

Previously, I have reflected on overall engagement, lit circles, and acquiring books inexpensively. I have been purposefully building my high school classroom library for a few years now. After all, the purpose of having a classroom library is to use it. Encourage them to experiment with different genres. Suggest books from your classroom library. Plus, after you have students interested in the material, be sure you give them time to read. I love First Chapter Friday, but many teachers find students drowsy on Fridays. Experiment with what works for you and your community of readers. Implement a reading day.įirst Chapter Friday, Book Talk Tuesday, Motivational Monday: I’ve seen lots of of fun reading activities centered showing the beauty of reading. Finally, students should have mentor texts to build confidence as they work on their writing.

Then, I asks students to evaluate the language. (Books? We normally switch and exchange books so that everyone can read a few.) Older students are sometimes amazed to realize the powerful language in books for such young audiences! Then, I provide students with one pagers for them to explore the language in their book. As an extension activity to any creative endeavor, I will ask students to grab a picture book. I purposefully have included picture books in my classroom library, and I have found that they are wonderful mentor tools for creative writing students. The more students familiarize themselves with the content of your library, the more students will read. Don’t be afraid to put a book on each student’s desk and ask them to look for dialogue, examples of setting, or interesting language. Use books as a writing springboard.Ĭall books inspiration or mentor texts, but all of those classroom library books can help young writers. My best ideas for classroom library come from simply putting books into my students’ hands. You can read the conversation with teachers sharing varying options on Instagram. We had loads of fun with this introduction to historical fiction books. Students researched the book’s time period and the author, and then they made graphics in Canva. This activity was a fun mini-research project. Still, I think that the additional discussion and perspective helped students understand magical realism.Īnother time, I wrapped historical fiction books and organized them chronologically. I discussed the authors and books, and one student did read One Hundred Years of Solitude as a result. My discussion probably involved a “book talk,” but it was very informal. I brought up a pile of Neil Gaiman and Gabriel Garcia Márquez books too. Not that long ago, I introduced Kafka and magical realism to students. Whenever you introduce a topic, showcase books that are related to the topic. Of all my classroom library ideas, this one is probably the simplest. The best c lassroom library displays are the ones where students interact with the books. Encourage students to grab a book from the changing displays. Of course, show off colors of books, an author, a genre, or covers as well.

Books on the shelves and never in students’ hands? We can brainstorm some classroom library ideas that won’t add extra time to your busy days.Īt the heart of all classroom library ideas is engagement-books with students. Still, you must encourage students to interact with the books. You might even have beautiful c lassroom library displays! Those books can look pretty and be well organized. The following classroom library ideas will encourage engagement with your books and build a community of readers.Īs a high school ELA teacher, you can have a classroom library-hundreds of books.
