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Mr. Jackson’s Classroom Edit display name

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Each year teachers set up their classrooms and one of the most important parts of the room is the teacher’s library. They lay out rugs, pillows, and comfy chairs that only kings have sat in. The reading area is meant to be a comfortable place to relax and dive into a good book. Children walk in on Meet the Teacher night and it’s one of the first places they visit. We make it look inviting and exciting! And as I talk to the parents and listen as they tiptoe along the lines of “yes I needed to know that”, and “oh wow, too much information", I tell their child to see if they can find a book they like. Now the thing is, before I tell them that, I should equip them with a hard hat and one of those headlamps that miners use in caves...Because they’re going to have to dive deep. Hidden beneath that beautiful display that most of us put together, is the ugly truth. Classroom libraries are filled with boring books. One of the most popular songs sung in my reading area is, “I don’t like any of these books." I wish I could say it was a solo. Maybe even a duet. But after a few weeks of them scrounging around and trying to find the last of the quality reading materials in there, like searching for water in a desert, it becomes a chorus. “IIII don’t liiiiiike any of theeeeeese books." I want to use my classroom as an example of how we can get kids reading; to take them far away from viewing it as a way of teacher torture. If we give them unlimited access and ease to the books they love, that habit will be built.

About my class

Each year teachers set up their classrooms and one of the most important parts of the room is the teacher’s library. They lay out rugs, pillows, and comfy chairs that only kings have sat in. The reading area is meant to be a comfortable place to relax and dive into a good book. Children walk in on Meet the Teacher night and it’s one of the first places they visit. We make it look inviting and exciting! And as I talk to the parents and listen as they tiptoe along the lines of “yes I needed to know that”, and “oh wow, too much information", I tell their child to see if they can find a book they like. Now the thing is, before I tell them that, I should equip them with a hard hat and one of those headlamps that miners use in caves...Because they’re going to have to dive deep. Hidden beneath that beautiful display that most of us put together, is the ugly truth. Classroom libraries are filled with boring books. One of the most popular songs sung in my reading area is, “I don’t like any of these books." I wish I could say it was a solo. Maybe even a duet. But after a few weeks of them scrounging around and trying to find the last of the quality reading materials in there, like searching for water in a desert, it becomes a chorus. “IIII don’t liiiiiike any of theeeeeese books." I want to use my classroom as an example of how we can get kids reading; to take them far away from viewing it as a way of teacher torture. If we give them unlimited access and ease to the books they love, that habit will be built.

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About my class

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