One of my favorite rituals for a new school year is preparing my classroom library. I love selecting new books, organizing the space, and thinking about what my new students will like best. But what will this year bring?
A lot of questions, that's what! I've been thinking about these questions for the last few weeks (much to the annoyance of my family, especially on a beach vacation!) While I don't have definitive answers, I hope that my thought processes may be helpful to others who are dealing with these same issues.
What about the classroom library space?
Usually I devote about 20 square feet of my classroom to the classroom library. This year, I can't afford that space. With trying to maintain 3 feet between 24 students, I need to use the physical location of the classroom library for student seating.
And this is fine, because the usual social activities of the classroom library (browsing, chatting, sitting on soft furniture) are not safe right now. Better to not even introduce the classroom library than to put strict limits on how it can be used.
This is one time when moving classrooms is going to help me! My books are already packed (and half are at my house), so it won't be hard for me to adjust my space. If I had carpets and soft furniture in my classroom library, I would probably bring them home or put them into storage for the year.
Where will books go?
In my classroom....I'm not sure yet. New classroom, right? I'll have the books on the shelves (where else could they go?), but I may cover the shelves with tablecloths as we do during standardized testing to help reinforce the idea that kids can't be taking and replacing books at will. (Sad but necessary!) I will be pulling the most popular, best books to prepare to hand out to students.
How can I help kids to select books?
When everyone needs books at once, it's always been easier to get the decentralize the books. Usually, I pull out my top 100 books into bins for the first two weeks of the year. Then, I put one bin at each table to allow for easy student browsing. My goal is to get every kid into a book within the first two days of school, and I'm usually successful!
This method won't work for the 2020 school year! Once a book is touched by a student, I will have to set it aside for at least a week (see guidance here). This means that I'll have to use other methods for students to sample books. I'm going to have to be more firm with keeping a lid on the "flitting" habits that students have early in the school year. Once a student selects a book, that book will be out of circulation for at least two weeks (one week to read, one week for quarantine)...so I need to help students make thoughtful choices instead of just grabbing a book at random.
Book trailers: Trailers are highly effective and motivating for students! I'm already starting a
First chapter reads: For books that don't have strong trailers, reading a portion or a section aloud can help to build student interest. I'm going to count on the document camera to help me out here! This is especially useful to help readers gauge the difficulty of a book.
Book survey: This Google Form (Book Survey) can help you to collect information about student preferences.
What should I do with returned books?
Ugh. This is the hardest question of all, isn't it? Right now, I'm thinking about going with a one-week quarantine for books and using a two crate system. In the first week, I'll have one return bin out; at the end of the week, I'll put it aside (or probably cover it) and pull out the second bin. Once that week is over, I'll replace the books from the first week and put aside the second bin. (This might change if I get different guidance from the school or state guiding me toward a longer quarantine period for materials.)
I always spend time working on library management at the start of the school year. This year, I'll have to add directions about how to return books safely and why students shouldn't share books. It will be an adjustment, as will everything this year!
Shouldn't we be worried about bigger issues?
Yes! There are so many issues surrounding the restarting of school. I'm so anxious, all the time! However, making plans helps me to soften the anxiety and focus on what I can control.
Getting books into the hands of kids has always been one of my main goals. This year, I have to expand my thinking to plan how to do this safely. What changes will you be making to your classroom library?
