How To Prepare Your Classroom for Literacy Achievement Series: Creating a Literacy Rich Environment

To set up a successful literacy classroom, the teacher and students need to have an organizational plan in place. They should also maintain that plan. Of course, each group of kids may require some fine-tuning that fit their individual needs.

This post will cover simple ways to ensure a solid foundation for a literacy rich environment. Veteran teachers have a large amount of information; however, for teachers entering the profession or early career teachers, the amount of information can be overwhelming. The information here is to help you get started. As a professional, it is up to you to continue your research and see what fits your students' needs best.

A great design is the foundation for creating a literacy rich classroom. Throughout this post, you will discover ideas to help you set up your room for success. There are a lot of websites and blogs that feature inspiring pictures to help you figure out a great design. Design your room so that all elements complement each other.

Creating a Classroom Library

The following list includes a list of ideas and tips that will serve you well:

1.  Shelves - The library shelves should be low to mid-level so all of your students can reach the books with ease. Use the empty space on your window sills for more space. Scour garage sales, bargain stores, teacher supply magazines, and talk to other teachers to find display racks and magazine holders for your books.

2.  Book Boxes & Bins - Students need places to store the books they are reading. Whether you decide to let students keep them near their desk or if you have a special place in your room, set them up for success by acquiring books boxes, bins, chair pockets, gallon storage bags, or plastic planters. Storing books in a container will protect the books. It also relieves the stress of books getting lost or damaged in those messy desks!

3.  Label - An efficient library is labeled. How it is labeled depends on the teacher, school, or district. You may be required to label your library a specific way, so make sure you are doing your due diligence. If you have the freedom to label any way you wish, take the time to organize your books in the beginning, before school starts. By doing this, you and your students will reap the rewards of an organized library. Books will be easy to find and put away, students can interact with the library in a more meaningful way, and it encourages students to practice responsibility. You might choose to include adding Accelerated Reader labels and/or reading levels. The downside to labeling your books with a reading level is that it might discourage or limit certain students from challenging themselves. A book still needs to be a good fit, but I believe students should have the option to think critically about whether or not a book is good for them, rather than letting a reading level decide for them.

A great way to organize your library is sorting your books by genre. It is important for students to see the variety of choices they have. You might consider including sub-genres if you have a lot of books. Creating special bins that include chapter books, authors, favorites, and new books will engage students in choosing just right books they are interested in.

4.  Design - The classroom library should have a welcoming atmosphere that draws students in. Look at Pinterest to get ideas on how to arrange your library. The space you have will dictate how your library can be set up, but keep in mind the flow of the room and liven it up with small touches that make a big impact. Provide students with bean bags, pillows, special chairs, and a big carpet or carpet squares so they can get comfy and lose themselves in their books. Think about where you like to read and the things you like to have around you while you read. Then, transfer those ideas to the classroom.

5.  Books - If you are a new or early career teacher, you may not have a lot of books yet. It will take some time to acquire a vast library, but there are places you can look that will help you build your library at a low cost. Of course, building a classroom library is an investment, so you have to be willing to absorb the expense. Giving students access to a variety of titles and genres will guide your students to become lifelong learners and independent readers.

The titles in your library should include fiction, non-fiction, fun fact books, newspapers, magazines, poetry, student and teacher publications. Some great resources that I have used to build my library are library book sales, yard sales, colleagues, Scholastic Book Clubs (look for their 50 book packs for $50 and free book offers), online auction websites, friends and family, and online printouts.

6.  Engage & Excite - Engaging students and leading them into the world of reading is paramount in a literacy-rich classroom. You must be willing to let students explore the library (as they would in a community or school library), so they can find what interests them. As their teacher, you can ramp up the excitement by featuring new or new to the library books. Give quick reviews of the book, read the back, or read the first chapter to ignite interest. If there are a lot of students interested, hold a book raffle to see who gets first dibs. Create buzz for books by holding teacher or student led book reviews or talks. Give students a place to write peer recommendations and book awards. Let them talk about their favorite authors and suggest additional titles for them to check out. Also include student authored books to create community among the kids, and give them a chance to read their classmates' work.

Interactive Bulletin Boards

Put the power in the hands of the students. They love to get up and move around, and they love to share with each other, so give them an outlet. Bulletin boards can be student and teacher created. The ideas I gave above about engaging and exciting kids are a great starting point when thinking about types of interactive bulletin boards. You and/or the students can create a peer review or recommendation board that gives the students a chance to write post-its or use a template to share their reading experiences. Design a Facebook or Twitter board where students can "post" their thinking. This past year, I created a "Poet Tree" where students could add their poems. You could also let students create an art display using colorful post-it notes, teasers, book reviews, and recommendations. Another idea is to let students create 3-D shadow boxes that give them a chance to extend their thinking. There are numerous ideas out there, so let your creativity lead you where it may.

Writing Centers

My idea of a writing center does not necessarily include a specific place in which students can only do writing in that place. Writing should be done anywhere students can get comfortable and work without being disturbed. However, it is important to create a centralized space where writing tools and materials are available.

Create a place in the room where your students can access pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils, highlighters, hole punches, staplers, and a variety of paper. Include clipboards for them to take their writing to a special place in the room. Add inspirational posters, writing guide posters, editing, revising, and publishing checklists, examples of finished pieces, and writing prompts.

Sharing Opportunities

As adults, we like to share our writing with our peers, family, and friends. Give students the same opportunity to share. Designate certain days or times where they can share their writing and experiences. Some ideas to get you started are author's chair, presentations, poetry slams, writer's celebrations, author signing days, and reading/writing buddies for those who are too shy to share in front of a big group.

These are just a few ideas to help get you started. There is so much you can do, so don't feel like you have to do everything. Don't feel like you have to keep the same ideas throughout the year. Teaching is learning from your students too, so if something loses it's excitement, move on to something else.

What are your favorite go-to ideas for creating a literacy rich environment?