More Great Ideas

Another great idea came from this blogger. To help first graders get in the reading mode, she is taking photocopies of the covers of all the books she reads to them as a group (and has multiple copies of each book in the class library) and hanging the pictures up so that the kids can identify which book it was that they remember and want to try to read on their own. I really loved this idea because children are so visual. They are much more likely to make the connection that “hey, that is that book the teacher read that I like” and then pick up the book themselves.
I also think that this concept can grow with students into a visual card catalogue. The photo copies of the covers can be stored in a binder by author and then have a simple color and or number coding system on the classroom shelf to help students make a visual connection with identifying books by author and title as they will encounter in the real world- libraries and bookstores. Plus it’s a great way to organize a classroom library and keep an inventory of what books have been collected over the years and which are student favorites. A check out system can also be created. Some organizational methods that can be built from this idea:

• Colored dots can be used to indicate reading level, then secondary to the color dot can be a letter/ number system similar to the dewy decimal system.
• A sign out sheet can be used, possibly a simple paper with columns for the week kept in a child’s work folder. Bingo daubers that match the color codes can be used and the number of the book to indicate what the child is taking home for the week.
• Items checked out can also be interwoven with writing lesson plans- ie, children must write an entry in their journal citing their thoughts on a book taken out that week.

There are a lot of benefits in creating a simplified mock library within the classroom other than just encouraging kids to read. It can also serve as an introduction to library skills and as a platform for writing.
There is also a great opportunity for teachers to collaborate on this so that the skills are built upon each year (of course this may once again be my perfect world in my student mind, do most teachers really even have the opportunity [or in some cases probably open mind would be more likely!] to collaborate?) I read about some schools where the teachers seem to work really well to make the transition from each grade smooth, but I imagine that many schools are also not that collaborative in nature. Hmmm, maybe something to consider when I am looking for a job someday.