Book Love: Creating an Engaging and Relevant Classroom Library

Funded Aug 8, 2018

I am writing to thank you for your generous donations to my high school classroom library. Now that I have received all of my requested books, and student have had a few weeks to browse my shelves and start reading them, I wanted to update you all on what a profound impact your donations have had on learning and literacy in my classroom.

Every day, my 9th and 11th grade students begin class with 10-15 minutes of silent reading time with books of their choice. We take trips to our school library, and students can bring books from home, but most students use my newly stocked classroom library for their choice reading time. I have brought in area rugs and comfy bean bag chairs to make the space more comfortable, and students all have favorite spots where they like to curl up and indulge in their books. Most days, I have a very hard time convincing them to put their books away so we can go on with the rest of our class--they often beg for just five more minutes so they can finish the chapter or page they're on! A few times each week, we hold informal books talks when students can talk about a book they just finished and want to recommend to their peers. Students all have "Next to Read" lists in the back of their notebooks where they keep a running list of books they want to read next. As I hope you can see, this classroom library has helped me create an environment where reading is the focus of our day, and talking about good books happens organically and enthusiastically every day. Students are using skills I teach them through my curriculum, such as how to use context to determine meaning, how to recognize symbolism and imagery, how to notice foreshadowing, and how to analyze larger thematic concepts, to help them read and understand books that are beyond their reading levels but they're interested in trying.

And they are succeeding. I ask students to record the number of pages they read each week as a check in to monitor their progress, and most students are reading between 100-300 pages every week! I have students who told me at the start of the year that they NEVER read for pleasure, or that they haven't read a book on their own since elementary school, and now they have read 4 or 5 books in the first few weeks of school! I also tried to buy books that offered stories of characters from diverse backgrounds--books from places around the world we only hear about in the news, books about real people who have survived against incredible odds, books about teenagers like them dealing with difficult and mature issues--and my students are devouring these stories. They check out a book one day and bring it back the next, announcing proudly that they stayed up late into the night to finish it because they couldn't wait to see how it would end.

All of this is to say THANK YOU to those who donated to make this project possible. I am inspired to continue this important work with a focus on reading, and I plan to apply for other grants and pockets of money through my school district to help build classroom libraries for my colleagues as well. Please know that your money has been put to good use, and there are some amazing teenagers who are developing a love of books and reading that will last them a lifetime.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Dearinger