Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Summer Task #1: Organize Classroom Library

Organizing the Books

Today was my first day back in my classroom since school ended. Teachers do not have to be back until August 10, but there are so many things I want to get done before then. The first thing on my list was to organize my classroom library. (Next comes my Lesson Planner)

Last year, I used the colors green and blue. This year, I added in the color hot pink! It looks AMAZING!! The dollar store had these beautiful pink bins that really make my classroom library PoP! When I saw them in the store, I could not resist.

As I was cleaning out the shelves and coming across books shoved into boxes, bent covers, ripped pages and of course, misplaced books, I realized that I needed a new system. One that would preserve my books as well as keep them where they belong. I am mostly impressed with how my students have treated our books, but there's always room for improvement :-)

First, I relabeled all the boxes and placed a sticker at the top right of the label. On the back of the books in that particular box, I also placed that same sticker. Therefore, when students are finished with the book, they know exactly where it goes. If everyone follows this procedure, none of the bins will be overstuffed and everyone will know where to go when I am looking for a certain title.



Secret Teacher Code 

Along with the stickers, I made a "Secret Teacher Code". Some stickers indicate that a book is below grade level, above grade level or on grade level. That way, when I see what students are reading, I can quickly inventory whether he/she is challenging themselves or not. I am hoping this system will help me catch any patterns of behavior of students choosing books that are too easy, too hard, etc.

How I Organized the Bins

  • Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Historical Fiction
  • Historical Nonfiction
  • Authors (Jerry Spinelli, Chris Van Allsburg, Betsy Beyers, Gary Paulsen & Roald Dahl)
  • Biographies
  • Favorite Picture Books
  • Poetry
  • Black History
  • Theme Books (I have 4 themes that my curriculum is based on throughout the school year)
  • Sports
  • Fractured Fairy Tales
Before I organized 

Hours later, after all was said and done

A close up of some shelves

Another close up 





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