No More Leveled Classroom Libraries
We've talked to several first year teachers this weekend who asked for ideas for setting up a classroom library. Here are some pictures of libraries I've seen in some outstanding literacy-based classrooms. The classroom library should be a focal point of the room. Notice in the pictures that texts are arranged so that students will be drawn to them.The books are not in leveled baskets; They are sorted by genre, topic, or authors. Leveled texts are for the teacher to use during guided reading. Students develop an understanding of how to choose just right books during the first few weeks of school through class discussion and conferring with the teacher.
They become autonomous by having the opportunity to choose books they are interested in and by participating in book talks and small group discussions of the texts they have read. These practices keep the focus on authentic, real-world reading.
