DIY Classroom Library Sticks

Hey teacher friends! I have had a few comments on Organized Classroom’s Facebook page lately about organizing your classroom libraries and wile I do have a few ideas for library checkouts, I also thought the idea below might also help out just for keeping your books organized a little better while students are “shopping.”

Oh, and they are super easy to make!

When students find a book in your classroom library, they place their stick in that basket so they know where to return the book when finished! Easy peasy!

There’s nothing worse than students digging through your perfectly organized classroom library books bins that have painstakingly been labeled with the correct category or level, only to have books tossed back in different bins and have to start all over again.

It makes my organizational heart hurt.

So I needed a way to allow students to peruse the book titles, while still having an easy way for them to also replace the books back into the correct book basket when they were finished.

You might want to check out:

A few classroom library checkout system ideas for your classroom library organization setup.

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Super Easy Checkout System
Teaching Students to Reshelf Their Selections
Book Gift Idea
Learning How to Create Book Labels
A Quick Book Log to Encourage Reading at Home

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Book Basket Organization

To make:

1. Grab some paint sticks from your local home improvement store, or old rulers from your stash of school supplies. {I used rulers because they were on hand and easy for me to grab.}

2. Find some washi tape in your classroom decor colors and decorate your sticks however you like. The possibilities are endless.

3. Create some toppers. You can either use a Word processing program , or even go freehand! Print out on cardstock. Use a large paper punch to make it uber simple to cut them out. Laminating is optional.

4. Attach toppers to your sticks with hot glue or a large piece of clear packing tape.

That’s it! Did I mention how simple it was?

Students Organizing the Classroom Library on Their Own

Now, students can either grab the library stick with their name or number on it whenever they are searching through your classroom library.

When they find a book, they place their stick in that basket or lay it down horizontally on the bookshelf where the book was or vertically in a book bin. When it is time to return the book, the student will know exactly where to place it upon return! Yay!

Of course, no system works perfectly, but I bet with practice, most students should be able to follow this system easily!

Drop all the sticks into a large clear container and set it right by the classroom library so the sticks stay presentable and close at hand.

How do you keep your classroom library organized while students are browsing? We would love to hear your ideas in the comments below too!

Happy organizing!

~Charity