Building an Irresistible Classroom Library for your World Language Students
Creating Independent Readers takes more than a pile of books on a shelf: we must curate an engaging library and equip students with tools to explore and enjoy target language texts.
Caitlin was a fast finisher. It didn’t matter what the task was – she finished in half the time I’d planned, far ahead of the other students. And, her work was well done. I had trouble even thinking of ideas for her to improve. I wanted to challenge her, but I didn’t have time to do an extra prep for one student. And she burned through all my supplements as fast as I could photocopy them.
My fall-back was my classroom library. Unfortunately, Caitlin wasn’t really interested. Sometimes I could convince her to take a book, but she didn’t seem to really engage. And, I wasn’t sure what to do about that. My concerns came to a head when one afternoon, the ever-compliant Caitlin complained, “Do I have to take a book? I don’t even know what to do with it!”
That little comment shocked me…. and prompted me to reevaluate my entire classroom library and its role in instruction. I started to think about what makes me, as a proficient reader, want to read independently? It’s more than just the availability of books!
I realized that in my own life, I choose to read when:
I am very interested in the content OR
I really need to know about a topic AND
I selected the text of my own volition to achieve my purpose AND
I have choice whether to skim, deeply read, or abandon the text at any point.
Now, reading with students isn’t going to perfectly mirror my own independent reading habits. It’s appropriate to place structures on students as they’re developing literacy. Still, I wondered if there was a way to replicate my own reading selection criteria in my classroom.
As a first step, I took a critical look at my classroom library. I realized some of those ‘high interest’ texts weren’t actually so high interest. I started to cull out:
Books written to be read aloud to young children. Often these have compelling visuals, but the long paragraphs of text and complicated vocabulary are really beyond novice and intermediate language learners. Additionally, the topics (i.e., a bear who lost his mitten) aren’t necessarily engaging for teens.
Old periodicals: Travel magazines, magazines from the plane, color brochures from tourist sites, old news, sports, and fashion magazines… I had a ton of this type of material in my library. The kids never touched them.
Most Chapter books: Even books kids would enjoy in their first language are not accessible for novice or intermediate language learners. A student in my class who loved reading the Harry Potter series in English is likely to become discouraged when they can’t even read the first page in French. This is even more true for the yellowing copies of classic literature I saved from college. It’s fine that I love Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” and I don’t have to get rid of it… but in my classroom collection for novice students, it sends the subtle message that “French is too hard.”
Books Your Students Reject: In the process of culling out my classroom library, I laid dozens of books and magazines out on tables and asked the kids in upper level French to help me vet them. In general, if the kids weren’t interested in a text, I gave it the boot!
To revamp my classroom library, I started looking for books that met these criteria:
1. High interest:
“As teachers we should look for ways to replicate our own experience as independent readers in the target language.”
Find books on topics kids are interested in outside of class. For example:
How to books on drawing, crafts, art
video games, video game characters
well known fictional characters such as superheroes or anime
skateboarding, rock-climbing, parkour, extreme sports
cars, motorcycles
World record books, books on amazing facts
Specific sports like basketball, soccer, tennis, etc.
Makeup, fashion, hairstyles
Cooking, food
Animals, Plants, Astronomy, similar Science topics
Collections of comics that can be understood in a few frames rather than a book-length comic
Books with long blocks of text may be inaccessible for many independent readers.
2. High context
In general, books with long paragraphs of text will be challenging for language learners. Instead, look for books with lots of visual cues such as labeled diagrams, step-by-step instructions, and short blocks of text.
Non-fiction books on science or history topics can be excellent for novice & intermediate students. A book showing the different parts of a whale, a historical timeline, a diagram of the solar system, or a visual showing equipment a lacrosse player uses; these are high context documents that give students cues to help build comprehension. Language students can build vocabulary and construct meaning, even if they don’t understand everything on a page.
In contrast, fiction narratives tend to be more challenging for language learners because students must understand almost everything to make progress in a story. Furthermore, fiction often includes low-frequency vocabulary and unusual language structures that are more difficult for new learners to decode independently.
Look for high-context texts with lots of visual support for your independent reading library.
“ It’s fine that I love Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” … but in my classroom collection for novice students, it sends the subtle message that “French is too hard.””
3. Lower Reading Level
For independent reading, choose books with easier text. I find books written for target language 8-12 year olds are about right for my novice and intermediate teen learners. At this age, native speakers are ‘reading to learn’, but are still developing literacy skills – just like our students. Well written books for upper elementary topics are more interesting to older students and many books include supports to help readers build vocabulary and construct meaning. Choosing books with a lower reading level helps sets students up for independent reading success.
Revamping my classroom library was the first step; when students saw the engaging texts, they had more desire to read them. For the first time, a large number of students were taking time to peruse my books – not just the high-flyers. And while Caitlin had moved on from my class, I now had texts to capture and hold the interest of those fast finishers who needed a challenge.
I wanted to help every student experience the joy and satisfaction of independent reading. I’ll share some tips for accomplishing this in my next blog post. And stay tuned for 15 high-interest, high-context, low reading level books you should include in your French classroom library!
