Using Student Book Bins in the Elementary Classroom

Students need access to books all the time for daily reading, but sometimes, traveling among the classroom can be distracting. On the other hand, shoving books in student desks can be hard on the books and can clutter up classroom desks. Today, I'd like to share how I use student book boxes. It is a primary teacher's dream to have those colorful, fancy book boxes from Really Good Stuff for each student to store their independent reading books. If you're not quite ready to make the costly investment, here are a few cheaper alternatives.

Magazine Boxes from Ikea:

Ikea has a pack of 5 cardboard book boxes for $2. That's around $10 for a class set! These are white cardboard so students can decorate them with markers, stickers, etc. You can also order these online, but the shipping isn't cheap. They do get pretty rough looking by the end of the year, but they are cheap enough to buy a new set next year. (I also use these to organize my thematic classroom books that I use seasonally.)

Ice Boxes:

You can usually find these bins in blue or white at Walmart, Big Lots, etc for around $1-2 each. They're not quite as sturdy as book bins, but they are a similar size and you can't beat the price!

Dollar Store Baskets:

These are from Dollar Tree a few years ago. Dollar Tree has a huge selection of bins, so check them out for something that might work for you.

Group Book Storage Options:

If you don't have space for individual student bins, here are a few space saver options:

Plastic Pouches:

These give students a place to store their books that they can put in their desk, cubby or seat pocket.

Gallon Sized Ziplock Bags:

I always use gallon Ziplocs for take home books but the work great for student classroom books too. Last year I found these decorative bags at Ikea. They were a little bigger than gallon size which was nice. They didn't hold up quite as well, but they were cheap enough to replace as needed. You can also order student take home book bags in many different sizes, materials, and colors.

Target Dollar Spot Bins:

If you're still all about the pretty plastic bins here are a few cheaper choices:

Years ago you could buy these for $1. Now they are in the in the Target dollar spot for $3 at the beginning of the year if you're lucky enough to get them before some other teacher buys them all!

Step to Literacy Bins:

You can order these bins at Steps to Literacy. They are very similar to the Really Good Stuff bins but a little cheaper ($4 each or 20 for $70). I haven't used them personally, but I've heard good things about them.

If you want super cheap book boxes, write a grant. Nothing beats free! After 12 years of teacher I finally wrote a mini grant for my local education foundation to get a class set of book boxes. It was such a happy day when those beautiful book boxes arrived.  Try donors choose or your local education foundation to see if you can get a book box grant funded.

I bought business card sticky pockets (online from Costco) to put on the front of each book box. Each student decorated a blank business card with their name and a design. This made it easy to let them personalize the book boxes while being able to reuse them each year. I also use these for my classroom book bins that change seasonally.

I hope you've found a few (cheaper) ideas for student book boxes in your classroom. Nothing beats letting each student choose and store their own books to read! Do you have other ideas for student book boxes? Leave us a comment, we'd love to hear from you!

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