First Chapter Friday by Jenni

Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

I want my classroom culture to be a place where the purpose of reading is not solely for performing well on a test, but instead, because my students are enjoying the story and the journey it takes them on. One way to get students to love reading is to introduce them to books they didn’t know exist, or a book they wouldn't pick up off the shelf. We all know that feeling of picking up a new book and reading the first couple of pages and just knowing you are going to fall in LOVE with the characters and their story. I want my students to know these stories. I want to introduce them to characters that inspire them, push them to be better, make them laugh, and make them think. Characters that are struggling with growing up also. I want them to read stories that remind them that they’re not alone in this big world. Stories of struggle, overcoming adversity, love stories, and self-love stories. Stories of helping other people, animals, and the environment. Stories that can never really happen but are beautifully written.

I’ve tried a couple of things over the years to get my students to love reading. Many of the things I’ve implemented had the reverse effect, and I found my students disliked reading even more than before. Therefore, my approach, for now, is to surround them with quality novels and texts with the stories and characters mentioned above whenever possible. One way to do this is with First Chapter Friday.

What is First Chapter Friday?

*Let me start by saying that I did not come with this idea on my own. I follow a couple of teachers on social media who partake in First Chapter Friday in their classrooms, and I have some amazing co-workers who started it their classes earlier this year (shout out to Sabrina Blake and Meg Smit). I loved the idea and thought it would be a great way to foster the love of reading with my kids.

First Chapter Friday is when you read the first chapter of a new book to your class. Yep, only one chapter. I started a couple of months ago, and now many of my students walk in on Fridays asking when we’re going to read First Chapter Friday. The thought behind this idea is that just one chapter is all some students need to get hooked on to a new book. In the limited time that I’ve done First Chapter Friday, each book has been checked out of my library by the following Monday. I’d call that a success!

How to implement First Chapter Friday:

1. Choose a different genre than the genres you usually see your kids reading, or than what you normally read to them. I found that this helped to hook the reluctant readers in my class because it was different than what they would normally pick for themselves when reading in class.
2. Choose a book that is part of a series. This is a tricky way to get kids to read even more books because if they like the characters and plot line, they will want to know what happens next.
3. Try to choose a book early in the week and put it on display. This way it builds the anticipation up and the kids get excited. A couple of my students have started making a prediction about the book which makes my teacher heart melt.
4. Use your Scholastic points to “buy” new books that the kids haven’t seen in your library,  or ask to borrow books from willing coworkers.
5. Make it fun spirited. Let the kids get comfortable. Find a YouTube video of a crackly fire to set the mood. Go outside and find a tree to read under.

Happy Reading,

Jenni Merry