Melissa Pruitt’s Blog Post 3: Organize and Outstanding Classroom Library

I have always dreamed of having an outstanding library. I see all the benefits of surrounding our students with many books on a variety of levels and topics. Routman stated that the most effective reading programs are generally supported by large classroom libraries and that classroom libraries and books improve reading achievement. This makes perfect sense. I have seen the excitement in my students when they get to choose a book and read independently. I have noticed the gains my students   made in reading the last several years when I decided to carve out time from the scripted program we use to just give the students time to read books that they choose.   

                Unfortunately my dream of having that outstanding classroom library has yet to become a reality. I do have a selection of books on all different levels but I don’t have the near the number of books that are needed. I teach in a special education classroom so my students span from kindergarten to 5^th grade. My library needs books from pre-primer to 5^th grade levels. I also need books from all different genres. At this point my library is mostly made up of fiction books. I have added some non-fiction books the last few years and have noticed that many of my students flock to those. I want to add books from popular books series since my students often ask me about those. I like the idea of having the students fill out a survey that would provide me information on the kinds of books they want in our class library.

Expanding my classroom library is very important to me but unfortunately the amount of money needed is standing in my way. I wish books for classroom libraries were provided in the special education classrooms. Routman said that access to interesting books is especially critical for struggling readers. This is so true! I have seen my struggling readers eager to read books on their level in my class that they would be embarrassed to read in front of peers in the regular classroom. Adding to my class library will continue to be a priority for me but I can’t afford to make the dream a reality as quickly as I’d like.