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Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy

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Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy

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Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library by Regie Routman

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Organize an Outstanding Classroom Library by Regie Routman

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There is no better way to encourage classroom reading than to give your students books. We found free books for low-income schools, literacy grants, free ebook databases, and we even offer some of our favorite ideas for finding books on the cheap. We hope this helps you fill the shelves of your classroom library and foster a love of reading in your students.

1. Visit the marketplace at First Book.

If at least 70 percent of the students in your class come from low-income families, check out First Book for your classroom library needs. First Book offers a marketplace where teachers can find new books at 50 to 90 percent off retail prices. Additionally First Book has a National Book Bank offering free books. The only catch is that you pay the shipping of $0.35 to $0.50 per book. First Book has a huge selection with Spanish language titles, music and arts books, global stories, STEM books as well as ordinary fiction and nonfiction.

2. Check out Kids Need to Read.

Kids Need to Read is another program that provides free books and literary resources to schools and libraries. To be eligible for the program your school must serve at least 50% of children living at or below the national poverty line. There is no guarantee of acceptance. However, unlike some programs that only target early readers, Kids Need to Read serves middle readers and young adults as well.

3. Tap into the Reading Resource Project.

The Literacy Empowerment Foundation sponsors the Reading Resource Project, an ongoing program that distributes softcover books to support literacy programs. Reading levels are available for pre-K through second grade. The Reading Resource Project offers book sets in Spanish as well as English in various subjects. Recipients are required to pay shipping and handling of $.78 per book. Team up with other grade level teachers and split the 100-book box among several classrooms!

4. See what the The Library of Congress has to offer.

For teachers in the DC-area or those already planning a trip to our nation's capital, don't miss The Library of Congress surplus books program to stock your classroom library. While the selection of early-level books is limited, the supply is constantly changing. The surplus books can only be received in person. However, you can send an authorized representative for your organization. If you have friends or another teacher planning a trip to the DC area, you could ask them to pick out some books for your classroom.

5. Apply for book grants.

There are also a number of grant opportunities available that provide funding for the purchase of Children's books. Some of these include the National Home Library Foundation, Snapdragon Book Foundation, Build-A-Bear Workshop Bear Hugs Foundation, The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation. Work together with other teachers at your school to write a killer grant and let your classroom libraries reap the benefits.

6. Check out the bargain section.

Amazon has a large selection of children's bargain books. You'll often find titles as low as $1. The selection frequently changes so check back often. Amazon also has a Wish List feature. You can create a list of books you would love to receive for the classroom and share with parents or simply add a link to your email signature. Ask and (maybe) you shall receive! You can also explore other bargain booksellers like: Book Outlet, Thrift Books, Better World Books and Books A Million.

7. Keep your eye out for special events.

Periodically Scholastic Book Fairs hosts warehouse sales. This is a great way to purchase books and activity sets for your classroom library at up to 80 percent off the published price. Most books are at least 50% off and there are hundreds of items priced at $2 or less. Some locations even offer a Build-A-Box option! Grab a box, pack it with books from a selected collection of clearance items and pay only $24.95. To find a warehouse sale in your state, just enter your zip code. Also, once you find your local event be sure you register online to receive a special coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase or $25 off a $100 purchase.

8. Definitely join a reading club.

The Scholastic Reading Program is a fabulous source for acquiring books for your classroom. When parents purchase books through your classroom catalogue you earn bonus points to spend on books for your class library. The more parents order, the more free books you receive. There are options for all parent budgets. The catalogue even features a $1 book each month. We also found this blog post that has some fabulous ideas for boosting parent purchases!

You can also shop the online Scholastic Teacher Store. They have deals specifically for educators with hundreds of titles as low as $1. Occasionally they offer free shipping days to make it even more affordable.

9. Visit your local library sale.

Public libraries receive book donations on a regular basis. Most of these titles do not actually land on library shelves but instead are saved for book sales. The majority of these sales are sponsored by Friends of the Library volunteer groups. You will typically find books priced from $0.25 to $1 in a wide range of subjects and genres.

These sales are a win/win since your money goes back to supporting public library programs. Call your local library to find out when they will hold their next sale. You can also check Book Sale Finder to find sales in your state.

10. Peruse garage sales.

People often sell outgrown children's books at garage sales. The prices vary but usually you can negotiate and purchase them very inexpensively. Your best bet is to search for neighborhood-wide garage sales so you can visit a large number in the same area. Grab some teacher friends and make a fun morning out of it!

11. Scour resale shops.

Goodwill and children's consignment stores are fabulous resources for inexpensive books. It can sometimes be a scavenger hunt but you should be able to find some fun titles to add to your classroom library. You can also shop annual consignment sales as well. These typically have lower prices that stores. Find a consignment sale happening near you.

12. Be on the lookout for book drives.

Half-Price books conducts a book drive every winter and distributes these books to nonprofit organizations, schools and hospitals during the month of April. Bookmark the Half-Pint Library page and check back every year to find a giveaway event in your area. The request forms typically become available in March with giveaway events occurring in April. Half Price Books also offers a 10% off educator discount to help you save on books throughout the year.

13. Ask for parent donations.

If parents know that donating books to the classroom is an option, they may choose you over donating to a resale shop. Put a sticker inside donated books. Kids will love when their donated book is being enjoyed by their friends.

14. Team up with another class.

Find a teacher in an older grade. Ask if she would be willing to have her class do a book drive for yours. Students can bring in a book or two that they enjoyed in the previous grade. Then have a buddy day where her students can read the donated books to your class. Reciprocate with a book drive for another teacher in a younger grade.

15. Go digital.

If you have tablets in your classroom, a digital classroom library can be a great resource for students as well. There are a number of sites that are exceptionally helpful for finding free ebooks. The most comprehensive is the Digital Book Index. This is a catalogue of all the major eBook sites, university collections and other smaller publishers. Also be sure to check the International Children's Digital Library. This is the world's largest digital collection of children's books. They have thousands of books in a variety of languages.

The Library of Congress has a selection of free books that have been digitized. These include many illustrated children's classics. Project Gutenberg is a collection of free electronic books. The site boasts more than 40,000 free titles. The site features all types of ebooks but there are titles for children.

If you would rather have the free books for your classroom library come to you instead of hunting for them, check out BookBub. This is a free daily email that notifies you about limited-time, free and discounted bestselling e-book titles in genres you choose.

If you are looking for more ways to encourage readers, don't miss our post with free Get Caught Reading posters and several different free printable bookmark sets. Students can have fun making their own books with the free Bookabi App and be sure to take advantage of the free Storyline Online program. Let's get kids excited about reading!

Joinour Facebook group and be part of conversations all about the into the challenges and joysof the teaching life.

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15 Free (or Cheap) Ways to Stock Your Classroom Library

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There is no better way to encourage classroom reading than to give your students books. We found free books for low-income schools, literacy grants, free ebook databases, and we even offer some of our favorite ideas for finding books on the cheap.

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If you're like most teachers, you'll want to do all that you can to nurture a love of reading in your students. Creating a dynamic, engaging classroom library goes a long way in doing just that. But how do you go about acquiring a core of books, magazines, and reference materials that will excite your students, especially if you have a limited budget?

Not to worry. There are many free or inexpensive sources of books available to start building an impressive library using free or inexpensive sources:

Use book clubs and book fairs like Scholastic Reading Club and Scholastic Book Fairs. Many clubs, like the Scholastic Reading Club, offer back-to-school bonus points and free-book incentives. If promoted effectively to parents and students, book clubs can generate thousands of points and hundreds of new books, as well as money for school activities. In addition, there are many benefits to hosting a book fair, such as earning free books for your school and classroom libraries. A bit of research will tell you if a fair might help your reading program.

Ask students to donate "legacy books" in the name of friends, parents, and pets. My students enjoy acknowledging their love for a deceased pet in this way. Also encourage parents and grandparents to donate books in a child's name. Invite parents to a special recognition ceremony where personalized nameplates are inserted into the donated books.

Solicit donations of old books. At the end of the year, ask students to donate books or magazines they've outgrown. Yard sales and thrift stores are also good sources of old books. Some libraries sell duplicate or outdated books; others have support groups that conduct periodic sales. Arrive early for the best selection. Be aware that students usually prefer and desire newer editions and current-looking covers.

Of course, a fantastic library cannot be built in a day. It evolves gradually; content and appearance constantly change. Strive to keep your library fresh and dynamic.

As a library grows, getting shelves becomes increasingly important. I look for shelves that show the book covers, not just the spines. Search stores for discarded fixtures. Look for stores that are going out of business or are remodeling. Fixture manufacturers and wholesalers often drastically reduce prices on discontinued or damaged items.

When choosing a location for your classroom library, consider student traffic patterns. If students can easily move in and out of the library, or if they need to pass through it, they'll often get drawn in by an enticing cover.

A stimulating library invites students to sit, explore, and return. It should be well lit, organized, and have signage. Paint and carpet remnants or rugs can help distinguish the library from other areas. Colorful posters encouraging reading reinforce the library's purpose and are available in stores and catalogs.

A wide range of literature, clearly displayed, attracts all students. Include various genres, reading levels, and selections reflecting student cultures and interest. Don't overlook reference materials like dictionaries and encyclopedias. Color-coded plastic bins are great for organizing by genre, theme, level, or author. Newly acquired books should be displayed in a special way. My students plead to be the first to read a new book. Use this Classroom Library Checklist (PDF) to help you choose the perfect mix of books for your new classroom. Scholastic offers other tools, like the Book Wizard, for classroom libraries and other teaching challenges.

Bulletin boards and other displays in the library area should reflect thematic lessons and interesting subjects. When I do a whale unit, for example, my bulletin board, 52 whale books, models, and an eight-foot inflatable orca suspended from the ceiling all become a part of the library.

Let students take ownership and responsibility for their library. Implement a checkout system, and rotate who is in charge of monitoring it. Assign weekly re-shelving teams. Encourage students to bring special books or collections from home to display in the library.

Reading incentive programs, daily silent reading, read-aloud time, visits to the public library, and your own creative ideas will help students connect with your library and become kids who choose to read.

This article originally appeared in Instructor, published by Scholastic. Jeff Lowe is a teacher and mentor in Southern California. He has taught workshops on building classroom libraries.

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How to Build Your Classroom Library | Scholastic

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If you're like most teachers, you'll want to do all that you can to nurture a love of reading in your students. Creating a dynamic, engaging classroom library goes a long way in doing just that. But how do you go about acquiring a core of books, magazines, and reference materials that will excite your students, especially if you have a limited budget?

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Resource to provide free books to students who meet criteria

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Open eBooks is a library containing thousands of popular and award-winning titles that are free for children from in-need communities. These eBooks can be read without checkouts or holds. The goal of Open eBooks is to encourage a love of reading and serve as a gateway to children reading even more often, whether in school, at libraries, or through other eBook reading apps.

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Great resource for phonics support

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Reading Bear is a collection of free, well-made, multimedia phonics presentations. Your child can learn to read with Reading Bear.

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Advocating For Science & Social Studies

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Lesley University Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

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Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

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Why Literacy Educators Need to be Advocates for Science and Social Studies Education

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by Guest Blogger Nell Duke, Professor at the University of Michigan, Author, and 2016 Literacy for All Conference Keynote Speaker Time devoted to science and social studies in elementary schools has been on the decline for some time (e.g., Blank, 2013; Center on Education Policy, 2008; Heafner & Fitchett, 2012).

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Supporting Early Literacy Development & Science Instruction

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Jim Trelease's Homepage

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AFTER writing his million-copy bestseller, The Read-Aloud Handbook, in 1982, Jim Trelease lectured in all 50 states and abroad, advocating the benefits of reading aloud to children. In doing so, he won the applause of both teachers and parents for his pleas in behalf of literacy efforts that contain less "pain" and more focus on turning books into friends, not enemies.

While more than 60 colleges use his Handbook as a text for education students, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, and Spanish editions now reach parents and teachers worldwide, even inspiring the successful"All of Poland Reads to Kids" campaign in Europe.

Jim retired from the lecture circuit in 2008 and wrote his seventh (and final) edition in 2013 (see his retirement letter for a recap of his adventures). In 2018 he picked Professor Cyndi Giorgis of Arizona State University to take over the writing and editing of future editions of what is now named Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook.

ARRIVING in the Fall of 2019, the eighth edition of Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook has been edited and revised by Cyndi Giorgis and includes an updated compilation of the book's popular Treasury of Read-Alouds.

IF you're looking for concise, single-page brochures (or posters) aimed at parents that include highlights from Jim's seminars, films, and books, check out"Reading Handouts for Parents" for free downloads.
Highlights from 7th edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook
Complete with new children's titles and recomendations, as well as old favorites, this EDITION has research on reading aloud, SSR, libraries in the e-book age, boys' learning habits, new findings on digital learning (good news and bad). Once the 8th edition is published, this edition will no longer be available for sale.

JIM TRELEASE'S RETIREMENT LETTER

Looking back on the highs and lows of 30 years on the education lecture circuit, along with seven book editions, there were some unforgettable moments, along with much fun.

MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCES

The huge (and secret) differences in vocabulary between rich, working class, and poverty children, and how it impacts school scores.

SCHRAMM'S FRACTION OF SELECTION

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A site based on The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, 7th edition, copyright 2013, focused on children's reading, children's literature, and the benefits of reading aloud to children of all ages; its goal is to create lifetime readers instead of just schooltime readers.