Strategies for Book Shopping in the Classroom
When your students go book shopping in the classroom, are they choosing books that are just right for them? You know… ones they are going to enjoy reading? As a literacy teacher one of your top priorities in reading workshop or conferring classroom is building reading engagement. When your students are motivated to read, have and use strategies to comprehend what they read, can construct meaning from the text, and are socially collaborative while reading…
that's when you have engaged readers!
There are 5 ways you can cultivate engaged readers in your classroom. Watch the video below. It's Part 1 of my Facebook Live Series called “Reading Engagement: Get Your Students in the Reading Zone”.
Now, if comprehension is NOT the root of the engagement problem; then it's time to focus on engagement itself. One of the ways to build reading engagement is by teaching your readers how to choose books that are just right for them and ones they will enjoy reading.
I can't wait to give you 3 book shopping strategies for students. These strategies can be taught in a mini lesson, individual conference, or small group.
Smart Readers recognize the kinds of books that are at their personal level.
Often times in a mini lesson, conferences, or small groups you want to start the lesson with some sort of a connection. Set them up for success in the lesson by giving them a sneak peek of what they are going to learn and WHY it's important to them becoming a stronger reader. So here is what a connection could sound like for this strategy:
“You and me, both, need tons and tons of high success reading to grow as readers. We need a lot of time to read when we are not fussing over hard words, when we are not stopping and starting and stopping again. When we read slowly, the text can be hard to follow. So instead, we want our reading to feel almost like you're talking, or being talked to, because it sounds so smooth. So, if you're going to be the leader of your own reading life, you'll need to know HOW to make big decisions about what kinds of books you are going to read. So I'm going to teach you how to check whether or not a book is going to be a smooth read and JUST RIGHT for you.”
Smart Readers choose what their relationship toward books will be.
So here is what a connection could sound like for this strategy:
“Then ask the class if they know what a “cranky” person is (or fill in another adjective). Let's say I live next to a cranky neighbor. I wouldn't dare go trick-or-treating or ask to borrow a cup of sugar. Because if I ring the doorbell, he or she probably would say, “Get off my porch. Don't you dare ring my doorbell again!” Well today, I want to teach you that readers must choose what their relationship toward books will be. We can be cranky toward books. Or we can let books matter to us, reading them like they're PURE GOLD.”
Smart Readers develop systems for finding books they will love.
So here is what a connection could sound like for this strategy:
“Readers always have a stack of books beside them- and these books are ones that can turn them into the readers they really want to be. To find books that are just right for us, we need systems that can help us find these books. I was thinking that maybe we could work together to think about how we can develop systems right in this classroom for helping each other find just right books. You in?”
Need more resources to help your students go book shopping in the classroom?
Then, grab my Book Shop ‘Til You Drop Classroom Library Checkout System.
You'll have book shopping schedules, lesson plans, student tools, and book shopping anchor charts to help your students choose just right books.
For more free strategies and tips for book shopping in the classroom and building reading engagement:
- Watch the replay of my Facebook Live Series called “Reading Engagement: Get Your Students in the Reading Zone”.
- Catch me on Instagram.
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