Every classroom should have an area designated to reading, it should be a fundamental part of each school day and consistent through each stage of school from nursery through to secondary school.
Research suggests there are 5 important benefits to having an effectively designed classroom library:
- It supports literacy taught within the classroom
- Helps children to learn about books
- Provides a central location for classroom resources
- Promotes independent reading
- Allows children to talk about and interact with books
Children from a young age instantly have a fascination and a keen interest in books but as they get older it’s common for children to lose the interest in reading stories so that passion for reading is sometimes lost.
Reading plays a huge part in the development of skills such as literacy, language and helps children to recognise and understand new words.
During school it is vital teachers actively promote reading within groups but also allow children to read independently. Allowing children to take books home will also help to actively encourage reading.
Using your library of books you are also able to set homework which relates to the book of choice. Make sure you have a good booking out system in place though - you don’t want your books to get misplaced or left at home.
Your Classroom Library
A library should first and foremost provide children with a wide range of age appropriate books covering a variety of topics – both stories and non-fiction.
Not all children learn and develop at the same pace so you need to have books that children both above or below that particular age group can still read and enjoy.
The size of your reading collection may be determined by school funding, but there are many ways you can attain a larger collection of books without having to break the bank.
- Ask parents for donations – most children have books at home that they are no longer reading.
- Library book sales are great as the prices for books are relatively low so you can pick up some great bargains here.
- At the end of each year most parents and children give their teachers presents – ask for book tokens or book donations to help widen the range of reading books in your library.
- Charity shops often have plenty of good quality books which are usually reasonably priced.
E-books, there are hundreds of free and readily available books online. If your classroom has a computer you can allow children to read books from your online library.
As well as providing your classroom library with a rich variety of books they also need to be easily accessible for children.
You need to ensure books are displayed in an inviting manner and that children can easily select a book without being overwhelmed by shelves and boxes of untidy books.
If your library space is limited then book spinners are great as they don’t require much space and they have the ability to hold and display books neatly and so they can be easily accessed by children.
Kinderboxes work really well in classrooms and reading corners. They come in a choice of sizes and colour options and they can hold a large amount of books which children can view and access easily.
Here at Early Learning Furniture we offer an extensive range of Kinderboxes which are all perfect for classroom reading corners and small classroom libraries.
Our book trolleys are ideal for holding and storing books that may be shared from classroom to classroom. Book trolleys are versatile and extremely handy as they are mobile and each book trolley can hold plenty of books.
We also offer a popular range of Tortuga library shelvingwhich can hold large amounts of books and allow you to create a bespoke reading area.
Available in a choice of heights and a wide range of colour options. You can tailor make your own library to suit your classroom design and space.
Our book browsers are fantastic for inviting and encouraging children to read and we have some fun shaped book browsers that would excite any child.
Our Crocodile and Elephant shaped book browsers are a bigger choice which will require more space but do offer a truly exciting reading experience.
As well as having an interesting collection of books that are displayed neatly it is also important especially within early years to provide an area such as a cosy reading corner, where children can sit and interact with books and other children.
To find out more about the different reading stages read ‘The Importance of Early Years Reading’.
Here at Early Learning Furniture we understand the importance of reading within the early years’ foundation stages and we provide you with the equipment you need to create a stimulating and exciting reading environment. View our full range of library furniture here.
At ELF we are experts in early years’ educational resources and supply classroom furniture, library furniture, equipment to primary schools, pre-schools, nurseries and playgroups. For more information about our library furniture or any of our products please contact us or call our sales team on 01733 511121.
Permalink:
https://www.earlylearningfurniture.co.uk/blog/creating-your-classroom-library.aspx