How to Organize First Chapter Friday

First Chapter Friday is a chance to share amazing novels with your students and get them excited about reading. If you organize it well, it’s something your students will enjoy all year. Here are some tips for organizing First Chapter Friday.

• Keep a list of all of the novels you share with your students. Be sure to write down the title, author, and genre. As the year goes on, this will help you make sure you are sharing a diverse group of authors and varying the genres.

• If this is something you plan to continue next school year, take notes about students’ reactions. If your students loved one book and hated another, that will help you choose books next year.

• Provide students with an easy way to keep track of the books they are interested in. A major goal of First Chapter Friday is to help students find books for independent reading. If students don’t keep a list of what they enjoyed, they won’t remember titles when it’s time to check out books.

• To keep students engaged and focused while you read, provide them with some kind of active listening form to fill in. Graphic organizers and doodle notes are good options.

• If you lose your voice halfway through the day like I do, remember that students love audiobooks, too. If you use Audible or YouTube, be sure to have the audio cued up and ready to go.

If you want a premade First Chapter Friday toolkit to help you stay organized, click here.

Happy reading!

Laura

Resources:

First Chapter Friday Kit