As the year comes to a close, it is that time that we all begin thinking about the brighter tomorrow.  What new innovation will I bring to my students next year?  What will I improve upon?  Lots of questions fill the educator’s mind all summer. 

I have begun thinking about the library collection and some existing labeling that has been here since the dawn of time, the color coded reading levels.  Many of you are probably familiar with the computer-based quizzing system that has dominated elementary education since the late 1980’s.  I am proud to say that we are breaking free from this low level questioning monster that has dictated our students’ reading choices for the past 2 decades.  I have watched for many years teachers turn students back to the shelves to find another book because the one they have chosen doesn’t have the “right” color dot on the spine.  Or, how about the poor book that has no dot because a quiz over the content of the book was never created?  This has made my heart break over and over again for both the children and the books.

Finally, the spell is broken and the dots that don the spines of the library collection are free from their bondage, which leaves me with a huge collection with thousands of colorful dots just sticking there. 
I have pondered the idea of removing them all, but the task would be enormous.  So, they will stay as a symbol of the past. 

I do believe that the dots can still be used as a guide to help students find books they will be successful reading, but they will no longer dictate to children the only books they are permitted to read. 

I know that students need guidance. They should be taught strategies to determine if they will be able to successfully read a book and understand it’s content.  A wonderful story to help with that is Goldie Socks and the Three Liberians by, Jackie Mims Hopkins.   This wonderful fairytale teaches students how to choose a “just right book”.  I have the posters from the story hanging on the book shelves around the media center to help students remember the strategies.  By empowering our students with strategies, they will make informed decisions and learn what is best for their level of reading.  They are capable of self-selecting and self-monitoring their own reading choices.