HoW EMPTY BOOKSHELVES INSPIRE CLASSROOM READING
Three weeks before school started, I stood surrounded by stacks of books and surveyed my empty classroom. I reached for a pile of my favorite picture books; the ones I read at the beginning of the year. Many serve as mentors that my fifth graders and I will return to again and again. As I went to display them, I stopped and remembered how I ended the last school year. Each day we read a picture book to count down the last days of school. During my end of year interviews, students shared how much they enjoyed and anticipated reading a new picture book each day. So, I thought, “What if I do something similar at the beginning of school?”
With that thought, I placed the book I read on the first day, This is a School by Jon Schu, and left the rest of the shelves empty. While it was not pretty (as you can see in the photo on the right), it sent a message that we will build a reading life together in this room. Since then, we have added books to this shelf; one for each day that we have been together. We are not only celebrating reading, we are marking our time together.
More Empty Shelves
While I was at it, I did the same with another bookshelf. Typically I display the books I’ve read over the summer but truthfully, this summer I tended to my own reading life and lost myself in books like Long Bright River, by Liz Moore and My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. That is what I needed so I read very few middle grade novels and therefore, had few to share.
Because the shelves stood empty, the kids filled them. This year more than any other, students organically started sharing books and asking to give book talks. After they share a book, they place in on this shelf. When students need a book, they head to that shelf first feeling confident in a choice that a classmate read and enjoyed. And it keeps growing- a third empty bookshelf. on which I had planned to display read aloud texts, is now filled with books students have read and recommended.
My takeaway: GIVE THEM SPACE!
I am used to starting the school year with blank walls; hanging charts as we learn lessons gives students a stake in the space. But this is the first time I started with blank shelves. I’ve never loved the expression “less is more”but in this case, it is certainly true! Starting with empty shelves inspired students to fill them.
