After 15 years in the classroom I felt pretty confident with behavior management, but moving to the library was different. How could I set up a school library classroom management system? There are no grades, limited parent contact, and they only come to the library for a class every other week. As the librarian you have two main roles with students. You are the teacher and the person kids open up to and tell what they want to read. There is a fine balance between these two roles. (Like my clerk once said (in a gentle voice “Don’t talk back to me – I know your genre.”)
Here are a few simple ways to manage the school library.
School Library Classroom Management Tip #1 – Mystery Readers
Take a class role and number it off at the beginning of the year assigning 2-3 students to each week. These are my mystery readers. At the end of class, look at that list to see those students have met expectations. If so, they get a prize (with pencils, bookmarks, erasers, candy, school bucks etc.).
School Library Management Tip #2 – Class Rewards
Class rewards – I have 5 book cut outs on my Promethean board. Each one has a different face. If I have to stop and wait for a student then I take a tally. (Ex: stop rocking a chair, talking while I am teaching, basically anything not meeting my expectations). Usually that fixes the behavior without me having to miss a beat. If the class has a book left at the end of class, they get a sticker in their class jar. If they have all 5 books left then they get 2 stickers. If they loose all tallies, the class doesn’t get a sticker in the jar and they have a silent checkout. (I usually allow students to talk quietly while they check out.) This gets the teachers on my side too and supporting the library expectations too.
The class with the most tallies at the end of the quarter wins a 30-minute library time where they can read for pleasure, use Makerspace items, and get on the iPads and Chromebooks in the library.
I did have one class this year that just could not get it together. Since they took so much of my time talking, I didn’t have time for most of them to checkout books. Only 3 students continuously followed my expectations for the time. So, they were the only ones who left with new books. (I told the teacher they were welcome to come back individually and get books when it worked for her schedule.) I lost sleep over that decision, but it worked. They have been the best class in the school since that day.
School Library Classroom Management Tip #3 – Learn the Students
This one should be first, but learn names. (Ok, so make it first names that are important – don’t ask me to say last names.) I know there are a lot of names. Try reading the roles right before classes come in the library.
We have ID markers with their names and bar code on them for checkout. I use these to call on people during class so I get variety of students answering and practice. I also make it a habit to practice calling students by name as I see them at morning and afternoon duty. Being able to use a name when helping a student show them they were important.
School Library Tip #4 – Be There for the Teachers
Some kids just need a break from the classroom. Let the teachers know that you are open for individual checkouts.
Find ways to collaborate with teachers, learn their management styles, and suggest books that their classes enjoy.
Try making lists of your materials that match grade level standards. You can also make lists of high interest books on specific reading levels. This allows you to match the teacher need of reading level with student choice.
School Library Behavior Tip #5 – Set Up the Library For Success
Have multiple displays where students can easily find the books they want. Often it is during a whole class check out that things get a little bit crazy. Librarians are helping multiple kids at once and questions are coming left and right. Be sure that students know how to use the library to find what they want.
Want to assess student understanding of your library set up? Try this Library Scavenger Hunt.
Ultimately, the easiest way to get behavior under control is with respect. And remember, being the librarian has the easiest classroom management reward – a great read aloud!
School Library Management Tip #6 – Using Games
Games are a great way to engage learners and motivate them to want to learn. When playing a game, students will ask questions they often don’t ask in a normal lesson. They want to know how to win or finish the task. Using movement and scavenger hunts engages students and minimizes the classroom distractions.
More School Library Ideas and Lessons:
- Dewey Decimal Posters
- Nonfiction Library Labels + Graphic Novels
- Dewey Decimal Scavenger Hunt
- Elementary Library Lesson Plan – Diary of a Pet
- Library Section Lesson Plans and Flip Book
Leave a Reply