Inside: 5 ways I grew my FVR (free voluntary reading) library without spending my own money.
We all know that having students read in the target language is one of the most important & crucial ways to build students' comprehension. We also know that building your own FVR library can be very costly! I have listed down below 5 ways that have helped me grow my classroom library without spending ANY of my own money.
1. GoFundMe - When I was started to build my FVR library, I started a GoFundMe account that I shared on all of my personal social media platforms. I also sent it out via text & email to many of my family members and friends. On my GoFundMe page I made sure to have a very solid and research based description of why gaining Spanish books for my classroom was important & included pictures of what my vision looked like in my classroom. I was able to raise almost $500 using this platform! It can take time to raise the money, but slow & steady wins the race, right?
2. Grant Writing - There are SO many grants out there that go unclaimed/not given simply because no one applies for them. Take some time researching what grants are out there and what you could receive.
3. Title Money - Talk to your administrators! Every year many schools are allocated a certain amount of funds that NEED to be used or the school won't receive the same amount of money the next school year. Some of these funds can only be used for very specific purposes. I have found that often times language learning falls under some of those very specific guidelines. It might work for you, it might not, but the conversation with your admin is definitely worth it.
4. Amazon wish list - I know that many of us educators have an Amazon wish list. Have you posted it on your class website? Some years parents visit my class website daily & some years parents never visit my class website. It really depends on my group of kids. Every now and then I will see that a parent/school family purchased a book off of the linked amazon wish list. Try it out! You might be surprised. :)
5. Request free books from Half Price Books - Half Price Books donates free books to classrooms & school libraries! Fill out the form on their website & see if you get selected!
I love connecting with all of you! If you have any specific questions PLEASE use the chat feature on this post or send me a DM on Instagram (@maestraehlert).
Always,
