How I Organize My Classroom Library

When you are setting up your classroom library, you want to make sure that it is both organized and enticing to your students.  The main goal of a classroom library is to grow readers after all!  Here are a few of the things that I have done to organize my classroom library.

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.  

No Checkout System

I tried a few different systems from paper based to apps on my phone, but I ultimately abandoned them all. Students can grab any book they like, as long as they promise to return it.  I even allow students from other classes to borrow books.  You should see the looks on their faces when I tell them that!



Return Your Books Here Bin

I used to allow my students to reshelf their own books, but no matter how I labeled them, or how often I REMINDED them, they never seemed to get the books back to the right places.  I started a new system at the end of last school year that I will continue this year.  I made a "Return Your Books Here" bin where the students return their books (just like a regular library).  I then spend a few minutes each day returning the books to their proper places.  It has saved  a lot of time looking for books for students who only want to read a particular author, or who left their book out and someone else put it away who knows where.  Now my books are all in the right place.

No Levels

Levels are for books - not readers.  I use bins that are labeled by author or category.  Sometimes my students suggest categories (such as mystery, funny guy books, or princess books) as our collection grows.

Book Labels

Since my books are floating around the school, I need a way to insure that they come back.  I use labels from Scholastic book orders and some I have printed on my own.  This year I am thinking of purchasing a stamp from Vistaprint.

Picture Books

Because I teach upper elementary, most of my books are chapter books, but I also have a variety of picture books.  I encourage all of my students to check these out, not just my lower readers.  Even adults love picture books!  I don't separate these by author because, frankly, that would be too much work, and I just don't have enough space. 

This is what happens when I let students put books away! LOL!

I do have labels on these books for AR.  I do this for two reasons:

1. As a scaffold for my lower readers who struggle to find good fit books.

2. To show that some picture books have higher reading levels and ARE good fit books for some of my higher readers.

 I like to get to know my students as well as I can in order to decide what books they might be interested in.  I have uploaded the form I use as a freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers here.

Download Freebie Here

**This giveaway has ended.  Please head over to our Teacher Giveaway page to enter our current giveaways.

 

 

I am so excited to be linking up with a few of my upper elementary teaching blog friends for our Upper Elementary Back To School Blog Hop!  We will be sharing our back to school tips, along with freebies, and a great giveaway!

Now head on over to Kayla's blog, Coach and Teach to get her tip and freebie!

Learn Like a Pirate Book Study - Empowerment

Welcome , to our book study of Paul Solarz's book, Learn Like a Pirate hosted by The Primary Gal.

 

Today I am sharing my thoughts about chapter 8, Empowerment.

 

While the entire book really focuses on empowering your students to lead the class, Solarz says that he wanted to focus an entire chapter on the subject of empowerment because he believes that it must be the teacher's top priority.

Getting Passionate About Learning

Solarz says that Passion Time is one of his favorite times of the week.  I have heard about Passion Time on Twitter, but I haven't fully been able to understand the process.  I was glad that he chose to address this in this chapter. Passion Time is basically a dedicated amount of time set aside each week for students to pursue their on interests.

It isn't just a free for all time, as Paul explains the structure that he uses in his classroom.  I found this to be very helpful, and am looking forward to adding a bit of Passion Time to our class this year!

Empower Creativity With Maker Spaces

Again, Paul addresses another Twitter buzz word that I have not been able to quite wrap my brain around - maker spaces.  He has set up an after school club to empower kids to make, create, design, and build.

I am not sure about an after school club for my school, but I do like the idea of having a space where kids can have access to materials.  I had a few students this last year who loved to make things.  They would get a kick out of this for sure!

Create a Safe Learning Environment

I think that as teachers, we would all like to think that we create a safe learning environment for our students. Solarz takes this a step further by telling his students at the beginning of the year that he may have days when he is crabby, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't like them anymore.  He even role plays with them how to handle when he is frustrated with them.  He believes that children tend to blame themselves when adults are upset, and it is better to help them work through this.

Empowerment = Enjoyment = Motivation = Effort = Achievement

Paul Solarz says that when teachers empower students, the result is a higher enjoyment of learning which increases both motivation and effort, thereby increasing achievement.

A few sentences that really stood out to me from this section were:

"All children need to know they are cared for and that they have talent.  Empowerment comes from feeling qualified and capable."

"Children nee to hear that they are doing well! Do your students feel successful on a regular basis or are they hearing only how they need to improve?"

I have loved reading this book, and plan on going back through it as I set up my classroom this year.  Have you read the book?  What changes will you be making to your instruction?

If you would like to see my thoughts from other chapters, check them out below:

Chapter 1 - What is a Student-Led Classroom?

Chapter 2 - Common Concerns About Student Led Classrooms.

Chapter 3 - Peer Collaboration 

Chapter 4 - Improvement Focus Vs. Grade Focus 

Chapter 5 - Responsibility

 

Chapter 6 - Active Learning

 

Chapter 7 - 21st Century Skills

 

Want to hear what some other bloggers are thinking about this chapter?  Stop by and visit the blogs below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Learn Like a Pirate - Twenty-First Century Skills

Welcome , to our book study of Paul Solarz's book, Learn Like a Pirate hosted by The Primary Gal.

Today I am sharing my thoughts about chapter 7, Twenty-First Century Skills.

For most of his teaching career, Paul felt that teaching content standards was the most important part of his job.  I know that I often feel the same way, particularly with Common Core.  He knew that something needed to change in order for his students to develop skills they could use later on in life.  He wanted to instill in them the ability to transfer their learning to new situations so they could be successful outside of the classroom.  AND... he wanted his students to actually look forward to coming to school.

He set out to identify the skills that businesses wished recent college graduates had learned before hiring them.  He also looked for the skills that colleges were asking high schools to focus on more.  He ended up with a list of 34 skills in eleven categories:

• communication and collaboration
• creativity and innovation
• critical thinking and problem solving
• reflection and awareness
• flexibility and adaptability
• initiative and self-direction
• social and cross-cultural skills
• productivity and accountability
• leadership and responsibility
• information literacy
• media literacy

Forget college and beyond, those are skills I want to see in my own students now!

Infusing Twenty-First Century Skills Into Instruction

Paul says that when teachers give their students individualized feedback using twenty-first century skills as the method of delivering content, students develop actions and behaviors that are more transferable to the real world.  This intrigues me because transfer is often a struggle for some students.  You know the ones who get all the answers correct during an assignment, but fail the test if the questions are worded differently.

The Importance of Reflection

Paul says that one of the most important skills his students work on is reflection.  I know my teaching is better when I reflect on what I have done, wouldn't that be just as useful for my students?

Solarz gives several examples of how he encourages and develops twenty-first century skills in his students including ways to make math more meaningful.  He talks about providing students individualized feedback each day.  He also tells how he used student partnership to have students teach each other. 

Takeaways:

• I want to implement math partnerships this year.
• I love the idea of integrating twenty-first century skills along with content standards (still thinking about what this will look like in my classroom)
• I want to introduce goal setting to my students

I would love to hear your comments about twenty-first century skills!  What ways do you incorporate them into your lessons?

If you would like to see my thoughts from other chapters, check them out below:

Chapter 1 - What is a Student-Led Classroom?

Chapter 2 - Common Concerns About Student Led Classrooms.

Chapter 3 - Peer Collaboration 

Chapter 4 - Improvement Focus Vs. Grade Focus 

Chapter 5 - Responsibility

Chapter 6 - Active Learning

Chapter 7 - 21st Century Skills

Chapter 8 -  Empowerment

Follow along with the other bloggers who are participating in this book study!

It's always great to hear another perspective!  Check out more posts from my bloggy friends below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Viva Las Vegas! A TPT Conference Linky Party

Last week I had the opportunity to go for a second year to the TpT Conference for Teachers Pay Teachers Sellers in Las Vegas.  The conference was a great way not only to learn more about Teachers Pay Teachers, but also to meet other teacher bloggers and product creators, and to glean inspiration from those who are doing great things. While I was in Vegas, I also attended the SDE conference on Differentiation.

I flew into Vegas Monday afternoon full of anticipation.

We stayed at the same hotel as we did last year, the Venetian.  If you ever go to Vegas, you have to check it out.  It is beautiful!  Here is a picture of the lobby.

This is the canal that is inside the shops and stores area in the Venetian.

On the way to registering for the SDE conference, look who I found!  Amy and the gals from TpT!  We took a selfie on the escalator, and luckily no one fell off!

The Differentiation Conference started Tuesday morning.

I was able to see some amazing speakers and sessions and learned so much!  I can't wait to try them out in my classroom, and of course share them with you!

One of my favorite presenters was Kathy Perez.  She was (in her own words) a hot chili pepper, and was she full of energy! Perfect for an after lunch session.

I also loved learning math games with Boxcars and One-Eyed Jacks.


After the SDE conference, and right before the TpT conference, I attended two meet-ups with other sellers. The first one was dinner with The Cool Kids meet-up.

I sat next to my friend, Karen, from Planet Happy Smiles.

After dinner we headed over to the Blogger Meet-up hosted by Blog Hoppin'.  While standing in line, I got to meet Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade!  I love participating in Currently every month, and I loved getting to meet the lady behind the blog.  She was super sweet!

At the meet-up my roomie, Kathleen of A+ Kids and I took a fun photo with a few other friends thanks to GoNoodle.

The next day was time for meet and greet before the TpT conference.  I was able to meet many third and fourth grade teachers as well as Chandra from Powerpoint Gaming.  She has donated to several of my giveaway this pas year, so I was excited to meet her in person.  If you haven't checked out her store before, you definitely need to because she has some amazing games.

I was able to take a picture with another one of my favorites, Deanna Jump.

I also got to meet Julie in person.  She blogs at Third is the Word, and we have collaborated a few times for Instagram Loops.

I did a little shopping in between sessions.  Shopping for a teacher looks a little like this:

I ended the conference the same way I did last year with a photo booth picture with Nancy from The Apple Basket Teacher.

It was an absolutely fantastic week, and I am exhausted!  The CEO of TpT said it was like summer camp for grown-ups and it really was!  I will share more later, but now I must head to bed as I have a full week of Reading Workshop Training with some staff members from TCRWP.





Did you attend the TpT Conference?  What did you find inspiring?  What are you going to do this year with that information?



Did you like this post?  Well, if I may be so bold, I have some other posts about the 2014 TpT Conference that you might enjoy!

1. Notes from Jen Jones' Session - Hello Buyers! Provide Top Notch Customer Care For Your Buyers
2. Notes from Rachel Lynette's Session - Build Your Magnet Marketing Plan

And, if you would like to read even more about THIS year's conference, check out other blog posts from other bloggers who attended here.



Learn Like A Pirate - Active Learning

Welcome , to our book study of Paul Solarz's book, Learn Like a Pirate hosted by The Primary Gal.



 Today I am sharing my thoughts about chapter 6, Active Learning.

Students learn best by doing, and this is fortunate according to Paul Solarz because this learning method is fun for both students AND teachers.

In this chapter, he describes several specific ways that he creates active learning opportunities for his students.

Simulations

In a simulation, the students (and the teacher) take on personas and work toward learning goals.  Paul provides three different activities he has used in his own classroom.  While his lessons won't fit my level this year, it has me thinking about ways I might incorporate it into the lessons and themes that we do have.

Developing Deeper Understanding With Debates

Paul says that debates can be a fun way to get students researching, planning, and speaking in front of others.  This is definitely something that I will be implementing this year.

In this section he discusses the process he uses to teach his students about debates.  He talks about giving overlapping assignments.  His students are divided into groups to complete their tasks, and Paul conducts mini-lessons for the whole class.  Rather than waiting for all of the groups to finish each section of the project, he introduces the next task to everyone as a whole group when the first group is finished.  That way the fast finishers don't have to sit around waiting for others before they move on.  Other groups are then able to move on to the next task as they finish because they already know what to do.  I love this idea!  It seems like it would really pick up the pace of student work, because they won't want to be left behind.  They will realize it isn't a chance to waste time!

Getting Fascinated With Fairs

Solarz suggests rather than assigning science fair projects to do as homework, teachers should instead have the entire project be done in school.  Due to a lack of participation by students in prior years, I did just that this last year and it was amazing!

If science fairs aren't your thing, he suggests using other types of fairs such as history fairs or genius hour fairs.  I have seen some biography projects like this one:

Discover the Power of Project-Based Learning

Paul Solarz says that "creating projects that focus students' attention on content in exciting ways, providing them with choice, and allowing them to explore their interests are more effective teaching methods than lecturing or reading from a text book."

Turning Up the Fun With Technology

While Solarz doesn't advocate using technology for novelty, he does say that it is a great way to turn passive learning into active learning.

Role Playing With Reader's Theater

I have used some Reader's Theater in my class as a way to increase oral reading fluency.  Every time, my class has a ball with it!  Reading this section makes me wonder, why don't I use it more often??

I would love to hear your comments about active learning!  What ways do you incorporate active learning into you lessons?

If you would like to see my thoughts from other chapters, check them out below:

Chapter 1 - What is a Student-Led Classroom?

Chapter 2 - Common Concerns About Student Led Classrooms.

Chapter 3 - Peer Collaboration 

Chapter 4 - Improvement Focus Vs. Grade Focus 

Chapter 5 - Responsibility

Chapter 6 - Active Learning

Chapter 7 - 21st Century Skills

Chapter 8 - Empowerment

Follow along with the other bloggers who are participating in this book study!

An InLinkz Link-up