IPS/Butler University Laboratory School

Today was a big day for books in room 107, for many different reasons!

First off, as many of you might have heard from your children, we are beginning the early stages of a project. Right now, it seems that we will be diving into a project about sharks, however, one of the most exciting things about projects is that they can change course at a moments notice, so stay tuned!

This morning, when the kids arrived at school, our classroom library was filled with brand new books about sharks. One of our books baskets is dedicated to shark books, as well as our book display shelf. Many students chose to spend their Morning Choice time exploring text and pictures about sharks.

Students look at shark books during Morning Choice time.

Later, after Readers Workshop, we took our first trip to the school library. Students learned how to take care of books. They also got to check out their very own book for the week. Last year, school library books stayed at school. However, this year, students are allowed to take their library books home to read with their families. All library books must be returned by the following Monday so that students can check out a new book. If a child doesn’t bring their library book back to school, they will have to wait to get a new library book until their previous book is returned.

I did not send our library books home today. I plan on having a classroom discussion tomorrow and sending them home at the end of the day on Tuesday. If students bring their library book back to school before the following Monday, they will have opportunities to go to the library on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for an additional library check out time. On these days, I will be sending small groups of students down to return their books (if they have read them and brought them back to school) and check out a new book. This will be optional, and there might be some days when we don’t make it to the “open library” time. However, it will always be our goal!

Lastly, we have started using books as a new material in our Story Workshop. At the beginning of the year, students were expected to create a story with materials. Now, students create a story with materials and then are expected to put their story in a book. The books provide a way for us to keep stories so that we can share them for longer. They create more accountability for the students and their story telling. They also give us an opportunity to work on letter work and writing of words. Students are excited about this latest addition to Story Workshop!

Madeline works on the illustrations of her book about her family.

After finishing his story using materials, Spencer transfers his story to a book.

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