Preparing Classroom Library for Common Core

Well this is the year that I begin to tackle the Common Core State Standards in my classroom. Like other teachers I am nervous and excited.  These standards are a chance to raise the level of thinking of all students in our country but with all change there is fear too.

This year I will explore and journal my experience implementing the standards into my classroom, fourth grade English Language Arts and Social Studies.  I teach a special population of students that are frequently overlooked when new initiatives are taken on, academically gifted and talented.  I have found few resources on the Common Core and gifted students.  Lucy Calkins books, Pathways to the Common Core, has been a huge help in understanding the standards.

Before the school year was finished for the year I took inventory of my library.  I teach in a school that has so amazingly taken on the finical cause of improving our classroom libraries.  I looked carefully at what I had and what I needed.  It had been quiet sometime since I had examined the library.  I needed many more informational books and literature, including poetry, at a higher Lexile level for my gifted readers.  I teach two classes of roughly 19-21 students.  I wanted to make sure I had at least 5 books for each student, each week. I planned for each students to have a just right book bin with two literature picture books,  two informational picture books, and one chapter book.

I then reorganized my book bins. Originally, I had my chapter books divided by Lexile and picture books divided by genre.  I continued to keep a separate literature and informational library that are near each other but have different carpeted areas and colored baskets. Now, all books are labeled with Lexile but are organized in book baskets by topic and genre; this should increase the ease with which my students choose books and increase motivation to read. What adult chooses a book based on the reading level?

I made new tags and printed some book tags from Beth Newingham's website (http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/).  Before my student left for the summer I had them help me with ideas for book baskets.  Wow, were they helpful. They helped me to create author sets and genres they would like to find more easily.  We also discovered some more books we would like to add to the library. I will start next school year off by asking that group of students for some ideas for the library.  I want to make it theirs and reflect the reading personalities of each group of students.

Taking stock and adding to my classroom library will be essential in increasing the amount and time students spend reading complex text.  This key component is mentioned many times in Lucy Calkins book, Pathways to the Common Core, and the Common Core documents, www.corestandards.org/

Example of book labels from Beth Newingham's website