As educators, we know that when students internalize the idea that they have limited ability as learners – whether it’s “I’m a low reader” or “I’m not a math person” – it can be pretty hard to shift their thinking.

I used to organize my classroom library using the Fountas & Pinnell system, which might sound familiar: Every book has a letter assigned to it that corresponds to a reading proficiency level. Levels A-D are usually applied to books that are shared with students in kindergarten, E-J are for first grade, and so on. And this can definitely be a useful system: For example, it can help me fill my classroom library with a mix of books to support each student’s journey toward proficiency.

But what I discovered last year is that my students were feeling limited by this system. Instead of asking me for an exciting mystery or an interesting fantasy, they were asking, “Which books are my level? What can I read?” When my students explore our class library, I want them to be guided by their interests and passions, not by their sense of their limitations. That’s why this year, I put my students in charge of organizing our classroom library – and they chose to organize it not by levels, but by genre.

This project brought increased empowerment and encouragement to the way my students read – and to the way they learn and collaborate together, too. That’s why I want to share the steps we took to organize our classroom library with you:

1. Define your goals for student experience and growth.

We educators all want to promote a love of reading and learning in our classrooms, so it might seem like “get students excited about reading” is all you need for a goal. For this project to make a difference for students however, it needs to connect with who they are as readers. That’s why I recommend learning about your students’ reading experiences and using that knowledge to set your goals. This year, I learned many of my students were “reluctant readers” who felt like reading was a limiting experience.

I knew this project could be a way to take that sense of limits away and replace it with a sense of possibilities. I also knew that if we took the levels out of our classroom library, my students would still need a system for choosing books that would support their growth. If they found themselves picking up books beyond their comprehension, they would likely get discouraged and disengage – but if they kept picking up books that didn’t challenge them, they could get bored and disengage just as fast. That’s why I set two specific goals: 1) Encourage students to see themselves as capable, joyful readers, and 2) Empower them to take charge of their reading. And that’s why I planned two activities: an independent reading anchor chart and a library reorganization circle.

2. Create an independent reading anchor chart.

First, I led a discussion designed to encourage students to start thinking in an empowered way about reading. I framed this for my students as: “How do we pick the just-right books for us?” I knew this would feel like a new question for my students, so I created an anchor chart with three questions to support their thinking: How do I know when a book is too easy? Too hard? Just right?

(Chart inspiration via educator Lucy Calkins)

If you try a chart like this with your students, I think the key is including questions students can ask themselves, because that makes it easy for them to take ownership of the process.

For example, one step students can take to evaluate a new book is to open it up and read the first page. Then they can ask themselves these questions: Can I read most of the words, but maybe there are a few I’m not sure about? If the answer is “yes,” that’s probably a just-right book. Am I flying through every word on the page? That’s probably a too-easy book. Am I struggling to get through each line? That might be a too-hard book – just for now. My students and I walked through those questions, and then I printed out smaller copies for their reading notebooks. Our big chart is still on the wall, but by providing students with their own charts, I can encourage agency and empowerment.

3. Put students in charge of a library reorganization circle.

Next, we sat in a circle, and I explained, “I’m teaching you how to find a just-right book because I want to give you the opportunity to decide how our classroom library is organized.” Sometimes students are in the habit of thinking about their reading identities in terms of what they can or can’t read, or what level is too easy or hard – and this discussion can be a great way to get them to start thinking about their reading identities in terms of how they like to explore and learn. That’s why I recommend putting students in charge of leading the conversation. I told my class, “I want to hear from you, so I’m just going to listen and take notes on our whiteboard.” They passed around a talking stick, and then we held a vote.

They voted to organize our library by genre, but they also decided to incorporate popular ideas. For example, a number of students said “Let’s have a way to choose a book based on what someone else likes about it” or “Let’s have a bin of ‘teacher favorites’” – so we now have a recommendation section that we all contribute to. As we wrapped up, I could already see how valuable it had been for students to drive this process: By thinking about how they would create their own library, they took the first step toward creating their own identities as readers.

4. Take opportunities to scaffold student agency and confidence.

Now that our classroom library is organized by genre instead of level, sometimes students still ask me, “Is this a book I can read?” or “Will this be too hard for me?” If you try reorganizing your class library with your students and still get these questions, it might seem like the reorganization isn’t working for them. My advice is to give students ample time and practice for each student to feel empowered to assess their skills and own their growth. In my class, those questions provide great opportunities for me to make sure this project continues to support my two big goals: encouraging my students to think of themselves as readers, and empowering them to shape the way they read and the way they grow.

That’s why my very first reply isn’t even about proficiency – it’s about joy. Before we start considering the book and the chart, I’ll say, “First, read the blurb and make sure this book is interesting to you. Because if not, then you don’t really need to evaluate it – you should look for something that feels more exciting to you!” I always recommend taking that chance to encourage each student to develop their own identity as a reader.

Next, I recommend taking the chance to promote their agency and confidence: I’ll invite them to grab the book and their anchor chart and support them with each step. For example, one step is reading the first page and deciding whether unfamiliar vocabulary might get in the way of comprehension. So, I’ll suggest they read out loud, then recap those pages, and then I’ll ask them to use those two experiences to assess the vocabulary. (This serves as a quick formative assessment, too, and informs the way I’ll approach our next lesson.) In my experience, students always reach a confident assessment of whether the book will or won’t support their progress; they just need some practice taking ownership of their skills and their growth.

I’m a firm believer in building student agency into my classroom culture, and I’m always looking for ways to center student voice and choice in my lesson plans, so this project was aligned well with my teaching philosophy. The impact on my students was more positive and more powerful than I could have imagined. In the weeks since we first sat down to talk about what it would mean for them to take charge of their reading progress and of our classroom library, I’ve seen my students share new excitement about reading, growing, skill-building – and simply seeing themselves as readers.