Read to Self/Classroom Library Question...

Whew! What a first week and a half!!! I have started to post a few times and then just got distracted by all the craziness. I feel like I am on another planer this year! I get the district stuff and third graders, but being in a different building this year is throwing me for a loop! I am scrambling to modify what I thought I was going to be teaching and my brain is tired!

I plan to post more extensively ASAP, but had a question for third grade teachers or even fourth grade teachers. I have been thinking about how to organize my library this year. Right now, the kids are just picking books they like to get us started with Daily 5. I would like to support them with choosing books at their independent, but not completely too easy, level. In first grade, I have a section of my library with leveled books. Kids choose 5 leveled books and two classroom library books. I'm not sure what to do now. I would still like to have a leveled section, but I would also like to organize by genre and series. It's just not as easy when kids are reading chapter books.

Then I think that maybe I should just focus them on making good choices and have 1 chapter book, 2 picture books, and 2 non-fiction books.

Any suggestions on how to comprimise with choosing books for Read to Self in the upper grades?

Back to School Books Linky and Strategy Website

 

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for their Back to School Books linky party.

First, I started a blog a couple years ago to keep track of the books I use to teach in my classroom.  They are organized by strategy and it contains both a summary and several mini-lessons.  I hope to really expand it this year.  Check it out if you are looking for great books to teach strategies!

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Here are my favorite books for the beginning of the year!

It is going to be fun re-discovering the books I used to use in the third and fourth grade to begin the year!  I like using the Black Lagoon series to break the ice and talk about the jitters we all have.  Plus, the teacher and I have the same name, so I went through the book and colored her hair brown!  (Shh! Don’t tell!) First Day Jitters is a favorite from first grade!

Miss Nelson is the perfect book for brainstorming rules.  I stop at the point when the kids are wild and have the kids brainstorm rules to help in the class in small groups.  Then we come back and finish the book.  We make a giant list of all the rules and I color code them as we brainstorm. The color code follows my classroom rules: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Kind and Be Safe – all of the kids rules fit somewhere in these four! I plan to make my banners inspired by The Inspired Apple with my class this year.

These books are great for talking about listening rules.

Great books for beginning a discussion about what we like to read and introducing the classroom library.

Great books for introducing book nooks and reading workshop/Daily 5

I love reading the Library Dragon to talk about how to treat books and behave during reading workshop.

Love this book for talking about being ourselves!

I discovered these books last year when I read about them on a few blogs.  I like using them to talk about bullying and how we are going to treat each other in class.

And, of course, the Bucket books are great for beginning the year. I am going to add The Seven Habits of Happy Kids this year.