Your Classroom Library—End-of-the-Year Reflection

Last week was the first installment in a series inviting you to try a system of end-of-the-year reflection that informs your summer PD and intention setting for fall. This system, initially shared with me by a longtime mentor, involves the double-sided use of a notebook to reflect, set a focus for summer PD, and set goals or intentions for next year. 

This week you are invited to join in as we reflect on classroom libraries, followed by next week's Daily 5 Do-Overs.

Classroom Library

• Location: Did the library’s placement in the room allow students easy access to the books?
• Storage: Were books displayed in ways that enticed students to pick them up?
• Were they organized so it was easy for students to locate books of interest?
• Was the classroom library set up to foster independence so children could maintain the organization of the books?
• Additions: Was there a need for more books in specific genres, by certain authors, or at different levels
• Deletions: Were there books whose covers were not inviting, whose pages were damaged, or that were rarely looked at? Books are such a precious resource that removing them for donation may seem unfathomable. However, if children have to wade through an overabundance of books packed into a small or unorganized space, or sort through outdated or unappealing titles, finding a good-fit book can be even more challenging.

Stay tuned for next week's reflection: Daily 5 Do-Overs