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1. Introducing Book Baskets
In a classroom library that is user-friendly, students can quickly access books they love that are on the right reading level (Scholastic, 2014). I want my classroom library to be user-friendly, so at the beginning of the year, I introduce the children to my book baskets. It is fun to hear their reactions to some titles: “Henry and Mudge is my favorite!” “Woah... SHARKS!” ”Magic Tree House, YESSS!” But before they can touch any book, they need to understand my basket system.
The baskets in the library (examples seen above) are either labeled with a theme, such as People We Admire (biography); Stories of Today (realistic fiction); Birds, Beasts, and Fish (nonfiction); Just Imagine (fantasy); or a color dot. The baskets with a color dot label are leveled and marked with dots of different colors, but the levels are not disclosed to the first graders.
I introduce each themed basket, one per day. Throughout the day, I read books from that basket when time allows, and we come up with why books belong in that basket. We even have debates, deciding whether or not a book is right for that basket. I
introduce the color dot
baskets by showing stu-
dents how to locate the
color dot in the upper
right corner of each
book cover and how to
properly place books
back in the basket so
the color dot can be
seen.
2. Choosing Good-Fit Books
Students should choose books in which they can read about 98% or more of the words (Allington, 2012). One way I teach students to do this is by modeling: I read texts out loud and show what a good-fit book does not sound like (I stumble over a lot of the words), and I follow up with what a good-fit book does sound like (I read fluently).
For a more concrete approach, I also teach students the five-finger test. When choosing a new book, students should hold up five fingers and read the first two pages if it is a first-grade
book (one page, if it’s a
chapter book). They are to
put down a finger for each
word they cannot figure
out, and if all five fingers
are down by the end of the
first one to two pages, then
the book is not a good fit
for them at the moment. I
continue to reinforce and
model what a good-fit book
sounds like all year long – in my mini-lessons, read-alouds, small groups, and reading conferences.
3. Using a Shopping Card
The shopping card is the backbone of
my shopping system. This index card
provides guidance and structure for the student shoppers and helps to ensure that they are learning to choose good-fit books on their own from the themed baskets, while also getting color dot books on their current level from the color dot baskets. The picture below shows an example: