I don’t know why I’ve never mentioned this before. In my room I have a bookshelf full of mostly paperbacks. The books are there for the kids to take, read, and if they chose, return. I go to the public library every couple of weeks, they are constantly selling paperbacks at either 5 for a dollar or a bag for a dollar. I must have about 200 books on my shelf right now.
I have lots of science fiction (Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Card), mysteries, thrillers (I love Ludlum novels), fantasy, even some non-fiction titles. I have a bunch of the Sue Grafton series (“A is for Alibi”, etc.) since the protagonist is a woman detective. I often recommend those to the girls. I try to keep the books different from those they read in their English classes. Books don’t equal homework.
I require nothing in exchange. I ask them what they like, then I recommend something if I can. Today a student took Stephen King’s Night Shift. I pick up every copy of that I can find, it’s a great book and I recommend it frequently.
I even have one student who is constantly bringing in books her father donates to my library.
My goal is pretty obvious, get them to read something. Anything. If they are reading, they are learning.
I like this idea. When I start working again, I will do this with children’s picture books.
Comment by Leila — November 5, 2009 @ 8:50 pm |
Leila,
You probably know this, but if you talk to parents of slightly older kids, they are happy to donate their old books to a teachers bookshelf. Don’t forget garage sales – if you tell the person you are a teacher setting up a lending library in your classroom, you can probably get boxes of books for free.
Comment by Scott — November 5, 2009 @ 9:43 pm |