Spring clean your book stock!
- landrew3
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
It always feels good to review the books in your classroom.
Read this blog for some tips on how to do this and the benefits.
5 reasons to spring clean your classroom book stock
and the benefits this will bring.
You'll know what's there, meaning that you will...
Use and recommend books more often.
Support children to make links between different texts more easily.
Extend children's learning and curiosity through recommending books based on current learning or conversation.
You'll know what's missing, meaning that you can...
Seek out genres or authors you want to have available in your classroom.
Make a list of what's missing and make a plan of how to get your hands on these texts.
Put an order in at school with reasoning to back up the approval - fingers crossed!
Use cost effective options such as asking parents for comic book donations or printing off a selection of poetry available online to create your own class books of poetry.
Browse for these specific types of books in charity shops or on second hand online platforms.
You'll know that all your books are high quality because you will have...
culled old, tatty books that are falling apart.
redistributed texts that aren't appropriate for your year group or current cohort.
donated books you feel need to be passed on, but still have some life left in them. You could donate these books to families who don't have access to books at home.
You'll feel confident that your classroom offers a diverse selection of books because you will ensure...
There are books that reflect children's realities, so that children can see themselves in characters and relate to them - we call these books mirrors.
There are books that show children other's realities, so that children can see how people can be different and build empathy for others - we call these books windows.
There are books which take children into magical worlds far from reality as we know it - we call these books sliding doors because we can venture into another world.
There are a range of genres for children to explore.
There are books written by a diverse range of authors.
There are books written a long time ago, all the way up to books published this year.
You'll inevitably get organised, meaning...
Certain books will have a certain place in your classroom.
You will find books that you want to have out in the classroom at certain points in the year. These might be books linked to a particular project, whole class text or area of the curriculum. Box up and label books that you want to save in your cupboard for another part of the school year - don't forget they are there though!
Think about how to display your books. Remember you want to entice children into your book area.
Try displaying your books ‘front-facing’ so that the front covers can all be seen, rather than only the spines.
Labelling your shelves clearly to indicate the genre/theme of the books helps children to choose when browsing.
Displaying books on books stands really helps to showcase them, enticing children in.
‘Treasured’ texts or new books could be given their own prominent place to remind pupils of favoured books and highlight new ones!
Think book shop! It's our job to entice them into the reading area.
Check out our blog from last year for more on how to plan and create social reading environments here Refresh your Reading Area for the new school year
Enjoy spring cleaning your book areas with
Reading for Pleasure in mind!
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