So what exactly are book baskets? Essentially, book baskets provide a system of organizing your library by theme. It allows students to focus on one general area of study at a time while teaching them about general organization and categorization. There are a few basic elements. The main element is, as you might suspect, the basket itself. You can get them in brilliant colors (as our title suggests) of all different shapes, but you can also get them in more neutral colors if your classroom calls for it. I recommend Really Good Stuff Plastic Storage Baskets in rainbow colors or ECR4Kids Bendy Bins for simple colorful ones, and if you think you’ll add a lot of props (keep reading to see what I mean by props), I’d recommend the Storex Classroom Caddy. Another important element is the book basket labels. The sky is the limit with these. Honestly, if you’re a crafty person, you can fashion some pretty fancy ones with a trip to the craft store and some basic computer know-how. However, if you enjoy the ease of shopping for them, I’ve put some specific suggestions below. Now that you have the baskets and the labels, what exactly do you put in your book baskets? As you might expect, you add books! Shocker, I know! The main thing here is to find books that match the theme or designation for each basket. Finally, you can add some extras to your baskets depending on the topic. For example, if you’re teaching younger children about animals, you can add pieces for a felt board or add figurines. While this is optional, it does add a more tactile dimension to your baskets. Now that you know the basics, let me show you a few great ways you can use book baskets to really wow your kids! These chalkboard labels are cool. They stick to your basket and you can write on them with a chalk pen. They’re made of vinyl plastic, so they won’t rip or ruin easily. These labels are also a win. They come with an attached clip, which you can use creatively…perhaps to assign each student to a different basket each week or so. If you’re looking for labels that are a bit different than ones you have to write yourself, try using emotion flash cards as the label. Here are actual picture cards, but you can also go with something animated. For each holiday, try adding in more extensive cultural information. For example, with Christmas, try to find books on how it’s celebrated in different countries. This could open up a lot of conversation opportunities with your students. Good ol’ multi-colored dots might be useful for this organization method. This pack by ChromaLabel includes 38 different colors so it’s easy to color code between-level reading material as well. You could print out and laminate colorful theme-centered labels for this one, but if you’d rather try something less labor-intensive, give these fun and playful Superhero labels a try. Check out these state flag stickers! They could easily be used as a labeling system. Since morning time is a special time, try setting aside one special basket for this time and switch out the material as the theme for the morning changes. This woven wicker basket is a good option, although there are several options out there.
