Transitional Chapter Books and Classroom Libraries

This week we read transitional chapter books. We had a choice between:

· Lola Levine is Not Mean by Monica Brown

· The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

· The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin

After much debate, I decided to read one of the two I had not heard anything about. I found that Lola Levine… had more than one book, and it intrigued me. I remember reading many of the Junie B. Jones and Amelia Bedelia books as a young child, and I loved being able to read many books about the same girl. Not only were they stories that I loved, but it also built my confidence because I was able to read chapter books in a series! Having an older brother who was reading longer series books, I remember thinking I was going to catch up to him.

Lola Levine is Not Mean by Monica Brown, illustrated by Angela Dominguez is the story of a second grade girl, Lola, and her challenges against bullying at her school. Lola loves to play soccer, and wants a cat more than anything. When an accident occurs on the playground at school, Lola learns that she sometimes needs to soften her competitive side. The story not only is interested for young children, but also teaches an important lesson.

I would love to introduce the students to Lola Levine through a read aloud of one of her books, and then have the rest of the books available for my students to read on their own in my classroom library.

Speaking of my classroom library, I would like to share with you how I plan to organize it when I move into my classroom this fall. There are a few ways in which I plan to organize

1. Genre and Famous Authors

We read many webpages defending the use of genre and authors rather than student reading levels this week. However, while the articles defend this idea, I had planned on this type of classroom library well before reading those articles. During my student teaching experience, my cooperating teacher used this type of organization system to shelve her books. Being that it was 5th grade, I thought it was a good idea because students would be able to easily determine if a book was too easy or too hard for them on their own. However, I now realize that even younger students will realize if a book is too challenging. Earlier in the semester I read an article that introduced the idea of the “five finger rule” and thought it was a really good way for students to help self-assess if a book was right for them. However, The Nerdy Book Club website (https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2017/10/15/on-the-level-by-donalyn-miller/) states, “When I go to Barnes & Noble, I do not see adult readers looking for the blue dots or using the Five Finger Rule to find books to read. The goal of all teaching is independence.” Therefore, while it is a strategy I may use with young students in the first or second grade, I will begin to wean them off of their reliance on that strategy. Eventually, students will begin to realize a text feels too challenging for them within the first few pages. All of this to say that I will use genres and famous authors/ series to label the baskets within my classroom.

While I would love to come up with a specific list of basket titles, I have no idea what grade level I will be teaching, so I will have to come up with titles as soon as I know and begin collecting books.

2. Visual

The Reading Rockets website (http://www.readingrockets.org/article/creating-classroom-library) made a point that I have not considered before. While, again, my cooperating teacher has her books in baskets with the covers facing out toward the classroom, I had not considered the benefits of this. Students are more likely to choose a book when they can see the cover, than when they can only see the binding of the book. This is true for myself, also. As the Reading Rockets article discussed, even adults are more drawn to the books that are on the endcaps at the bookstore, where everyone who walks by sees them. We can see the title as well as the cover, and it gives us more interest in learning more about the books.

3. Space within the Classroom

I envision the reading space in my classroom being in a corner, but in the corner that is the closest to the students’ desks. I want the books facing out toward the classroom, not a bookshelf being used to make a closed off area, because I want students to still be able to see the books from across the room. The library being in the corner is simply because I feel that corners can be made into more cozy areas. I hope to have cool chairs (such as my papasan chair that I had in my apartment) and pillows that students can sit on, lean against the wall on, etc. Making the reading nook as cozy and inviting as possible, regardless of the age group I teach, is one of my biggest priorities when setting up my classroom.

4. Marking and Cataloging the books

I will be sending books home with my students! I believe that students need to have access to books wherever they are, and I can only ensure that my students do have access to books if they take them from my classroom or the school library. Therefore, because I am required to provide all of my own books and I want to ensure they are returned to me, I will be writing my name (Mrs. Speer) on each and every book, both inside the book, and on the front cover in a place that does not cover any crucial pictures, the title, or the author and illustrator’s names.

I also love the idea of cataloging my books through a system like LibraryThing which is a service in which you can cataloge all of the books that you already have, as well as find new, interesting titles. The membership is free up to 200 items, but since I hope to have more than that, it is $10 a year or $25 for LIFE! I will be doing a trial, and then hopefully enjoying it enough to pay $25 to use it for a lifetime.

5. Labeling books to help with organization

Especially if I teach younger students, I will use colored dots and numbers to help students remember which basket the book needs to be returned to. This will be helpful for me and my students collectively. I also plan to have classroom jobs that alternate. One of the jobs will be the classroom librarian. Students will all be trained on how to use the library, so that when they are the librarian, they will be prepared.

6. Checking Out Books

Students will be asked to sign books out used a sign-out log on a clipboard. The log will include the date the book was checked out, the title of the book, the author of the book, the basket it came from, and a “signature” line in which students will sign in agreement to return the book in good condition. This will help me to keep up with where each book is and how long it has been checked out.

7. Mistreatment of books

I will be purchasing all of the books I possibly can for my classroom, so there will be a punishment for mistreating the books. For students who misplace a book, tear a page or the cover of a book, or spill something other than water on the book, they will be given a warning. I believe that books are far too important to take them away immediately. However, if the student continues to mistreat books, they will have to only use the school library, and not my library, for a period of 1 week. If the student, again, mistreats books, the punishment will be 2 weeks of no use, and so on. While it is hard for me to even consider taking book privileges away, I hope this will help students remember to care for the books so others may use the books in the future.