Having a wide selection of books in the upper elementary classroom is such an important part of the reading program!
Especially when students are able to self-select books to read during silent reading time each day!
Finding books for FREE or at an affordable price is something that CAN be done! All it takes is a bit of effort and some time.
Here are some of my favorite ways of building a classroom library:
1.Set up a Donor’s Choose project! So many of these get funded!
2. Ask for donations from retiring teachers or see if veteran teachers may have extras to share.
3. Ask for donations from your student’s parents. You might be surprised how many books they’re willing to share once their kids have read them!
4. Do book orders and get bonus points from Scholastic or other book clubs. They add up quickly and earn your classroom lots of free books!
5. Make an Amazon Wishlist and share it with friends or family. If your Room Parent asks you for gift ideas, this is a great place to recommend to him/her!
6. Get used books (only the ones in good condition, though or kids may not read them) from thrift stores, yard sales, and public library sales.
7. You can go online and ask friends (or neighborhood Facebook Groups) for any leftover books they’d like to donate. After all, it’s for the kids!
8. Try Half Price Books or other discount booksellers. Store managers have been known to give teachers big discounts or even to donate them free of cost!
Have any other ways to get more books for your classroom library? I’d love for you to share them in the comments!
Also, if you’re looking for reading resources for 3rd – 5th which are time-saving for teachers, aligned to key reading standards, and are engaging for kids, you might like to visit my store.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Jenn! With 20 years of teaching in the classroom and a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, my passion is to support teachers and their students by offering helpful teaching tips and quality resources. Thanks so much for joining me here!
