Anyway, I created these labels that are very small that go on the front corner of the book. The labels match exactly what the front basket label is. It has made my life 10x easier. I wish I would have done this sooner. I use to put the stickers on the inside but this really has been fool proof.

The best news is that you can find this product in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. It also includes a labeling system for partner reading books, leveled reader books, and guided reading books. It is a great package if you are looking to spruce up your book organization!

Click below to get this produce.