As another
school year gets under way, teachers often take stock of their resources and
consider what they need most in order to teach the children coming into their
classrooms. As teachers of readers, having access to a substantial quantity of
engaging, informative, and meaningful books is critical for advancing the
progress of students. While many of
these texts can be found in a well-stocked classroom library, there is another
place where they can also be found: the
school library!
The school
library, or media center, can be designed in much the same way as the classroom
library. Literacy Collaborative classroom libraries are arranged in a variety
of ways such as by interest, genre, author, and topic. The school library can
be arranged in the same way so that students have even more selections to
advance their interests, stimulate inquiry, and add to their knowledge
base. Topic books (animals, rocks, air
travel, etc.) can be shelved together, as can author sets and research subjects
frequently used by students. These collections span a range of reading levels
.Within the reading workshop time, teachers help students learn to identify
appropriate reading material close to their achievement level so that when
students are in the media center, they are able to find suitable texts for
specific purposes—from entertainment and enjoyment to fact-finding and
research.
Media
centers can be an extension of classroom libraries. Begin to view them as more
than ‘that place to do research’ and explore how they can offer daily,
meaningful interactions with text that are critical for the reading attainment
of our students. As media centers are more frequently becoming part of class
rotations, teachers and media specialists can work together to provide a
setting that expands upon literacy opportunities for children. Research has
shown that reading improvement happens when readers read more! Integrating
media centers, reading workshops, and classroom libraries can provide children
with strong support for literacy growth.
