Guest Blogger: Classroom Library Organization Tips

Hello! I'm Ashley  from The Teacher's Treasure Chest! My sweet friend Michelle is enjoying her family time and so I get to share a few little tips with you today about my classroom library!

 I have a huge problem that I have to admit to y'all! I'm a HUGE book HOARDER! Other teachers in my building often come to my classroom for books before the school library!

(Please note, these pictures were taken in the middle of my labeling process)

I'm very blessed, because my teaching mentor shipped this system to me pretty much 100% complete. I just had to add a few additional labels and I was good to go. She also sent me so many of her own books and I'm forever grateful for her kindness!! I wish she had a blog so I could credit this idea to her, but she doesn't. Sad face! She sent me a binder and the stickers to label my books! 

Here is a view from inside the binder...

Each series has a corresponding sticker. One sticker goes on the book, and another sticker goes on the  book basket label. This way, the students can match the stickers together to verify that they are putting the books back in the right place. I know this seems like a lot of work, and it is! However, after using this system, I have had about a 85% decrease in lost, misplaced and damaged books. The students see the system and understand that I take a lot of pride in my literature selection. 

Labels inside the binder. Like I said, this wasn't my system, so I don't have ALL of the labels yet. You can click here  to grab some of the labels  I do have. I am updating these so the file will continue to grow and updated!! 

Each book gets a label inside the cover. This identifies the book as my personal property. Each book series has it's own label. You can edit these to add your name. The labels print on AVERY 5160 templates! 

My next step is to label the back of each book with the sticker that corresponds to the series. All students have to do, is check the back of the book to be sure it matches with the sticker found on the book basket label. 

I sort my library by book series and theme. I also have a small area in my library that I'm adding leveled books to. I do this because I want my students to have a genuine love for reading and the option to "browse" a book even if they cannot read it. Students should love to read, and having high interest books available will help that. 

We also have our separate leveled books so that each student has a collection of books in their independent reading level. 

This picture was taken before I added the stickers to the book baskets. I keep the leveled readers close to my guided reading area so the students can browse the boxes after our reading groups. The leveled labels are labeled by Founts and Pinnell Guided Reading levels and are printed on Astrobrights Fireball Fuchsia paper! 

I'm so glad I a chance to stop by today! You can find more tips and freebies over at my blog, The Teacher's Treasure Chest!!!