I was fortunate enough to receive all the books the former 2nd grade teacher had... I need to sort through them then organize. How are some of your libraries set up? I want to separate them, but do you do it by subject (i.e. bears?) Genre (nonfiction?)...HELP!
Does your school do AR/SRI tests? You might want to group them by level. I did a LTS where a teacher did that but then had her nicer books used for instruction seperated into groups by how she used them: holiday, books for writing, math, science, etc.
I also sort mine in baskets like tracegal... I have many nonfiction groups such as important people, ocean life, dinosaurs, insects, etc. I did have a large group of books that really didn't belong in any group so they are on the "homeless" shelf. For random chapter books that didn't belong in a group or series, I have about 4 baskets that just say "chapter books". It took me a long time to get them all sorted at the end of last school year but I am hoping it makes it easier for students and myself to find books.
I do something similar. I group the books by type of book (snakes and spiders, animals, solar system, Junie B. Jones, Horrible Harry, etc.). Then I give each basket a number. On the back of each book I put a small white sticker (super cheap at any office store) and I write the number of the basket it belongs to. It makes it super easy for the kids to put them away in the right place. The only downfall is that they aren't leveled, but last year my second graders each had a favorite topic to read about (they all loved non-fiction) and they just wanted more of the same kind of book. So this lends itself to that. There's a picture of my library on my website: http://teacherweb.com/IL/KanelandMcDole/MrsWicyk/index.html
I do about the same thing as MissHunny and TraceGal. I use colored dot stickers on the bin and each book so they get back in the right place.
The way that we're supposed to organize our classroom libraries (according to our district) is like this... 1/3 of the library is leveled. 1/3 is divided into genres. 1/3 is divided into "interest" groups... that could been Junie B. Jones, sports books, Arthur, ect.
How is the sorting going, Chevygirl97? I was working on that today in my classroom. I inherited hundreds of books from the teacher who retired. It is a lot of work. I am trying to sort picture books. I am using baskets but they take up more room. Those of you who use baskets, do they get too heavy for the students? I am starting to wonder if it is worth the hassle in the end.
The sorting was disappointing. Most of the books were falling apart and a lot of them were...LIBRARY BOOKS!!!! I was shocked at the pile I have to take to the librarian. I used a system of some loose in between my baskets (from the dollar store, with a handle on the front) so they didn't get too heavy. We shall see how it works come Sept.
I would love a copy of your word document. My library really needs to be redone as well. Can I do an email to you and have you send it back to me? Thanks so much!:wub:
It can only get better Chevy! Mine is a disaster. I have bought 40 baskets to organize them all. It is a pain but I am hoping it will be worth it in the end. Good luck. Oh I had some library books too but I think they were all really old and were discontinued from the library. Maybe that is what happened in your class too? I know a lot of teachers raid the library sales.
How do you want your kids to use your books? I wanted my students to only read books on their instructional level so my library is leveled by guided reading/ar levels. If they are sorted by genre or author or subject, many different reading levels will in one section. Make sure you teach your children how to choose a book at their level. Having a variety of levels will make choosing a book on the correct level take longer, but as a plus, it will let them pick the type of book they want easily.
I organize by genres. I have a large "fantasy" bookshelf, a "realistic fiction" bookshelf, and a "miscellaneous" (poetry, folktales, concept books) bookshelf. These are organized alphabetically by author's last name. I also have a reference bookshelf, where alike books are grouped and a chapter book bookshelf. The alphabetical concept doesn't work well with nonfiction, so most of those books are in book baskets, with some on a bookshelf. At the end of the day, one of the "services" students do is to straighten up the bookshelves. All books are labeled with my name (using a return address labeled typed on the computer) and have a small colored circle sticker indicating where the book goes. If a book is Accelerated Reader, that is indicated with an orange sticker with the reading level written on the sticker. I also cover all the new books with clear contact paper to prolong their life - well, actually I get some willing parents to do that at home after I sticker them (I provide the contact paper).
