Before you start book shopping with your class, there are a few things you’ll need to do and set up in your classroom. If you haven’t set all of these up yet (not to worry), you can do them now.
First, have you assessed your students’ reading levels using running records? You can use data from the end of the year from last year’s teacher as a starting point. Even if you’re using another reading assessment just to get a ballpark, that’s great. This is all you need for now to get started.
Expert Tip: Come back within the first two months of school (or right away with anyone you’re concerned about) to reassess your readers to ensure you’ve matched them with the right books.
Second, have you set up your classroom-leveled library? Does it have a range of levels that reflect the independent reading levels of your students? You’ll need those levels for now. If you don’t have storage space to keep extra books aside, store any books below or above their levels away or on a shelf that says, “Coming Soon!”
Here’s an example of a leveled library- notice how there are several baskets at the same level. This is because many kids will be reading the same levels at the same time.
If your library doesn’t have enough books, work to get more by using Scholastic points, asking parents to help and talking to your administrator.
Some sections that will help:
*The “Book Hospital” is for any worn-out books that need to be taped up.
*The “Help! I Don’t Know Where It Goes!?” basket is to make sure kids don’t just throw the book back in the wrong basket.
And, third, have you used a reading interest inventory to understand what your kids are interested in? What kinds of readers are they? What do they want to read and learn about? This could be something you send home to caretakers to fill out with their kids, or ask kids to tell you in class. If you’ve created identity webs with students, those should also help you decide what kinds of books will interest your kids. Make sure to incorporate books that will affirm your students’ identities. Also, include books about people who are different from them to learn compassion and empathy for others.
If you’ve done these three things, you are definitely ready to get started. Now here are some things you’ll want to think about and set up:
- Choose your book shopping system.
How often will kids shop for books? We recommend once a week like the below picture shows.
Dedicate one group per day to book shop and dedicate one day as a make-up day. For example, on Friday, you could ask, “Did you miss your shopping day?” and anyone absent could go on that day rather than wait another week.
Keep in mind that the goal is for your readers to have enough books to sustain a week of independent reading in your classroom. Emerging readers will do lots of rereading, more sophisticated readers will not.
2. Decide when kids will shop for books.
Will it be first thing in the morning, at the end of the day, or during snack time? We recommend you avoid doing this during independent reading as it distracts other kids.
I once asked my colleague, Shanna Schwartz, who’s still a lead staff developer at TCRWP, why it’s so important teachers have kids do their shopping outside of reading workshop time. Here’s why: Reading workshop should mirror the reading life of an avid reader.
Shanna asked me to picture the most avid reader I know. I pictured my mom. She’s constantly at the library checking out new books. She’s always on the waiting list for whatever new cool book is out and asking for recommendations. Then she said, “So now, if your mom had set aside 30-45 minutes at night to read, would that be the time she’d be running to the library or bookstore to get a book? Or would she already have a stack of books on her nightstand?
“AHHHHHH… that makes so much sense to me!” I replied. So now I share this little tidbit with you. We’re trying to teach kids how to be avid readers. Avid readers wouldn’t be shopping for books when they had set aside time to read. Plus, it will be distracting to others, and some kids will waste that entire reading time just shopping for books rather than reading even for a minute.
3. Teach students how to shop for the right books.
Kids should be reading books that are their independent reading level. They may have a few that are easier as warm-ups or one level up (if you’re transitioning them to the next level or have introduced those books in guided reading).
I don’t recommend giving kids “dessert books,” as I’ve heard them called (which are books above their level that they want to read). My concern is two-fold. First, I love dessert and would love to skip the veggies and go straight to the chocolate chip cookie, but that wouldn’t be healthy for me. And second, if kids are trying to read these books during INDEPENDENT reading time, it seems unlikely they’ll be able to read them independently. When they can’t read the books, I’m concerned — especially for our most developing readers — who need to move up levels and are just browsing the pictures instead of working on building their reading skills and habits.
Perhaps you can find another time where kids can access books that are too challenging. Some schools have a “Loving the Library Time” where you can love any book in the library you want. This could be for just 5 or 10 minutes after lunch. Also, these kids can take the higher-level books home and read them with a parent, caretaker, or friend.
This book baggie goes on the back of a child’s seat and is a great space saver. You can also use little bins from the dollar store or magazine shelves and have kids personalize them with their names and favorite things.
This book baggie goes on the back of a child’s seat and is a great room saver. You can also use little bins from the 99 cent store or even magazine shelves and have kids personalize them with their names and favorite things.
4. Be clear about how many books kids should have in their baggies/bins/shelves. We want students to have enough books to sustain an entire week of reading independently, so think about the amount of time your kids are reading and whether those books are enough. In lower levels — A-G kids will reread a lot, but you don’t want them to have to reread every book on the same day. This will create engagement issues all around. Posting a chart like this is super helpful!
5. Give each reader an index card displaying their book level, how many, and the date.
You can update this as you continue to assess their levels and they move up. This will help you keep track and will also help them make sure they get the right books in their bags.
You can see here that Aveline is transitioning to level D and is getting closer to reading that level independently.
For primary grades, you might even want to try this reading mat. The purpose of this is to get kids reading through their ENTIRE book baggie rather than only reading certain books. This helps with volume AND stamina. Think of it like the writing folders in primary grades- green dot side means “still working on it”, red dot side means “I’m done!” only here you teach them to read all the books and then go back and flip the stack of books to reread them.
Here’s a picture of a third-grade library with both leveled and unleveled books. Look at how inviting and lovely it is for kids to visit. You can imagine kids would have an easy time shopping for books and keeping it organized.
Enjoy this article on book shopping for the classroom? Read these next:
- 4 Simple Routines To Set Your Class Up for the Best Year Ever
- All Teachers Need a Reading Toolkit — Here’s How To Build Yours
- Hands Down Speak Out Book Review
- Setting Up a Writing Center: 8 Basics
- The Problem With Behavior Charts
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