Thursday, September 27, 2012

Organizing My Mentor Texts

I kind of wish my one little word (OLW) for 2012 would have been organize. It was really "faith", but that's another post and a half that I'm not ready to talk about in cyberspace. Not that you would know by looking at my desk, my office/craft room, kitchen counter or classroom countertops...but I really do love the feeling of organizing specific things. 

I've been working on organizing my mentor texts for specific lessons that I do each year. I decided that it would be easier to put books that I use for reader's workshop lessons, writer's workshop lessons and math lessons in one place, rather than sticking them back in the "cupboard full of books".   

So, I've been using these bins (not very pretty or exciting yet) to help me collect the books that I use each year for specific lessons. The card in front of each book is labeled with the title/author/focus for the lesson. After trying alphabetical order last year, I decided to put them in order of how I would teach each lesson throughout the year. For example, the books that I would use for reader's workshop at the beginning of the year are in the front of the reader's workshop section. It's still a work in progress, but I love the fact that it's easy for me to find the books I need for specific lessons.


Last year, I hosted a linky party about mentor texts for writer's workshop.  You can find the linky party post here.  You can also find the list of mentor texts for writer's workshop that I made from the linky party here.  

Do you organize your mentor texts in a specific spot or leave them with the rest of your books?

2 comments:

  1. I am definitely going to use this idea. I feel like I am always scrambling at the last minute to get a book for a Readers Workshop lesson. And I'm going to check out your linky party to get me started!

    Sara :)
    Smiling In Second Grade

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  2. Half my books are pulled but the other half is still mixed in with the library. I really need to get with the program. I waste so much time digging!! Thanks for the tip.

    Kimberly
    The Learning Tree

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