Classroom News

There are many different ways to acquire books for free or at a minimum cost. In the article, “In Search of Free Books” the author, Rachael Walker suggest several different ways to go about it. There are many organizations set up to help get books in the hands of young children. Many of these organizations focus on children birth to five and those living at or below the poverty level. Some can be utilized by teachers to gain classroom books like Heart of America Foundation (50% or more free/reduced lunch), the Literacy Empowerment Foundation (output cost $65.00 for 100 books) and Reading is Fundamental (80% of students must be considered “at risk”). While I don’t think I’d use any of the organizations to collect books for my classroom, I will look into local sources as recommended in the article. There are local civic organizations that focus on literacy and might be willing to supply books. Some groups mentioned were Kiwanis International, Rotary International, General Federation of Women’s Clubs, and Girl Scouts. Local libraries and bookstores might donate or sell at a discount used or overstocked books. Sending home a “Wish List” to parents is another good idea. My favorite idea that I’m going to look into for my classroom is books online. TumbleBookLibrary is a online collection of children’s books. The article does not give the subscription price but does advise that TumbleBookLibrary does offer one-month free trail for teachers. On-line books could be the answer for teachers who are looking to add to their collection of children’s books.

The article “Build and Use a Classroom Library” by Mary Haga focuses on how teachers, especially new teachers, can build a classroom library that will benefit their students. Some suggestions for collecting books is purchasing them yourself through book publishers, such as Scholastic, local book stores with discounts for teachers, used bookstores, yard sales, flea markets, and Friends of the Library book sales. Asking for donations from parents and parent/teacher organizations is another good idea. Haga suggests your classroom library should include a variety of books such as fiction and nonfiction at varied reading levels, as well as children’s magazines. Sustained Silent Reading or DEAR and Reader’s Choice are important ways to use your classroom library. One great tip I will use in my classroom is have the children complete a story map weekly on a book they are reading. This is a great measure to ensure student’s stay on task and to evaluate understanding of key skills. Haga encourages teachers to buy paperback books and gives great tips for helping them last longer. She recommends a tape called All-weather Clear Poly-tape for taping the spine of the book. This tape can be purchased at Lowe’s. She also suggest Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue for pages that are coming unglued from the cover. Once you have begun to collect books for your library it is suggested keeping track of them using a computer database for quick reference. I would recommend this article to fellow teachers. It can be found at www.literacyhooks.pbwiki.com and click on articles under the Classroom Libraries heading.

The focus of Mara Linaberger’s article “Poetry top 10: A foolproof formula for teaching poetry” is teaching poetry in elementary grades should not be a daunting task. As adults we may feel insecure about our own abilities to write “good” poetry. These feelings can be intentionally shared with students. Ms. Linaberger suggests ten valuable tips for teachers to shake the poetry blues and become effective in teaching true understanding of this art form. Tips include reading and writing poetry, ask questions of the poet, borrow, create, and share poetry lessons, and publishing children’s work. The article also discusses the importance of systematically breaking down each poem for greater understanding for the students. This is something I could see myself doing in my own classroom.  I would recommend this article to any teacher who may not feel “up” to teaching poetry in their classrooms.

Libraries are crucial to motivating children to read more.  The children need to have access to books in order to develop fluency and a love of learning.  Children from low income families are in need of quality books.  Students who are included in setting up the library have ownership.  One recommendation for classroom teachers is to take a “book break” throughout the day where teachers or children stop and read for 5 minutes.  Another student incentive to encourage reading is beginning a 10,000 minute club.  Once the students read 10,000 minutes at home they become apart of this special reading club.

Today we learned so many valuable ways to integrate poetry into the curriculum.  I love the Dream Flags.  They could be so much fun with young children.  The found poems would be a great activity for researching information in science or social studies.  I have re-learned how poems can be a part of other content areas with little prep for the teacher but have great benefit.  Another idea I’ll probably use is the individual poetry books.  I like the idea of teaching the Table of Contents and making a poetry anthology.  So much great and useable information! 

Today was wonderful! I heard many ideas that can easily be used in my classroom. I loved learning about integrating technology in the classroom. I look forward to much more. Thanks!

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