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Dear Educator:
Books to stimulate the imagination, to escape into, to learn from, to share. A welcoming environment in which to curl up and read. A classroom library offers all this and more: the beginning of a lifelong love of reading. Creating your library, however, can be daunting. Where do you get the books? How should you organize them? Should students be allowed to take books home? To level, or not to level? Fortunately, there are some wonderful examples out there, from which you're sure to get inspiration and food for thought. We hope you enjoy them.
Best wishes for a Happy New Year,
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Breaking News
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We're clearing the decks! Our 2010 catalog is being printed now--and that means savings for you, as we make room for brand-new products. We've added over 130 items to our online Sale area. Save up to 50%, while supplies last, on selected book and audio, readers, literacy kits, math products, and more. |
| Creating a Classroom Library |
"Researchers found the quantity of resources in the school library to be a powerful predictor of reading scores: the less developed countries with better school libraries 'were closer to the test scores of affluent countries, suggesting that a good school library can make up part of the gap between the rich and poor in literacy development' "
--Gniewek 1999, p. 2, quoted in "Report on the Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement,", ASLA.
Why Create a Classroom Library? A classroom library, with its ready access to books and its encouragement of reading for pleasure, helps bridge the achievement gap within the United States, just as school libraries help bridge the gap between rich and poor nations. Students who engage in free voluntary reading score higher on comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, writing skills . . . in short, their literacy improves. A classroom library makes voluntary reading accessible, easy, and pleasant, and encourages students to continue reading for pleasure outside the classroom.
How to Get Started. How do you find the right books, and what is the easiest, clearest way to organize and administer your primary library? The links below offer advice on collecting books without breaking your budget, and include links to printable labels, photos of actual libraries, and different options for organizational schemes. Some teachers organize books by genre or subject, and by difficulty level within each area. Others prefer to organize their libraries by author. Many suggest, if books are leveled, using color-coding or another simple way to organize the collection. Most successful "classroom librarians" suggest using baskets to store books, so children can flip through them easily and be tempted by a cover or favorite subject. Teachers also suggest including different types of reading materials, such as magazines and picture books, not just readers.
To Level or Not to Level? Proponents say children feel more successful, and are less likely to get frustrated, if they read books at their exact reading level. Opponents think this limits children's choices and is too confining. Whichever option you choose, you can find suggestions in the Links section below for organizing your own library. |
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| Downloadable Activity: Reading Journal Page |
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Give your students an easy way to keep track of books they have read. This journal page from My Reading Journal, available in sets of 5 and 20, lets them record title and author, and even give their book a rating. Just enough space for a primary student to write a bit about each book, plus room to draw a picture. |
Classroom Library Links
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"Our Classroom Library," (Beth Newingham, Troy, MI): Pictures and information about organization of a wonderful classroom library, plus virtual tour.
"Leveled Books" (Busy Teachers' Cafe): Information, resources, and links on leveling books for your classroom library.
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Product Spotlight: Fiction Sets |
Customers often ask which series we recommend for a first or second grade classroom. Our Early/Transitional Fiction Jumbo Set offers nine different sets, 78 books in all, of engaging early fiction at a range of levels, from "My First I Can Read" to early chapter books like the "Fox" series. These series share more than a lower reading level. Most books are funny and fast-paced. Many are by award-winning authors, who don't condescend or cut corners when they write for their youngest readers. Although the characters may learn a lesson, the "message" doesn't hit the reader over the head, and children will identify with the characters while they laugh at their predicaments. Sets are also available individually:
Sale! Regularly $318.00--now $286.20
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| Web Special |
| Through January 31, online only! |
All Fiction Sets 10% Off!
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Regularly $47.50
Now $42.75 |
| Next Month's Topic: Songs and Rhymes for Literacy |
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Songs, rhymes, and poetry. Singing, clapping, and chanting. Rhyming and singing are fun and engaging, and help students develop essential phonemic awareness skills. We'll offer activities, resources, and links for your classroom next month. |
Quote of the Month
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| "You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing whatever about the bird... So let's look at the bird and see what it's doing - that's what counts. I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."
--Richard Feynman, "What Is Science?" |
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