Introducing Students to Your Classroom Library

Your classroom library might be overflowing with amazing titles you know your students will love, but how can you help your students understand how your classroom library is organized and begin to find those amazing books?

Below you’ll find the details about three different activities you can use during the first week – or even on the first day of school – so that your students are exposed to the books in your classroom library and can explore how your classroom library is organized.

1. Hold a Book Sort

This is an activity I like to do on my first day of classes with my students because it is hands-on and completely different from what they will be doing in any other class. The first time I did a book sort, I only taught ELA to my homeroom and I only had two bookcases’ worth of books, so I pulled all of the books off the shelves and put them on to students’ tables to sort out. Now I teach three sections of ELA and have many more bookcases, so we can’t get quite as messy.

One of the things we sorted out that first year was books that were too young, too mature, in disrepair, or outdated. If you’re looking for resources to help with weeding, here is a checklist to support your efforts. I had just moved into a new classroom and had inherited the books that were in the room. Instead of doing the work of weeding those bookshelves myself, I had students help me. 

Once we set aside the books we didn’t plan to put back on the shelves, I introduced the 10 genres I hoped to organize our books into: historical fiction, realistic fiction, nonfiction, humor, romance, mysteries & thrillers, action & adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and dystopia. The students and I discussed the genres they could define and reviewed the ones they were less certain about. Then the real sorting began. Students sorted the books at the tables into the ten genres. I floated around the room, ready to jump in to help settle debates about which genre a book belonged to. This activity allowed my students to lay eyes on many of the books in our classroom library and involved them in the responsibility of organizing our classroom library.

I still like to do this activity on day one, but now that I teach ELA to more students and have more books, I do it a little differently. I pull stacks of books from the different genres in our classroom library and place them out on students’ desk groups with the corresponding genre sign on top of each stacks. I still have the same 10 genres, so there ends up being 10 stacks spread out around the room. Then I place a book on each student’s desk. These books don’t necessarily match the genre at their group of desks, but are books students liked last year or one I’ve read and think students will enjoy. I try to also select books that I don’t think students will have read or had a lot of exposure to before, so no Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Baby-Sitters Club, or Rick Riordan.

After a discussion of the genres in our classroom library, each student examines the book on their desk and then moves around the room to place the book in the appropriate genre stack. I do a quick check of this once students are back in their seats and address any misplacements.

2. Facilitate Book Speed Dating  

A perfect follow-up to a book sort is book speed dating because you already have books out for students. After students have successfully sorted their books, I distribute a handout to go along with our book speed dating activity. On this handout, students list the title and author of each book they “date.” They rate the cover and explain what they liked or disliked. After opening the book up and reading a few pages, students record their final reaction. Finally, in answer to the question of whether they would want to go on a second “date,” students circle “love it,” “maybe,” or “nope.” Click here to download your own worksheet.

Students’ first date takes place at the group of desks at which they are currently seated with the genre of books that is placed there. After a few minutes, I’ll indicate that it is time to move on to another date. I play instrumental music as students take their handout and find a seat at a new group of desks with a new genre. For the first few rounds, I ask that students move to a different genre, but for the last round or two I will allow them to return to a genre of preference to look through more books there.

At the end of our book speed dating, I ask students to circle the title of the book they are most interested in. I set those books aside and put a post-it note on the cover with the name of the student(s) interested in it. While more than one student in the same class period may be interested (I work through that issue in a later class), this avoids students in multiple class periods selecting the same book.

3. Identify Likes and Dislikes with Genre Circles

Another way I help students become more familiar with the different genres in my classroom is through genre circles. I have a mini poster for each genre labeled with the name and a definition alongside three concentric circles: love it, like it, and don’t like it/haven’t read much. I place these posters out on groups of students’ desks and students rotate around the room adding their name to each genre in the appropriate circle. You could also have out stacks of books to go along with each genre poster so students can see some of the books in your classroom library within that genre. Try this in your classroom!

This is a great community-building activity as students are able to see who has similar reading interests to theirs. Later in the year, you can use these posters to put students into groups and share book recommendations. This activity is also helpful for me to see which genres are most popular with this year’s group of students (I might need to beef up that section) and which genres are less popular (I might need to do book talks or show book trailers of books from that genre to build more interest in it.

Looking for new books to add to your genres? Use Follett Tags on Titlewave®. Using your free Titlewave account, you can search for books by genre and many other criteria. Save books to a list and share those lists with your librarian or administrator to purchase for your school or classroom library. Grab your free Titlewave account today. 

Brynn Allison
English Language Arts Teacher
Green Woods Charter School

After teaching English and delivering literacy interventions at the middle and high school level, Brynn Allison, also known as The Literary Maven, has settled into teaching 6th grade ELA. Her past and present work as an educator has emphasized the need to create a culture of reading in her classroom. You can find her sharing her love of books and teaching on her blog, or connect with her on Instagram where she hosts monthly book giveaways to help teachers build diverse classroom libraries.

Blog link: http://www.theliterarymaven.com/
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/theliterarymaven/

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