Organized by Genre

With the new school year, I organized my books by genres.  I even made genre labels to stick on my Dollar Tree baskets.   But I kept finding books that were NOT in the right spot.  Please tell me I'm not the only one this happens to!  Am I shocked?  Not at all!  They're kids, it happens.  Plus, sometimes, I don't know if the book should go in the realistic fiction basket or the funny stories one.  If I struggle as an adult finding the best place, I'm sure my kids do too.

With lexiles being everywhere with Common Core, I decided to level my library by lexile levels.  Plus, my school is BIG on lexiles.  Sure, it may limit some of my kiddos, but I know they will be reading books at their level.  And as you know, groups and levels are flexible so my little guys won't stay put for long. 

*I also have tubs of books at each table group with unlabeled books so my students have more choice to read by interest.  Yes, I think kids should read what they want, BUT, they need to able to read independently as well.

• I'll monitor their progress in guided reading groups
• I'll check their AR quizzes each week to make sure that they are successful at their independent reading level
• I'll use Enterprise Reading (same company as AR) to monitor

Steps to Lexile Organization

It's time to get organized so here's what you need to do to level your library as well!  Snag this lexile level list and add some stickers to it so you can color code your books. I printed mine on fun scrapbook paper.

1. Supplies

If I were to do it again, I'd make sure I had enough of those round stickers!  Don't make the mistake of getting the clear colored labels like I did because they didn't show up well on the books.  Choose a color for each level.  I thought about using cute washi tape but I don't want to risk the pattern not being around in a couple of years so I stuck to stickers.  You'll also need a device or computer.

2. Enlist help

If you have parent help, take advantage because this is a big task that took a few weeks.