Classroom Libraries

When I had my first classroom, I was so excited to start gathering books and setting up my classroom library. Although it was small, it was my student's favorite place to go. These were all books organized by genre and subject. My kindergarteners and first graders were allowed to check out books freely and had access to the library for free read time. At the beginning of my teaching career, I would take any donated book I could get my hands and my kids didn't care. They loved seeing our library grow throughout the year. I also had a reading bathtub (an old donated vintage tub) filled with pillows and stuffed animals that students could read their books in. This was a HUGE hit!

Fast forward to my previous school year...I was the teacher who ran out of bookshelf space to hold all of my books! My library has grown (thanks to the help of Scholastic and parent donations) and has its own leveled inventory database. My second grade students were very involved in the organization of their classroom library because their reading time followed the readers' workshop curriculum. In a workshop approach, the library is a much more integral part of the classroom since students are checking out 5-8 books each week in their book bags. It's important that books are leveled appropriately and quality stories. In my previous classroom, I had plenty of pillows and bean bags for students to get comfy with. I created a reading nook in my room with a comfy rug and pillows that made for an inviting environment.  

A classroom library should have a good balance of fiction and nonfiction texts. I think it's a good idea to have books leveled, but also have books organized by subject. If I know a student loves sports, I know quickly where to send them. I also recommend having a basket of mentor texts and tradebooks that students can reference after teacher's have read them aloud. Anytime I update my "Mrs. Samet's favorites" basket, the kids come running. I also include a class "librarian" as one of my jobs. This makes the students responsible for their books and makes sure that all books are accounted for. The students check out their books through an online iPad app and they think this is so fun. The last thing I do in my room that gets students excited about reading is my "books I recommend" basket. After a student reads a book that they love and want to share with others, they write a recommendation and put it inside the book. Then, those books all go on display for others to see and check out themselves. This is a great way to get students excited about the books they read.

Overall, if you involve students in the library and create an organized, inviting space, it will be used well. If you just put books on shelves, it may not be user-friendly and students won't take them as easily. Books should be accessible and include a wide-variety of subjects. Since I taught every subject, I had different baskets of math books, social studies books, and science books. If we want our students to love reading, we need to create classroom libraries that bring them to the books. After all, what good is having books in your classroom if no one reads them?!

Reader's Theater in the Classroom

Reader's Theater is an excellent strategy to use in the classroom and applies to any grade level. I can see myself using this in an elementary classroom as well as in high school English classrooms. Reader's Theater is simply readers reading a script adapted from any piece of text (story or chapter books work well). This approach is great for developing fluency, engaging students through cooperative learning, and provides a great way to integrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It's also fun for students and provides a deeper way to comprehend the text being studied.

Ideally, I would use this in different reading units and have different groups perform different stories. For example, in an elementary classroom, I would have students practice and perform different folk tales during that unit. At a middle or high school level, I would have student groups perform chapters of their book depending on the unit of study. If I were to apply this strategy to a social issues novel study where each student was involved in various book clubs, I would have students pick the most important scene to perform. Students would take on the roles of analyzing the characters and performing for their peers. This would serve as an after reading strategy. If a teacher wanted to set the scene and provide some prior knowledge before launching a reading unit, another approach would be to provide scripts in advance. I believe it provides a bigger challenge for students to create their own scripts using the character quotes and actions pulled straight from the text. If students also know what is expected of them during reading, this will keep them more engaged and active in the reading process.

I think this is a different approach to reading and makes the classroom interactive and fun. I am always striving to make my students feel like they are in charge of their learning and this learning strategy allows for that to happen.

Biopoem

In today's class, we practiced writing biopoems about a character within a story. Biopoems allow students to reflect large amounts of material within a poetic form and organize, review, and summarize what they have learned in a concise, creative manner. I figured I'd try this strategy myself and write my own personal biopoem.

Stacy

Wife, daughter, friend, and mother-to-be

Relative of her loving husband Zach

Lover of teaching, cooking, and family

Who feels excited, hopeful, and anticipation for the future

Who needs nothing but more time in the day with family and friends

Who fears failure, complacency, and rejection

Who gives love, time, and a listening ear to all who need

Who would like to see happiness and harmony in the world

Resident of Houston, Texas

Samet

My Reading Life

My passion is to help my students find books that hook them and foster a love of reading. It is ultimately why I chose my graduate school path in reading instruction. When I reflect on my reading life, I know I don’t always practice what I preach. As much as I love reading, I still struggle with the balance. I find that I don’t devote enough time to reading for pleasure as I always intend to. I am currently working on fixing these habits because I know things will only get put on the back burner more when my baby arrives.

Growing up, I was a good student and took my studies seriously. I enjoyed challenging classes and took many advanced English classes in middle and high school. The book lists for these classes were long and rigorous. I enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that I had read so many classics and could add them to my reading repertoire. High school and college were definitely the periods in my life where I read the most. Looking back now, I don't think I truly enjoyed that and it definitely wasn't fostering a love of reading. I was and still am a good reader, but I had no drive to read for pleasure.

I believe my life as a reader was put on hold when I started my teaching career. I was always busy and involved in a professional book study with my school, always reading children's books ahead of time to prepare for read aloud instruction, and seemed to never have time to read up on current events or simply read for pleasure. When my friends would ask if I’ve read this book or listened to this podcast I would always feel embarrassed because I never could find the time to do it all.

I am much more aware of this now and know that I want to set a better example for my students and also my own children. I have noticed that the environment which I read is crucial. I can't read in bed if I'm tired and I can't have a lot of background noise. Reading outside is ideal if it's a pretty day outside or reading next to a window where there is natural light. I had never really considered the parameters of where and how I read to matter up until recently. When the conditions are right and distractions are removed, I am a much more successful reader.

My ultimate goal is to find the balance between reading books for graduate school, reading books to enhance my personal and professional career, and also read for pleasure just for the escape.