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Classroom collections
Every school will have a different policy about classroom collections and the kinds of books that are needed. A very good strategy is to make the general school book stock part of the library and on the library computer system. From this each class or teacher can borrow termly collections for their rooms. This means that they can be changed regularly and also traced if someone is looking for a particular title. These books can be a mixture of curriculum support and reading for pleasure books.
Possible organisation, with labels :
Reference books To include, as appropriate to the year group
- 3 or 4 dictionaries plus a thesaurus
- A recent single volume encyclopaedia
- 2-3 atlases
Information books Subdivide: e.g.
- Poetry
- Science
- Animals
- History
- Ourselves
- This term’s topics (and feature these in displays)
Fiction (A-Z by author’s surname for KS2)
- Easy Reads
- Longer books
- Animal stories
- Mysteries
Traditional tales, myths, fairytales
Picture books (A-Z by author’s surname)
For KS, label one section: Books with pictures
Books in two languages; community languages
Display: Favourite books (Teacher / TA/ Other adult /Children)
Shelving (including display and boxes)
- Is it safe and clean?
- Can children reach everything?
- Is there enough space?
Maintenance
- What is done by Teacher, TA, and children.
- Clear labelling will help everyone, and the task of keeping the area tidy can be allocated to chosen children.
- Think about how often you want to change the books, and which you want to keep all year.
Use
- Are all children aware of this area and how it can be used?
- How do you record books that go home?
Levelling
- Is it useful to level in your book corner? If so, use coloured spots (not the same labels as used in the school library). Don’t level everything – focus on books for home reading.
Appearance
- Is the book area bright, attractive, and inviting? Is there comfortable seating –cushions, mats, clean carpet etc.Do YOU want to use the area?
- Are there posters promoting reading? Displays of book-related work?