If there is anything that I LOVE imparting to my students, it is a solid love of good books and reading. Reading allows for adventure, escape, mystery, and love. It is exciting, exhausting, exhilarating, and sometimes, disappointing. I never even finished the final book of the Divergent Series, Allegiant, because I was SO upset with the ending. I tossed the book across my bedroom and didn't pick it up for weeks. If I remember correctly, my husband picked it up because he was convinced that if I didn't, one of our three dogs would eat it. It's still sitting, unfinished, on my bookshelf in our home office.
Back to the point... offering up a selection of books in your classroom allows for a few amazing things to happen:
1. Having a library (even a solid 5 favorites is the beginning of a collection, which is basically just the beginning of a library!) in your classroom- no matter what subject you teach- shows that YOU are a reader. And let's be real- students learn by what they see.
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| Five years worth of collecting/hoarding books has paid off! My students have lots of choices at their fingertips! |
2. Keeping/displaying/reading/hoarding books shows that books are valuable. Sure, they're "just paper" but when you give them space in your classroom and your home, it shows that they have worth.
3. Exposure to books during childhood has been shown to lead to a more successful adulthood. And let's face it- in this world, we need more empathy, better communication, a massive increase in patience and understanding... Get the ball rolling with books!
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| Books are separated by genre, series, and author. Some popular fiction are left open- not in bins. Books belonging to my school are leveled by F&P Reading Level- more on that later! |
So, you may be reading this because you're wondering where on Earth you get started. You've heard the why- but what about the HOW? Here are a few things to focus in on:
- Collecting books
- Organizing the books you collect
- Managing student's reading the books
I will try my best to share everything that I have learned with you! Be patient- blogging clearly doesn't happen enough. If you leave a question in a comment for me, I will get back to you ASAP. Also, feel free to e-mail me!
