What is First Chapter Friday?
Book Ideas for First Chapter Fridays:
- Newly released books or books recently added to the classroom
- The first book in a series
- Student recommendations
Some Suggested Titles to Start With:
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
- Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Some activities you can incorporate during D.E.A.R. time are:
- Flashlight Friday: Close the window blinds, and turn of the lights. Give each student a flashlight, and you’re ready. (You can purchase or have donated a set of flashlights like the ones found here.)
- Fireplace Reading: Go on to YouTube and find a crackling fireplace to display on the board while the students read.
- Outdoor Reading: Have students grab their current read and take it outside. Late Spring and early Fall are a great time for this activity depending where you live. If you plan ahead and want the students to have some anticipation, ask them to bring towels or blankets to school on a certain day.
Hosting a book tasting in your classroom is another engaging way to expose your students to a variety of genres. Although they take a little more planning, they are a fun and powerful way to introduce students to new books and authors that they may not otherwise have exposure to on their own.
To read more how I set book bites in my classroom, click here.
Nothing beats the book recommendation of a peer. In our classroom, we have ongoing ‘book logs’ on a bulletin board where students keep their current read and their book recommendations.
When students aren’t sure what they’d like to read next, they head on over to the board and glance at the different suggestions. Occasionally, I have students come up to the board and discuss their “4 Star Book Recommendation” in order to give other readers ideas of books they might find interesting.
Last, but definitely not least, are book trailers. Book trailers are usually just a few minutes long, and just like a movie trailer, they add suspense and intrigue which motivate students to possibly want to read the book.
Many book trailers are created by students, so I encourage you to first watch them before showing them. However, here I am highlighting some of the official book trailers I found online that you may want to share with your students.
Each book trailer was found on YouTube, but I am also linking them through SafeYouTube.net in order to avoid any inappropriate suggestions from popping up on the screen while you show the book trailers to your students.
Official Book Trailer Suggestions:
- Crenshaw by K. A. Applegate YouTube Link
- The School for Good and Evil by Woman Chainani YouTube Link
- Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty YouTube Link
- The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson YouTube Link
- Refugee by Alan Gratz YouTube Link
- The One and Only Ivan by K. A. Applegate YouTube Link
- Chomp by Carl Hiassen YouTube Link
- Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier YouTube Link
- WishTree by Katherine Applegate YouTube Link
- Guts by Raina Telgemeier YouTube Link