Building a Classroom Library - 10 Ways to Get Books for FREE

I bet you're reading this because you know access to a wide variety of age-appropriate, attractive books can open the world of reading and learning to a child. Some lucky teachers walk into schools where there is a Reader's Workshop/Daily 5 instruction model in place and have a classroom library ready to go. Most of us don't though - and most of use have limited (read that as no) funds to purchase books. How did I get literally thousands of books for my classroom library for FREE? Read on. Here are 10 ways I started and grew my classroom library collection for FREE. You can do it too.

1. Tap into your friend circle.
Tell all your friends you're looking to grow your classroom library. Let them know if they clean out their kid's book collection you'll save them a trip to the donation center. One friend told her family members at their weekend BBQ. I ended up with a great variety of picture books the next day.
2. Tap into your friends' friends.
Post on facebook. This gets the word out fast and to an audience larger than your immediate social circle.
"Hey your town friends. I'm actively looking for books to add to my your grade level classroom library! Do have any unwanted picture books or chapter books? It would be a win-win-win if you give them to me! You win by getting rid of books taking up shelf space. I win by giving my students easy access to great literature. The books win in the hands of kids who want to read and learn. They get a new life. If you ,or anyone you know, in the your town area has recently cleaned out their child's book shelf please message me.
After writing a similar post on my Facebook page four years ago, my friend from church reposted it with the comment "I'm collecting for this on Sunday! Clean out your shelves!" I end up with seven boxes of books!
3. Get to know your neighbors.
Along the lines mentioned above, ask your (or nearby) neighborhood association if you can post on the community website or be included in their newsletter. The side benefit is you get to meet new neighbors!
4. Love the Goodwill
Gift certificates to Goodwill are GOLDEN
When I spend money on classroom books this is usually where I spend it. I have found so many high quality, barely used books here I've lost track how much of my collection is thanks to Goodwill! At 25 to 50 cents each, you can't get a better bang for your buck. But we want FREE! In your newsletters periodically ask parents to donate Goodwill gift certificates to your room. Another option is to ask if a parent will purchase a collection you set aside. Goodwill is a great place to get hardback books.

5. Hit the road.
Visit garage sales and yard sales
Here are two things to know:
1- there are A LOT of kids' books out there.
2 - the owners WANT to get rid of their stuff as fast as possible.
Take advantage of both by going later in the day. When you find books that interest you tell the homeowner that you are a teacher looking to build your classroom library. Be bold and ask if the books don't sell by the end of the day would they give them to you? More often than not, the homeowner has said take it all - now - please - and you won't need to come back! This is how I got the entire The Magic Tree House series for free.
It is also possible you have friends or a student's parent who spends their weekends at yard sales so more legwork for you. If you tell that person what you are looking for s/he may text you pictures asking "Is this what you want?"
6. Reach out to former students
Dig out that old parent email list and ask if their family has any books they could donate. Offering to have the former student fill out and attach the donation book plates adds a personal touch. Two things usually happen with this method. First, the books are usually grade level appropriate since kids will remember what they liked to read when they were at a specific grade level. Second, books will usually be delivered right to your classroom door!
7. Check out Craigslist
Every so often I'll search for 'kids books' or 'childrens' books' on Craigslist to see what comes up. Send a message to get more info about what's being offered. A few things about Craigslist. One, you'll have to act pretty fast. Two, if you're not comfortable with Craigslist don't do it. Use common sense. Three, this method is hit or miss, but the payoff can be big. Through Craigslist I met a family whose business is buying and cleaning out abandoned storage lockers. They now call me to pick up the children's books recovered.
8. Good old book orders
This is how I started building my library collection. The thrill of turning in the points, choosing the free books and then opening the box! Given the online process these days, this is an easy one. Click here to see how one teacher has the whole process streamlined and maximizes getting the free books. Wow!
9. Amazon wishlist
Start an Amazon wishlist for books you really want. Let parents know about your wishlist!
10. The librarian is your friend!
Each year my school librarian purges books that haven't been checked out after a certain amount of time. A coffee every so often can work magic because guess who she notifies first when those books are up for grabs? A side benefit to befriending your librarian is s/he may ask for your input or recommendation on new purchases. Those books may not end up housed in your classroom, yet you'll know where to find them when needed!

As you go through this process you'll find that people want to help you. Most empathize with the challenges teachers face. Quality literature is out there for FREE. Yes, you'll get books that are inappropriate, trashed and just plain junk. But you'll also get books to proudly share with your classroom.
Here is my BONUS tip - don't start this process alone. Collaborate with a few other like-minded teacher friends at different grade levels. You're going to get duplicate books, books better suited for older or younger readers. Working as a team means you'll get more books to work with and find homes for them faster.
Do you have other strategies to share? Please leave a comment below!

Indoor Recess - How one picture can SAVE 1,000 words

In my neck of the woods we end up with a LOT of indoor recess. Snow, rain, hail, extreme temperature.... In addition, the weather can change with very little notice. I can't tell you how many times we've got outside and turned right around to return to the classroom. Oh the sadness....the noise...the MESS. Is anyone an indoor recess fan? Given this necessary evil, I'm passing along how one photo may help keep your sanity by making the clean up process quiet and fast.

So I'm not an indoor recess fan, yet I do not adopt the 'put on a video' philosophy either. (Ok, on the rare occasion I will. I'm human.) I've found I pay the price the rest of the day with behavior. Those kids need to be active and move - so while we may be confined in a small space, I do all I can to keep their minds engaged with open-ended activities. I blogged here about indoor recess. It's what saved me last winter. I also recommend my set of Indoor Recess Activity Cards and this Letter Set gets lots of use during recess but is used in many other ways as well. Here, I'll share a great way to keep that "down time" easy to clean up.

First, I like to keep all my recess materials hidden. Out of sight = out of mind. If you have a closet or built in cupboards in your room consider devoting a shelf to recess stuff then close the door. I don't have any of those conveniences in my room so I've taken to using this odd bottom 'drawer' in this stand alone cabinet.

This area is where I do my read aloud and mini lesson - and kids love to read there too! This odd spot has also worked out great because it's a pain for me to get down there, it has a weird lift up lid - yet the kids can access it easily.
Before school starts each year I sort through the recess games and organize it so everything fits neatly. Everything is visible. Everything has a spot. Note that (most) bins are labeled. All boxes are facing forward. Then I take a picture of the neatly put away recess games. I print a color 8x10. I laminate it and put it in the front of the drawer.

That first week of school I share my photo and explain this is EXACTLY how I want the drawer put back together anytime we have indoor recess. Then I take out each activity, show how to work with it and leave it out. We practice indoor recess. (No one wants to practice when it is actually indoor recess so this is time well spent.) We model expected behavior and discuss how to join in an activity and how to move to a different activity.
The other key piece to a happy indoor recess happens at the end. The whole class works together to put everything back in its proper bin then they reassemble the drawer EXACTLY like the photo.
Now, you're a teacher or a parent. You KNOW this doesn't magically happen! Of course, you have to train your students. But you'll all be happy because the process is fun, fast and there is a sense of urgency. I take it one step further by insisting that it all happens in SILENCE.
Step 1: Announce silent clean up has started and set a timer for three minutes. Students are 100% silent as everyone works to put the things in their correct bins. Give the "stink eye" to anyone not helping or throwing stuff. That usually works. If all materials make it over to the drawer area before the timer goes off do a silent cheer.
Step 2: Again in silence, designate two students to work on putting the items back referring to the photo. Set the timer again. It is a challenge to see how fast they can do it! Only those two are allowed to whisper to each other. Once complete, give the final approval and the moment the door is shut the class should give a rousing round of applause! (Often, those two students will bow or curtsy.) The photograph places responsibility on the students and they get fun praise. Plus, since I don't have to explain or verbally direct, it saves me 1,000 words each time. Please comment below if you have a system that works well for you!

Make the Final Draft FUN - Illuminated Letters

Our final writing project last year was an original fairy tale. Inspired by this Fractured Fairy Tales unit, my students ended our time together with some really fun and creative pieces. Engaged from beginning to end, it allowed for differentiation and flexibility. Even my most reluctant writers were gung ho. We started by watching several Fractured Fairy Tale videos from the 70's and then we picked apart some mentor texts. This process got me buy in and served as an inspiration springboard. Check out the link to my Fractured Fairy Tale Resource Pinterest board below.

I wanted to make the final draft unusual so, inspired by our art teacher's suggestion, I whipped out my lettering sets. These have come in handy so many times over the years! The art teacher had been sharing illuminated manuscripts to go along with our study of the Renaissance in social studies. The kids knew illuminated letters were typically done in gold or silver and they came up with the gold glitter addition. Look at these end results! How fantastic!

Incorporating illuminated letters in the final draft did take some planning. First, kids had to leave enough room on the paper to add in the letter. After that final edit they were ready. Using the lettering sets, kids worked in pencil to create a fun and funky letter with an illustration surrounding it. Next, they went over the illustration in color. These examples are done in marker, perhaps not the best tool because many didn't get the crisp lines they wanted, but it worked. We all agreed that next time it should be done in colored pencil. After the marker, kids used a fine line of glue to trace the letter. Sprinkling the glitter and letting it dry was the final step.
Illuminated letters could be incorporated into many writing projects. You can pick up the lettering sets here. You can follow my Pinterest fractured fairy tale board here.

Morning Messages for Independent Readers

Starting the day with a Morning Message is key in many classroom. While a fill-in-the-blank style Morning Message may be ideal for beginning and emergent readers, teachers working with independent readers have a tricky job. How do you keep the Morning Message fresh and engaging without going crazy coming up with a new idea each day?

I've found that third graders and up benefit from reading fun facts and contributing to a related chart. I keep a collection on my desks of cool facts and ideas to use over year after year. They include a main idea and some details for support. Using these cards makes it easy. During the school year I keep a list of subjects I think kids will find interesting. It's an ongoing process that takes just a moment to record.

Our cleaning crew only washes our whiteboards on weekends so I get a head start and write my message before leaving the night before. I DELIBERATELY make errors in my short message related to skills I've recently introduced or want to review. Next to the message I create some sort of graph or chart related to our day or make it a way to interact with the message.

In my room I greet students at the door. It is expected each one will read the message, contribute to the chart then sign up for our Daily 5 or Literacy rotations (discussed here) first thing.
After attendance and lunch count we conduct our Morning Meeting. As we review our Morning Message we identify errors then discuss WHY they are errors and correct them. A student leader then uses the pointer as we all read in unison. In 8 short minutes I've modeled editing skills, discussed grammar literacy skills and context and got in a bit of fluency practice. This process is valuable!

Keeping a list of topics to cover each year makes crafting a meaningful Morning Message for your independent readers a snap. You could keep your ideas on index cards on a ring. I'm sharing my Morning Message Idea Collection at my TpT store. If you're looking for ways to get Morning Meeting started check out my blog post here.

I'd love to hear how you keep your Morning Message engaging for your BIG KIDS. What sorts of strategies to you use to keep from getting burned out?

The Pointer Collection: A Variety of Tools for Tracking Text

To beat the heat this summer I'll be sharing things I plan to change or tweak in my room. Today I've been thinking about my readers and a simple way to help them.
A while back I started a collaborative Pinterest board called Pointers and Trackers Kids Want to Use.

I went through those pins the other day and it's a great collection of ideas. I teach a grade when most of my cuties are newly independent readers. Here's the rub. Most of them think pointers or text trackers aren't cool. Well that's not cool because I know they will still benefit from tracking!
Last year I kept it simple. Each kid got to decorate a popsicle stick to keep in their Book Bin. I found many kids used it because they made it. When the novelty wore off kids were allowed to trade if they wanted. This made it interesting again. I'm looking to my board to start collecting fun pointers to use during Guided Reading.
Here are the ideas I like a lot.
witch finger

Popsicle stick

drink stirrer

easy readers

Laser fingers

A few years back I bought a bunch of witch fingers at the dollar store. I gave them to the kids at the end of the year. Here are the contents of one of my student's book bin. You can see the finger.

I bet you all have ideas too. Are you interesting in joining my board? The rules are fairly simple. Pin no more than two related ideas a day. Follow the board then leave me a note either in the comments below or on my TpT thread with your Pinterest name.
Check it out some ideas may spark your creativity.
I also welcome any ideas you may want to share on how to integrate pointers and trackers in your routine so it isn't a battle.

Writing a First Draft - 6 Helpful Tips

I love to teach writing to kids. Indeed I do! I realize I'm in the minority so want to pass along 6 helpful hints that will hopefully get you inspired as well.
Tip #1: Require that students ALWAYS write from a plan -  Graphic organizers are key to producing organized and focused pieces. It sets the stage, gives kids a plan and makes a longer writing piece manageable. On the left an older student has planned out the answer to a writing prompt. I blogged about the importance of planning on a personal narrative piece HERE. On the right a younger student has used a graphic organizer to begin writing a non-fiction piece about penguins.

Tip #2: Share a model before allowing kids to write - they will produce better quality work when they see what you have done, listened to you think out loud about your writing and observed you make the transition from graphic organizer to writing draft. This does not have to take long. I write as authentically as possible. When modeling a personal narrative I choose a story that happened to me when I was roughly the same age as my students. When modeling animal research I choose a critter that interests me. When modeling a how to piece I choose something I've done which I believe my students can relate to. Unless you change grade levels you can use the model year after year.

T #3: Break the writing into chunks - I promise you'll be happy you've done this. A graphic organizer lends itself to natural breaks and makes the process easy. We recently wrote a short story. One day we drafted the beginning. The next day we drafted the middle. The last day we drafted the end. Yes. This approach takes a couple more days of instruction, but the benefits are worth it. Kids work with manageable chunks and don't get bored. You can circulate and support much more effectively. It's easy to do a quick check in, pull a few kids with similar errors and teach a targeted mini lesson before they get too far. On the flip side, I often will project student work to the class (with permission) highlighting something well done along the way.

Tip #4: We use regular 3-hole notebook paper for our drafts. Nothing fancy. The first thing my students do is put their name at the top then put an x on every other line. This reminds them to skip lines so editing is really easy. Sometimes, especially at the beginning of the year, a kid realizes s/he has forgotten to skip lines (despite the x in the margin....) tell them not to panic or erase - just begin skipping lines right NOW and continue.

Tip #5: Students need some sort of spelling resource (that they have been trained to use!) and must have it out. I have a mini economy going and when it is writing time I walk around and pass out 'money' to those who have out their spelling card. No words. No conversation...and you'd be amazed how quickly those cards come flying out! If you need something really handy check out the one my class uses. It's ideal for grades 2 and up and has made a huge difference in student accountability.
Subject-specific Word Banks are helpful too. They do take some time to create but not only do they serve as a great resource, but as inspiration as well. Either project the word bank or make a copy for each kid. During the draft stage some kids will want to use a word that is not on any of their resources. In that case I instruct them to write the word as well as they can - then circle it. This allows them to move on.

Tip #6: I have an electric stapler. I can't live without my electric stapler because kids have to staple their draft to the back of their plan. Guess what -no more loose papers AND kids love to staple things so they do the job. So simple yet so genius. No more, "I can't find my writing." Here is the staple mess at the end of our animal report project, but isn't a problem. An electric stapler does a tidy job. If you don't have an electric stapler, don't worry. A regular will work too - but you may want to invest in an electric one.
Leave a comment if you found any of these tips helpful and I'd love to hear your tricks too! Happy drafting!

Indoor Recess Survival - Snowflake FUN!

The last week we switched things up. Our grade level took a break from our regularly scheduled basal series programming. Enter some good, old fashioned fun. Do you remember making these?
Due to recent cold weather we've already had several rounds of indoor recess. I anticipate this winter providing us lots of opportunities to spend more time cooped up together.
These last few days have been fun though. Picture a group of cuties actively engaged and digging in the recycling bin. Now picture those same kids using scissors to create hundreds of paper snowflakes, talking, laughing and genuinely excited about something they just created. Who know introducing the concept of making a paper snowflake (some of them had never done it!) would be a great solution to being trapped inside? They have plastered our windows with snowflakes such as these beauties. I had to get more tape....

Boys and girls alike love to make them. They  don't realize they are honing their fine motor skills and witnessing the concept of symmetry in action! So festive and, like real snowflakes, each one is unique. The best part is kids of all abilities can be creative and successful. There is no right or wrong way. I choose not to get anxious about the daily snowstorm on the floor....it really is a choice.
This coming winter looks like a doozy for us and want to pass along some free and fun indoor recess activities. Looking for some other great indoor recess ideas? Click here.

BTW, I introduced the concept of creating paper snowflakes to support the writing project we just completed. I'll be blogging about it, but in the meantime, check it out here. Based on their own creations, they produced some amazing how to writing.