Book Baskets

Every morning students hustle and bustle about the room getting their materials ready for the day. By permitting children to sink into a good book as soon as they enter the classroom teachers allow students to ease into the day with little chaos. To do this, set out a few baskets of books for each small group of students in your class. These baskets should include approximately 25 pieces of literature which are at each student’s independent reading level. Students will be reading three to four of these on their own so it is important for the pieces of literature to be easy enough for each child to read on their own, yet exciting enough for them to stay engaged. Book baskets not only encourage young readers to practice reading behaviors, but they also help motivate students and build a community of readers.

 

Miller suggests including a few of the following items in book boxes:
  • Poems
  • Familiar Stories
  •  Songs and Songbooks
  •  Favorite Read Alouds, and
  • Non-fiction (complete with engaging pictures)