first chapter friday assignment

A Newbie’s Guide to First Chapter Friday

Learn how First Chapter Friday can help you create a literacy-rich classroom. Get ready to dive into the end-of-the-week treat teachers are raving about and learn how you can (and why you should) implement First Chapter Friday into your classroom.

Welcome to First Chapter Friday, my teacher friends. Both you and your students will love it.

First Chapter Friday is all the rage among elementary school teachers. From Pinterest to Instagram, this book-introducing technique is everywhere. And now, I’m happy to say it’s finding its way to the secondary classroom as well. (Finally!) As ELA teachers, we face the challenge of engaging students with literature. I don’t know about you, but getting my students to see the value of a good book (and want to read one on their own) was one of my biggest goals when I became a teacher. I quickly realized it wasn’t that simple. Students weren’t naturally drawn to literature like I was. But I wanted them to want to read. To get excited about finding a new book. To moan and groan when it was time to put the book down. The hard part? Figuring out how to get them to that point.

The answer? First Chapter Friday.

What is First Chapter Friday?

Is it exactly what it sounds like? You bet. First Chapter Friday is when you read the first chapter of a high-interest novel to your students at the end of each week. (Though, you can really do it any day that works best for your classroom.) That’s it! It’s that simple. It’s good old reading for the sake of enjoying a good book. No analysis necessary. (If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of students cheering at that one.)

First Chapter Friday is a great way to expose your students to new books with varying authors, genres, themes, and topics. The whole idea is to give them a sneak-peek into the book by reading the first chapter aloud. You’re able to pique their interest in a new book in around 10 to 15 minutes. So, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase some of your favorite YA books that you can’t quite fit into the curriculum, as well as dive into new and high-interest books together.

However, the real beauty in First Chapter Friday is that you can make it whatever you and your students need it to be. Read more than one chapter? Sure! Do it once a month? It’s better than nothing! Just sit back and get ready to share your love for books with even your most reluctant readers.

“How Do You Choose Your Books?”

There are really no rules here. (And what a wonderful thing that is!) However, of course, you want to keep your audience in mind to keep engagement high (and to avoid any angry parent calls to the principal). But, aside from making sure the book is appropriate for your audience, the possibilities are endless. However, I recommend reviewing the chapter (even if you’ve read it before) to note any inappropriate language or controversial topics. This will help you avoid any awkward surprises.

Additionally, don’t be afraid to read new books too! You might not have time to read the hot new book that was just published, but I do recommend reading (at least) the first few chapters. You can also turn to online reviews for help.

Lastly, remember the goal behind First Chapter Friday is to encourage your students to engage with new books. So, be sure your First Chapter Friday roster isn’t full of only books you like. And yes, that might mean choosing a book you wouldn’t typically go for.

Ask for help.

If you’ve run out of ideas or aren’t sure where to start, turn to your fellow teachers or the librarian for help. Ask them if they have any book suggestions that your students will love. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to share.

“How Do You Introduce Each Book?”

This is a matter of personal preference and depends on how much time you have. Sometimes you might give a little bit of background about the author for context. I’ve shown a movie trailer (when applicable) and have read some raving reviews to build momentum. There have been times when I’ve recapped a social issue or defined a new genre. Then there are also times when I simply read the synopsis on the back cover and then dive right in!

“Should I Assign Work with First Chapter Friday?”

Nope! I treat First Chapter Friday as a time for enjoyment and relaxation and prefer to keep it simple. (Honestly, I think my students appreciate that about this activity.) Instead, keep the focus on the enjoyment of the story at hand. Might we engage in a meaningful discussion post-read? Sure! But I never turn First Chapter Friday into an assignment. However, I encourage students to keep track of any books they’d like to read over the year. Provide students with a “Book List” handout at the start of the year, encouraging them to add First Chapter Friday titles to their list throughout the year.

Now, a room full of students with their heads on their desks might not be the best look for administrators poking their heads in. However, that doesn’t mean you need to turn First Chapter Friday into a strenuous activity either. Instead, you can keep students engaged with a mindful activity. I’m a fan of mandalas , coloring pages , and bookmarks, for example.

  The (Many) Benefits of First Chapter Friday

You mean, besides simply reading for fun? Yes.

• Expose Students to a Variety of Literature.

I know what it’s like to feel constrained by a jam-packed curriculum and limited time. Thankfully, First chapter Friday is a great way to introduce students to a plethora of new genres, authors, characters, and perspectives that would otherwise be pushed aside. (If you do the math, you can expose students to over 30 new books in a year.) Therefore, it allows teachers to show students the wide variety of literature available to them. I love hearing students admit they probably wouldn’t have picked one of the books from the shelf on their own.

• Spread the Love of Reading.

It breaks my heart when students claim to “hate reading,” but then it dawned on me: Students are so used to being told what, how, and when to read. Perhaps, I thought, they simply forgot how to read for pleasure. First Chapter Friday gives them back a sense of freedom around reading and is a fantastic way to cultivate a love for reading (again). So, yes, in just 15 minutes a week, you can make reading fun (and cool) once again! And if that isn’t music to your ears…

• Teach Students How to Choose Books.

Even if students like reading, the truth is, many students don’t know where to begin when choosing an independent reading book. First Chapter Friday is an excellent opportunity to model how students can select books they would want to read. Aside from showcasing the benefit of reading the first chapter, you can model strategies like analyzing a book jacket or doing a finger walk through a book to gauge one’s interest. (Plus, each week, students will be exposed to a book they very well may want to read on their own! And then it’s as simple as writing down the author and title.)

• It’s Low Stress and Low Prep, but High Engagement.

I don’t know about you, but that would be enough to have me ready to give First Chapter Fridays a go. Seriously, all you have to do is read. If you’re already an avid reader like me, you won’t have to spend a lot of time or energy putting together your list of books either. As for those books you haven’t read but want to share, a quick online search can help gauge if it’s appropriate to share with your students. Additionally, students love being read to no matter how old they are . And as proof of how engaged students are, they’ll be beginning to read juuuust one more chapter.

• Improve Class Culture and Community.

Sharing your genuine love for a good story is such a special moment. In fact, reading without any specific standard in mind breaks down a barrier between students and teachers, making room for a new type of bond to form. Honestly, this activity improved my relationship with my students and, in turn, made classroom management a heck of a lot easier. And it’s not just about my improved relationships with students. First Chapter Friday cultivates meaningful shared reading experiences throughout the year, giving students new opportunities to connect or bond over the love of the same book.

• Compliment Your Curriculum with “Leisure” Reads.

If you’re anything like me, you have a list of books you wish you could teach, but they don’t fit into the curriculum or, one of my favorites, they’re not “academic” or “rigorous” enough. (Are you rolling your eyes too?) I love using First Chapter Fridays as a way to introduce my students to more modern and engaging stories that align with our unit’s theme or essential question. It’s a great way to step out of consignments of the literary canon and expose your students to all sorts of diverse literature. Do I choose “just because” books too? Absolutely.

• It’s Totally Flexible!

First Chapter Friday works whenever, wherever you can fit it in. The beginning of the week? The start of class? You can adjust the “rules” to fit your needs. And in the wonky world we live in, it’s great to know this activity can work in both hybrid and completely virtual classrooms as well! You can read aloud on a Zoom, post a prerecorded video, or share an audio clip– the choices are endless!

Tips to Bring First Chapter Friday into Your Classroom

• Represent your students. Unfortunately, our curriculum doesn’t always reflect our student body as well as it should. First Chapter Friday can change that. As you pick your books, be sure to include books that reflect their various interests and backgrounds.
• Welcome student suggestions. You don’t have to find all the high-interest books on your own if you ask students to submit suggestions for First Chapter Friday. Simply keep a suggestion box in your classroom or post a simple Google Form to your Google Classroom. Not only will this take some pressure off of you, but it will also give them ownership of the activity.
• Allow for student guest stars. Why should you have all the fun? As the year progresses, feel free to invite students to read one of their suggested readings aloud. Just be sure to preview the text ahead of time.
• Consult the school librarian. Not only can you rely on the librarian for book suggestions, but you should also consult them with the books you decide to read. That way, they can ensure they have a copy or a few on hand for students to check out.
• Make it cozy. There’s nothing quite like cozying up with a good book, right? Consider setting the mood by turning off the lights or projecting a crackling fireplace video on the board.
• Don’t be afraid to use audiobooks. You talk all day. Maybe reading aloud is the last thing you want to do some days. (Totally understandable.) There’s nothing wrong with using an audiobook here and there! You might even find one of the authors reading their book, which is pretty cool. I also love finding recordings for any spooky books come October.
• Create a First Chapter Friday Features wall. Keep your book choices fresh in students’ minds all year long with a Feature wall.  Simply print out pictures of the covers to hang on your wall near your classroom library.

A Final Note on First Chapter Friday

I get it. It’s easy to fall into the trap of jam-packed curricula and the literary canon for your course. However, First Chapter Friday allows us to step back into reading for the sake of a good book. It allows us to step back into reading “just because” and enjoying a fantastic story. (No hidden agendas involved.)

As if we need another reason to love First Chapter Friday? It’s backed by research! Reading aloud has been linked to benefits such as heightened vocabulary skills and overall academic achievement. So, I guess you could say there really isn’t a reason you shouldn’t bring First Chapter Friday to your classroom, right? Looks like it’s time to start thinking about your book list! What will your first First Chapter Friday book be?

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First Chapter Fridays (FCF)

A weekly student engagement strategy that quickly introduces students to high-quality books they will love.

If you are brand new to the practice of First Chapter Fridays, watch the How Do I Do First Chapter Fridays video. If this isn’t your first rodeo with FCFs but you are looking for new and fun way to implement the strategy, check out the 20 Implementation Ideas video.  Then, scroll down to my FCF library that contains book information and read aloud video links for 180 books (and counting!).  Happy reading my friends! 

If you are looking for a way to ROUTINELY and REPEATEDLY introduce your students to great books, First Chapter Friday is the perfect way to make bookish magic happen in your classroom. It’s super simple, every Friday (it doesn’t have to be Friday) you tell your students about a great book and then read them the first chapter.  Not sure which books to read? Don’t super love reading out loud? Want to gift yourself a ten minute break at the start of class? Let me do the heavy lifting and utilize my resources.

Brand new to FCF? Start here

Looking for fresh ways to implement fcf watch this.

Here are a few more resources to get you started:

• Teacher FCF Planning Document
• FCF Student Tracking Charts
• Generic Student Response Sheets 
• Mystery Quote Resource/Answer Sheets
• Author Interview Worksheets

The Word Nerd’s First Chapter Friday Read Aloud Videos

Go to the the word nerd’s first chapter friday read aloud videos channel link here, click on the letter below to go to the book (in alphabetical order). .

Across the Desert Dusti Bowling ATOS: 4.2   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (42:45) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round Kathlyn Kirkwood Age: 10+ Nonfiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (21:12) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Alibi Junior High Greg Logsted ATOS:3.9   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (25:55) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Airborn Kenneth Oppel ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 760 Steampunk, Action/Adventure Prose Video Link  (20:56) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

All is Nat Lost Maria Scrivan ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 320L Realist Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link (10:08) Worksheet Link Amazon

All Thirteen Christina Soontornvat ATOS: 7.2   Lexile: 1020 Nonfiction Prose Video Link (12:21) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Alone Megan E. Freeman ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 690 Realistic Fiction, Survival Story Novel in Verse Video Link (11:22) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Alone Out Here Riley Redgate Age: 14+ Science Fiction Prose Video Link (32:42) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Amari and the Night Brothers B.B. Alston ATOS: 4.9   Lexile: N/A Fantasy Prose Video Link  (15:54) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

American Royals Katharine McGee ATOS: 6.2   Lexile: 820 Romance Prose Video Link  (37:31) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Assignment Liza Wiemer ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 720 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (34:34) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

The Bad Beginning Lemony Snicket ATOS: 6.4   Lexile: 1010 Fiction, Humor, Orphan Story Prose Video Link  (13:11) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Ban This Book Alan Gratz ATOS: 4.5   Lexile: 690 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (9:46) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Batter Royale Leisl Adams Age: 12+ Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (16:43) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Because of Winn Dixie Kate DiCamillo ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 670 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (8:42) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Becoming Muhammad Ali James Paterson and Kwame Alexander ATOS: 5.4   Lexile: 1010L Historical Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (8:57) Worksheet Link Amazon

Beneath Roland Smith ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 670 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (14:48) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever Barbara Robinson ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 930 Realistic Fiction, Christmas Story Prose Video Link  (17:33) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Between Monsters and Marvels Alysa Wishingrad Age: 8-12 Historical Fiction Format Video Link  (27:33) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Big Rig Louise Hawes Age: 8-12 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (17:41) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Big Tree Brian Selznick Age: 7+ Environmental Fiction Illustrated Novel Video Link  (6:15) Worksheet Link Amazon

Bomb Steve Sheinkin & Nick Bertozzi ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 640L Non Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (14:40) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Book Thief Markus Zusak ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 730 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (18:26) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Boxcar Children Gertrude Chandler Warner ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 590L Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (9:51) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Boys Without Names Kashmira Sheth ATOS: 4.2   Lexile: 670 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (34:40) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Breaking the Surface Amanda Zieba Age: 11+ Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (13:15) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Breakout Kate Messner ATOS: 5.4   Lexile: 720 Realistic Fiction Primary Documents Video Link  (21:32) Worksheet Link Amazon

Brown Girl Dreaming Jaqueline Woodson ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 990 Memoir Novel in Verse Video Link  (14:17) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Call of the Klondike David Meissner ATOS: 6.8   Lexile: 1100 Nonfiction, Adventure Prose Video Link  (12:47) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Canyon's Edge Dusti Bowling ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 750 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (10:15) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Change the Game Colin Kaepernick ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 390 Memoir Graphic Novel Video Link  (11:32) Worksheet Link Amazon

Chirp Kate Messner ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (32:03) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Chunky Yehudi Mercado Age: 8-12 Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (19:02) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Cinder Marissa Meyer ATOS: 5.8   Lexile:790 Science Fiction, Fairy Tale Retelling Prose Video Link  (24:39) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Claudette Colvin: Twice Towards Justice Phillip Hoose ATOS: 4.2   Lexile: 690 Narrative Nonfiction Prose Video Link  (12:38) Worksheet Link Amazon

Closer to Nowhere Ellen Hopkins ATOS: 3.7   Lexile: 490 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (12:19) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Concrete Cowboy G. Neri ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: 610 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (33:45) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Conspiracy 365: January Gabrielle Lord ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 680 Contemporary Fiction, Thriller, Suspense Prose Video Link Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Coop Knows the Scoop Taryn Souders ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: 610 Realistic Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link  (23:19 Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Sommerset Sisters Lesley M.M. Blume ATOS: 5.5   Lexile: 650 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (28:00) Worksheet Link Amazon

Coyote Lost and Found Dan Gemeinhart ATOS: N/A   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Video Link  (26:47) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Crossover Kwame Alexander ATOS: 4.3   Lexile: 750 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (8:25) Worksheet Link Amazon

Dear Student Elly Swartz ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 610 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (9:10) Worksheet Link Amazon

Deep Blue Jennifer Donnelly ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: N/A Fantasy Prose Video Link  (24:50) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Divergent Veronica Roth ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 700 Dystopian Prose Video Link  (11:49) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Doll Bones Holly Black ATOS: 5.4   Lexile: 840 Realistic Fiction, Ghost Story Prose Video Link  (20:02) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Dragon Hoops Gene Luen Yang ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 550 Realistic Fiction + Historical Fiction Flashbacks Graphic Novel Video Link  (6:04) Worksheet Link Amazon

Drums, Girls + Dangerous Pie Jordan Sonnenblick ATOS: NA   Lexile: 940 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (32:02) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Duel Jessixa Bagley ATOS: N/A   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (12:12) Worksheet Link Amazon

Eb and Flow Kelly Baptist Age: 8-12 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (28:56) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Endangered Eliot Screfer ATOS: 6.2   Lexile: 900 Realistic Fiction, Survival Story Prose Video Link  (15:25) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Ender's Game Orson Scott Card ATOS: 5.5   Lexile: 780 Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (14:22) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Enemies in the Orchard Dana VanderLugt Age: 12+ Historical Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (30:10) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

The Enemy Charlie Higson ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: 590 Horror, Dystopian Prose Video Link  (24:43) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Eragon Christopher Paolini ATOS: 5.8   Lexile: 710 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (17:26) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret Trudi Trueit ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 660L Realistic Fiction, Action, Adventure Prose Video Link  (17:01) Worksheet Link Amazon

The False Prince Jennifer A. Nielsen ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 710 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (26:35) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Fighting Words Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ATOS: 3.6   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (31:17) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Finn and the Intergalactic Lunchbox Michael Buckley ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: 630 Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (30:55) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

A First Time for Everything Dan Santat Age: 10+ Memoir Graphic Novel Video Link  (8:43) Worksheet Link Amazon

The First Rule of Climate Club Carrie Firestone ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 790 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (13:19) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Found Margaret Peterson Haddix ATOS: 5.0   Lexile: 750 Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (34:11) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Fourth Stall Chris Rylander ATOS: 5.1 Lexile: 760 Realistic Fiction, Humor Prose Video Link  (14:39) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Free Throws, Friendship and Other Things We Fouled Up Jenn Bishop Age: 10+ Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (16:41) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Free Verse Sarah Dooley ATOS: 4.7  Lexile: 740L Realistic Fiction Prose, Poetry Video Link  (11:23) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

From the Desk of Zoe Washington Janae Marks ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: 660 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link (21:34) Worksheet Link Amazon

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler E.L. Konigsburg ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 700 Realistic Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link  (20:00) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Front Desk Kelly Yang ATOS: 4.5   Lexile: 640 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (14:02) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Gather Kenneth M. Cadow Age: 14+ Realistic Fiction, Survival Story Prose Video Link  (9:38) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Ghost Jason Reynolds ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: 730 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (10:35) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Giver Lois Lowry ATOS: 5.7   Lexile: 760 Dystopian Prose Video Link  (18:16) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Global Eoin Colfer & Andrew Donkin Age: 10-14 Realistic Fiction, Survival Story Graphic Novel Video Link  (8:52) Worksheet Link Amazon

Good Different Meg Eden Kuyatt ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (13:30) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 820 Fantasy, Ghost Story Prose Video Link  (39:14) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Greetings from Witness Protection Jake Burt ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 750 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (33:49) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Gregor the Overlander Suzanne Collins ATOS:4.8   Lexile: 690 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (17:25) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Guys Read: Funny Busniness Edited by Jon Scieszka ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 760L Humor Short Stories Video Link  (18:01) Worksheet Link Amazon

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling ATOS: 5.5   Lexile: 880 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (28:46) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets J.K. Rowling ATOS: 6.7   Lexile: 940 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (16:17) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Hear Me Kerry O’Malley Cerra Age: 10+ Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (26:46) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Heist Society Ally Carter ATOS: 5.5   Lexile: 800 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (18:09) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Hello, Universe Erin Entrada Kelly ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 800 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (25:00) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Hidden  Helen Frost ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 670 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (42:30) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Holes Louis Sachar ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: 660 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (12:49) Worksheet Link Amazon

House Arrest K.A. Holt ATOS: 4.0   Lexile: 610 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (13:52) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The House Swap Yvette Clark Age: 8-12 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (10:12) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 810 Dystopian Fiction Prose Video Link  (30:49) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

I Am Malala Malala Yousafzai ATOS: 7.1   Lexile: 1,000 Nonfiction, Memoir Prose Video Link  (15:19) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

In Defense of Thaddeus A. Ledbetter John Gosselink  ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 790 Realistic Fiction Prose, Heavily Illustrated Video Link  (14:08) Worksheet Link Amazon

Inkheart Cornelia Funke ATOS: 5.4   Lexile: 780 Realistic Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link  (20:40) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Inheritance Games Jennifer Lynn Barnes ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 640 Fantasy, Magical Realism Prose Video Link  (9:44) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus Dusti Bowling ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: 700 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (12:00) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Invention of Hugo Cabret Brian Selznick ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 820 Historical Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link  (10:35) Worksheet Link Amazon

Iveliz Explains it All Andrea Beatriz Arango ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 940 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (13:47) Worksheet Link Amazon

Invisible Christina Diaz Gonzalez ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 260 Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (9:47) Worksheet Link Amazon

Jeffersons' Sons Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 940 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (16:06) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting Sophie Irwin ATOS:N/A   Lexile: N/A Historical Fiction, Romance Prose Video Link  (17:29) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Last Cuentista Donna Barba Higuera ATOS: 5.0   Lexile: N/A Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (10:52) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Last Mapmaker Christina Soontornvat ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: N/A Fantasy, Action, Adventure Prose Video Link  (23:28) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Last Shot John Feinstein ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 760 Realistic Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link (11:41) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Letters from Rifka Karen Hesse ATOS: 4.2   Lexile: 660 Historical Fiction Epistolary  Video Link  (23:19) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Lifeboat 12 Susan Hood ATOS: 4.0   Lexile: 610 Historical Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (24:50) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson book 1) Rick Riordan ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 680 Mythology, Fantasy Prose Video Link  (22:01) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Limit Kristen Landon ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: 690 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (16:48) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Lion of Mars Jennifer L. Holm ATOS: 4.0   Lexile: 530 Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (13:29) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis ATOS: 5.7   Lexile: 940 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (12:02) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Little Blog on the Prairie Cathleen Davit Bell ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 820 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link (27:43) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

A Long Walk to Water Linda Sue Park ATOS:5.0   Lexile: 720 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (15:35) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Lost Year Katherine Marsh Age: 10+ Historical Fiction, Family Saga Prose Video Link  (18:57) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Lucky Girl Jamie Pacton Age: 14-17 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (38:10) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Maniac Magee Jerry Spinelli  ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 820 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (14:20) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Matched  Ally Condie ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 680 Dystopian  Prose Video Link  (18:35) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment James Patterson ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: 700 Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (14:16) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Maze Runner  James Dashner ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 770L700 Dystopian Prose Video Link  (9:49) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Merci Suarez Changes Gears  Meg Medina ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 700 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (18:10) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Mexikid Pedro Martin Age: 10-14 Memoir Graphic Novel  Video Link  (12:01) Worksheet Link Amazon

Millionaires for the Month  Stacy McAnulty ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: 570 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (27:56) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Misfits James Howe ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: 960 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (15:22) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Mockingbird Kathryn Erskine ATOS: 3.6   Lexile: 630 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (10:54) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Neptune Project Polly Holyoke ATOS: 5.9   Lexile: 810 Science Fiction, Action Adventure Prose Video Link  (29:36) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

New Kid Jerry Craft ATOS: 2.9   Lexile: 320 Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (29:21) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

The Night Diary Veera Hiranandani ATOS: 4.5   Lexile: 700 Historical Fiction Epistolary Video Link  (22:54) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

A Night Divided Jennifer A. Nielsen ATOS: 5.4   Lexile: 810 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (8:22) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Nikki on the Line Barbara Caroll Roberts ATOS: 5.0   Lexile: 840 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (20:32) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

A Northern Light Jennifer Donnelly ATOS: 4.5   Lexile: 700 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (13:00) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Nowhere Boy Katharine Marsh ATOS: 5.4   Lexile: 810 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (12:00) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Ode to a Nobody Caroline Brooks Dubois Age: 8-12 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (12:44) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Okay Witch Emma Steinkellner ATOS: 3.1   Lexile: 390 Fantasy Graphic Novel Video Link  (8:48) Worksheet Link Amazon

One for the Murphys Lynda Mullaly Hunt ATOS: 3.4   Lexile: 520 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (8:01) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Other Merlin Robyn Schneider Age: 14+ Legend, Myth Retelling, Fantasy Prose Video Link  (23:57) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Other Words for Home Jasmine Warga ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 930 Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (31:27) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Our Teacher is a Vampire and Other Not True Stories Mary Amato ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: 620 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (23:30) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon /Bookshop

Out of My Mind Sharon Draper ATOS: 4.3   Lexile: 700 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (11:25) Worksheet Link Amazon

Out of the Dust Karen Hesse ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: N/A Historical Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (14:18) Worksheet Link Amazon

A Place to Hang the Moon Kate Albus ATOS: 5.0   Lexile: N/A Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (29:14) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Parachute Kids Betty C. Tang ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 720 Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (18:27) Worksheet Link Amazon

Project F Jeanne DuPrau ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 720 Environmental, Speculative Fiction Prose Video Link  (12:28) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Rabbit's Gift Jessica Vitalis Age: 8-12 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (36:19) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Red Queen Victoria Aveyard ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: 740 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (22:37) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Red, White and Whole Rajanni LaRocca ATOS: 3.7   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (38:37) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Refugee Alan Gratz ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 800 Historical & Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (24:11) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise Dan Gemeinhart ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 730 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (20:34) Worksheet Link Amazon

Restart Gordon Korman ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 730 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (20:09) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

A Rover's Story Jasmine Warga ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: Unav. Science Fiction Epistolary Video Link  (34:33) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Rules Cynthia Lord ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 780 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (12:44) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Running Dream Wendelin Van Draanen ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: 650 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (14:18) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The School for Good and Evil Soman Chanani ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: 830 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (27:41) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Scorpio Races Maggie Stiefvater ATOS: 5.5   Lexile: 840 Paranormal Fiction, Fantasy Prose Video Link  (26:07) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Selection (book 1) Kiera Cass ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 680 Fantasy, Dystopian Romance Prose Video Link  (19:08) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Shadow on the Mountain Margi Preus  ATOS: 5.0   Lexile: 730 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (40:09) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Shiver Maggie Stiefvater ATOS: 4.9   Lexile: 740 Paranormal Romance Prose Video Link  (11:18) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (book 1) Ann Brashares ATOS: 4.5   Lexile: 600 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (21:35) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Small as an Elephant Jennifer Richard Jacobson ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 690 Survival Story Prose Video Link  (24:45) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Starfish Lisa Fipps ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Novel in Verse Video Link  (31:31) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

Stealing Home J. Torres & David Namisato ATOS: 3.3   Lexile: 430L Historical Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (11:13) Worksheet Link Amazon

Stepsister Jennifer Donnelly ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 640 Fantasy, Fairytale Retelling Prose Video Link  (31:21) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Swim Team Johnnie Christmas ATOS: 2.6   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction Graphic Novel Video Link  (11:59) Worksheet Link Amazon

The Tale of Despereaux Kate DiCamillo ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 670 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (9:27) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Talk Santa to Me Linda Urban ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 810 Realistic Fiction, Christmas Story Prose Video Link  (11:02) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Thief of Always Clive Barker ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 740 Fantasy, Horror Prose Video Link  (11:56) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer John Grisham ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: 840 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (15:13) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Thirst Varsha Bajaj ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: N/A Realistic Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link  (26:48) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

To Night Owl From Dogfish Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer ATOS: 5.6   Lexile: 720 Realistic Fiction Epistolary  Video Link  (16:41) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Tryout Christina Soontornvat ATOS: N/A   Lexile: 380 Memoir Graphic Novel Video Link  (8:15) Worksheet Link Amazon

Tuck Everlasting Natalie Babbitt ATOS: 5.0   Lexile: 770 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (12:32) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Twilight Stephenie Meyer ATOS: 4.9   Lexile: 720 Fantasy Prose Video Link  (14:55) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Uglies Scott Westerfeld ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: 770 Dystopian Fiction Prose Video Link  (13:14) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Vanishing Act John Feinstein ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 760 Realistic Fiction, Mystery Prose Video Link  (12:55) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The War That Saved My Life Kimberly Brubaker Bradley ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: 580 Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (10:55) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Westing Game Ellen Raskin ATOS: 5.3   Lexile: 750 Mystery, Fiction Prose Video Link  (9:49) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

What I Carry Jennifer Longo ATOS: 4.6   Lexile: 690L Realistic Fiction  Prose Video Link  (15:56) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

When You Reach Me Rebecca Stead ATOS: 4.5   Lexile: 750 Mystery, Historical Fiction Prose Video Link  (8:19) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

When You Trap A Tiger Tae Keller ATOS: 4.1   Lexile: 590 Magical Realism Prose Video Link  (11:18) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

The Whipping Boy Sid Fleischman ATOS: 3.9   Lexile: 570 Humorous Fiction Prose Video Link  (6:01) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Wild Bird Wendelin Van Draanen ATOS: 4.4   Lexile: 680 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (29:47) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

The Wild Robot Peter Brown ATOS: 5.1   Lexile: 740 Survival Story, Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (11:55) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

A Wish in the Dark Christina Soontornvat ATOS: 5.2   Lexile: 720 Realism Prose Video Link  (24:01) Author Interview & Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

Wonder RJ Palacio ATOS: 4.8   Lexile: 790 Realistic Fiction Prose Video Link  (9:50) Mystery Quote Worksheet Link Amazon

A Work in Progress Jarrett Lerner Age: 10-12 Memoir Illustrated Novel, Novel in Verse Video Link  (27:38) Author Interview Worksheet Link Amazon

A Wrinkle in Time Madeline L’Engle ATOS: 4.7   Lexile: 740 Science Fiction Prose Video Link  (26:59) Worksheet Link Amazon

Accomplish more than just a time out - you’ll also be building background knowledge and classroom comradery.

Brain Breaks

Everything you need to implement the game changing practice of FCF  right here - ready and waiting for your readers!  

First Chapter Fridays

Monthly calendars full of pre-planned content. Each quarter, 3 new monthly calendars will be posted.

Pre-planned Calendars

Here are dozens of interesting writing prompts and  resources to implement and support your efforts.

Writing Prompts

Teaching is more fun with friends! Check out ways to connect with fellow educators [and yours truly].

On this page, you’ll find all sorts of multi-day lesson plans and supplemental activities connected directly to the Common Core State Standards. 

Fill your teacher toolbox with some new strategies, tips and tools.

Teaching tips

Questions and comments click here to access our private fb group, private fb group access.

These are books I have read, highly recommend, and has an accompanying FCF video. Bonus, you can print these 8.5x11 flyers and post them in your classroom! 

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The Colorful Apple

First Chapter Fridays

Want to watch or listen to this information? Check out the YouTube video for First Chapter Friday here !

What is First Chapter Friday?

First Chapter Friday is a sneak-peek of a novel to entice your students to want to read the rest of the book.  You (or a student) reads aloud just the first chapter of a book.  The goal is to get your students so intrigued by the first chapter, that they want to read more!

What books should you choose for First Chapter Friday?

It’s important that you find some awesome books that have epic first chapters!  You want to leave your audience hooked and begging for more.

Book ideas for First Chapter Friday:

• brand new releases
• variety of genres and authors
• diverse books that represent all students
• the first book in a series
• topics that interest your students
• student recommendations

What’s next?

Are you ready to implement First Chapter Fridays in your classroom?  Grab the FREE booklist below to get started with some awesome novels!

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BLOGS  >  MARCH 11, 2021

First Chapter Fridays: What You Need to Know

BY LAURALEE MOSS

Starting First Chapter Friday in your middle school or high school language arts classroom? You won’t regret it! Starting First Chapter Friday requires no special tools, only students and a high-interest book with a dynamic first chapter. Implementing First Chapter Friday is simple. You have a few decisions to make concerning how you will implement the process in your classroom, but the actual activity is simple.

Before Starting First, choose a book that students will want to borrow. (If you are looking for a First Chapter Friday book, I have ten listed below.) Then, advertise the book to students before Friday. This can be a pretty note on your board, a posting in your digital classroom or the title on your letter board. Research the book and the author. You will not only want to decide if the book will fit your community, but you will also want to find tidbits about the author that will interest students. Find the author’s social media channels or a clip from an interview. One of the beautiful benefits of First Chapter Friday is to connect literature to students’ lives. You can check out Follett’s #FirstChapterFriday video list where the authors read the first chapter of their book! Titlewave is also a great place to get more insight into a book you are considering. With professional reviews and Follett Tags to use, you’ll be able to determine if it’s a good fit. Before Friday, decide when you would like to read to students. I read at the start of class so that our discussions don’t get cut short. Finally, decide what procedures you expect of your students. I simply tell students that they will need to listen without their iPads or phones. I allow students to doodle if that helps them to focus. On Friday Start with running the procedures by students. I rarely explain procedures more than once or twice! Then, introduce the book, almost like a book talk. I often show screenshots of Instagram or Twitter posts from my research about the author. Some teachers put a crackling fire on the overhead to set the mood.  Read the first chapter to students. Reading aloud with secondary students might seem odd if you’ve never done so, but students will enjoy it. As you finish, tell students they may borrow the book if they like it. Sometimes a conversation will start about the author or part of the first chapter. I place the book up front so students can see it, and then I start class. Simple! Whether you're just starting First Chapter Friday, or have already done a few, you might still have questions. Below, I’ve included four benefits of reading aloud with secondary students. • Expose students to new genres, authors, and books. Not every book will fit in our language arts curriculum. To get students interested in a variety of literature, we must purposefully show them what literature is available to them. First Chapter Friday allows a short snippet of a book, like an advertisement, to permeate. Often, older students read alone and flock to their comfort zones. By reading aloud to secondary students, you can introduce genres, authors, and books to expand students’ repertoires. • Help students explore themselves. Secondary students are still growing, and they are shaping their likes and dislikes with literature. For instance, most people probably know about romance and mystery novels. Do they also know about psychological thrillers, fiction novels in verse, humor, and magical realism? Are they aware their favorite musician and or comedian might have a memoir? These subgenres might reach more students. • Build relationships with students. Reading aloud with secondary students will build authentic relationships. For instance, I have a huge set of students who adore Pendragon. I tried to read the first book, and I finished about half. But, I now possess an understanding of the book, can recommend the book, and can talk with students about the book! Because I listened to my students and experimented with what I read, I now have a tool for building relationships with students. • Gain common prior knowledge. By starting First Chapter Friday, you and your students will have a communal baseline of prior knowledge. When writing literary analysis or studying a time period, your entire class now owns a starting point for discussion. Books do open new worlds, and after you read a few First Chapter Friday books, students will possess a starting point for discussions about other stories. You’ll find your own benefits of First Chapter Friday and your own routines. If you are looking for the perfect First Chapter Friday book, here are my top ten from last year. 10 Book Suggestions for First Chapter Friday Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse Historical Fiction/Mystery  

I began the semester with Monica Hesse’s book because its first chapter has history and mystery, making it a successful First Chapter Friday book. Hanneke Bakker lives in Amsterdam in 1943 and works for the black market. She flirts away from a noisy German officer, avoids ground acorn coffee, and ponders a more dangerous task than selling lipstick. As I finish the first chapter, I tell students that Hanneke will encounter many requests, and then I ask students what people might request during World War II from a person who deals with illegal goods. They’re hooked. The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon Romance  

The chapters in Yoon’s book are relatively short, and each one varies between narrators. You can read for about ten minutes, and within the first few chapters, students will meet: • Daniel, whose parents hold high expectations over him. • Natasha, an undocumented immigrant about to be deported. • Irene, who works for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and becomes interested in Nirvana (the band) because of Natasha. Many students will want to borrow this book because of the beautiful cover, too. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard Dystopian  

Mare Barrow lives a poor life as a Red while she watches wealthy Silvers live elite lives. Not only do Silvers have luxury, but they also possess silver blood and special powers. In the first chapter, readers meet Mare as she steals and pick pockets for her family. I can promise you engaging conversations and debate after the first chapter. Dear Evan Hansen by Val Emmich Coming of Age/Psychological

Many students are familiar with the music from the musical by the same name, so that provides a natural talking point to start this First Chapter Friday book. During the first chapter, Evan writes himself a letter as a construction for talking to his psychiatrist. The first chapter is engaging, but to show students where the book is going, you’ll want to read the book cover or give a synopsis. Evan writes letters, but a letter can be misplaced. When a classmate dies, the bereaved parents find a letter that Evan wrote to himself, but they believe their son wrote it to Evan. Evan suffers from anxiety and has very few friends...and now he has a large choice to make as the bereaved parents ask him about his friendship with their son. 145th Street by Walter Dean Myers Fiction  

What students really like about any Walter Dean Myers book is his authentic and relatable writing style. His prose allows the reader to fall into the story. In 145th Street , readers learn about a block of Harlem where strange events occur. For instance, in the first chapter, Big Joe (who is quite alive) throws himself a funeral. He simply wanted to experience everyone’s sorrow at his passing before he passed. All of the chapters have different narrators but the same setting. I like using this First Chapter Friday book because students have a familiar setting and dialogue throughout the book, but they experience different characters and perspectives. For students who might not be independent readers yet, they will find comfort in the familiar chapters of this book. Plus, when students ask me to read aloud to them again, they often ask for more stories from 145th Street . Since the stories are all independent but familiar, students can pick up even if we haven’t read from this book for weeks. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Memoir  

Students will be interested in the prologue and the first chapter of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , but to help your presentation of the book to students, provide background on Maya Angelou. She was a dancer, actress, poet, and activist. By showing a quick overview of Angelou, you’re bound to reach an assortment of students who identify with her. At the start of her memoir, Angelou recounts her nerves as she forgets her lines at the front of church and how she wishes to be someone else. Her story and writing style are simply unmatched.  Just Like Fate by Suzanne Young and Cat Patrick Romance  

The main character, Caroline, is faced with a choice, and that choice largely deals with the overwhelm she feels in life as well as her crush, hence the tagline, “Caroline is at a crossroads.” After I set students up with that background, I explain the book’s design. Chapters one and two are titled “before” and readers learn about the choice Caroline faces. Then, the subsequent chapters alternate between “stay” and “go.” After readers learn about Caroline’s choice, the book splits into what would happen if she could make both choices. This First Chapter Friday book works well because students are often intrigued by the book’s structure. The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt Romance  

Both Gretchen and Phoenix tell this story, so you might read the first two chapters. (They’re short.) In chapter one, Gretchen has a severe panic attack, and readers learn that she is under medical care. In chapter two, Phoenix is an immigrant who has fled El Salvador. The Radius of Us will spark discussion because Phoenix is escaping gangs and searching for his brother. This book will also work well for literature circles or independent reading. Grenade by Alan Gratz Historical Fiction  

During the first chapter, the USA and Japan are at war. Young men are leaving school to become soldiers, and a lieutenant is handing them grenades. Students are typically the same age as these characters, and they relate to the feelings shown through the deep conflicts. Finally, the last line of this first chapter is simply frightening, making this book an amazing choice for First Chapter Friday. Unwind by Neal Shusterman Dystopian/Science Fiction  

Parents or the state can decide to unwind their children for a variety of reasons. What is “unwinding”? Minors' body parts will be separated so that they are not technically dead because they will be living in other people. Unwind follows three teenagers who will be “unwound.” One lives in a state home that no longer has room for her. The second is a religious tithe, and he has known that he will be unwound his entire life. The third’s parents believe he is a troubled teenager. This book provided a fabulous discussion after the First Chapter Friday reading with secondary students. I introduced Unwind  as dystopian but after hearing the premise and the first chapter, students disagreed and stressed that the book was science fiction. I pulled up different definitions and book reviews on my projector, and students compared Unwind to other books they’ve read. If I hadn't read the first chapter to my freshmen, we maybe wouldn’t have discussed Dune and Game of Thrones , or other science fiction and fantasy books. We wouldn’t have explored Neal Shusterman’s extensive awards and writing. Finally, we wouldn’t have read more copies of Unwind than any other of my First Chapter Friday books. Unwind was my biggest successes for First Chapter Friday books. I did not own enough copies, and my librarian ordered more for students. Then, she bought the rest of the series for our kids who fell in love with the premise. Those experiences and conversations are part of the benefits of First Chapter Friday. Reading aloud to secondary students creates an intellectual and welcoming classroom environment. Grab a First Chapter Friday book and get started. As you lend out your books to your students, make sure you have Follett Classroom Library Manager to keep track of them. Classroom Library Manager is a free web-based tool for teachers to manage and organize their classroom library. Learn more and sign up .

LAURALEE MOSS Lauralee Moss has taught high school English in Illinois for over ten years. She holds a BS in English Education from Southern Illinois University and an MA in Teaching and Leadership. She blogs at  LanguageArtsClassroom.com . You can find her on  Instagram  and at home with her husband, three kids, and crazy dog.

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Engage Students: First Chapter Fridays Explained

First Chapter Fridays work well in my secondary classroom. Here are some tips I’ve learned.

(First, I want to acknowledge that I did not invent First Chapter Fridays. I saw elementary teachers talking about the process on Instagram. Then, I searched for ideas and couldn’t find solid ideas for high school students. So, I took the idea and developed the guidelines below. If you know who indeed created First Chapter Fridays, let me know, and I will credit them.)

I want my classroom culture to be one of language, of appreciating the written and spoken word. Like so many of you, I want a literacy-rich classroom full of independent reading and lots of questions about books. This past summer, I decided that one way to achieve that would be through First Chapter Fridays.

Success with First Chapter Fridays

Honestly, deciding to read aloud with my high school students was the best decision I’ve ever made as a teacher. (It really might be the singularly best one.) My relationships with students improved, and therefore my classroom management was smoother than in previous years. My students shared books that they treasure across their lives. I heard stories of Jack and Annie, Gooney Bird Greene, and Ready Freddy. My young readers shared about their first books they loved, to Kate Dicamillo and Neil Gaiman in middle school.

I learned that under a lot of teenager-ness, I have readers. We discussed literacy openly and honestly.

Our overall lessons improved too. I suddenly had a plethora of mentor sentences from books that we had shared. If students were stuck on a literary piece, I had shared knowledge to build upon. If we overwhelmingly disliked a book, we again had important conversations about what we expect from plot structures and themes. Literary time periods and devices that I hadn’t thought about since college came back to me, and I shared those ideas with students. One student checked out a college book of mine that detailed time periods. (I was ecstatically happy.)

How do First Chapter Fridays work?

Read every Friday. After a few weeks, students asked me on Thursday what book we would read. Students would provide me recommendations. Students who moved to other classes would return and talk about a book we had shared.

Overall, First Chapter Fridays were a smashing success. Below, I’ve detailed the process I used.

First Chapter Fridays are one of the highlights of my week, and students regularly share with me that they enjoy the process. Students love it when I read to them. Every Friday, I read one chapter of a new book to my students. Hopefully, one of them asks to read it. If no one takes the book, that’s ok! Students relaxed while I read, and they experienced a new author, genre, point of view, and on.

My general goal of First Chapter Fridays is to introduce students to new books. By doing so, I am also showcasing new genres and authors. Many ELA teachers feel like their curriculum is jam-packed. By spending ten minutes a week reading a new book, you can experience some freedom and choice.

I do NOT require assignments with First Chapter Fridays. Overall, I ask students to doodle or relax and to put electronics away. Active listening is it!

My goal is for students to experience literature with ZERO activities or assignments attached.

This process has worked well with my freshmen, and I hope you can adapt the process to fit your needs.

Find an assortment of books. In my post about building a classroom library , I discuss ways to find inexpensive books. If you don’t own books, borrow some from the library. Share books with colleagues.

Pick your book!

For choosing a book, I have a general process. First, I consider the goal of new exposure to books. I want my students to see different genres and both male and female narrators. I want them to experience meaningful topics about refugees, blended families, bullied teens, and everything!

Second, I keep a running list of my First Chapter Friday books. I search for ones that will address new criteria. Maintaining a list also prevents me from an uneven exposure to one type of genre (for example). Finally, I read books that I might not like. I don’t mean inappropriate books, but rather books I would not personally read such as fantasy. First Chapter Friday should not be a display of my favorite books.

Finally, you might consider organizing your books thematically. For instance, mysteries work well with a spooky season, coming of age at the end of the school year, and on.

Research your book

Only you can judge what will work in your community and school. Be sure that the subject matter is acceptable. You can normally find a quick review online or ideas from Amazon.

I teach at a public school, but I know a private school might have different expectations.

Read the book, or at least read a few chapters. If you’re like I am, you’ll read the whole book. It’s fine; stand in the hall and read and greet students. I actually believe this small act of stepping into the hall to read has improved my classroom culture.

Plan the presentation

Sell your book! I do a bit of a “book talk.” For instance, when I used Deadly Design for a First Chapter Friday, I planned my presentation ahead of time:

I read the first chapter. We “met” the twin brothers. The brothers were genetically modified, and one was kept frozen for two years. The twins were actually born two years apart.

I read the back cover that explains how one twin will die of a genetic condition, leaving the younger twin two years to find a doctor to fix the problem. At this point, students were hooked.

I read the second chapter. They were so hooked!

Plan ahead what will work for your book and best engage students. I have also opened my reading with a short video from the author, an Instagram post from the publisher, or a book trailer. Students might not know those outside resources exist, and part of making First Chapter Friday meaningful is showcasing the larger world of literature, often, life outside their small town.

Read the book

As you continue with First Chapter Fridays, you’ll find your comfort zone. When you read the first chapter of your book, stay positive. As you continue throughout the year, you might find yourself adding voices or giving dramatic pauses.

The first time I animated a chapter, my actions were not planned. I simply jumped into a goofy voice. Immediately, I wondered if my kiddos would laugh at me, but instead, they were focusing on me. This makes sense! Humans listen to podcasts and radio shows. We listen to authors read their books. My students expect me to add emphasis now.

I do want to emphasize though that if you feel uncomfortable, don’t add that to your repertoire. I think that when students see an adult read, they are already benefiting from the experience, with or without voices.

Finish, and ask if anyone wants to borrow the book. Often, I do have students ask me to borrow the book. If I have a student who looked interested, I will ask that students quietly as the bell rings. They normally take the book.

If a student takes a book from first hour and I still need tor read for second hour, I grab another book. Since I keep a pile of books in my classroom library, I always have “next” books that I want to read. Having a few on hand solves the problem.

Choose a new book for the next Friday!

Start the process over again. Now that I have implemented First Chapter Fridays a few times in my classes, I have a system. I continually place books with intriguing first chapters in a pile. (My pile sits behind my desk on a shelf.) I rotate those books and add sticky notes for what books students have read from what classes. (This might be overwhelming your first year with First Chapter Friday. My point is that I never stop searching for new books.)

Invite students to Post your book on Wednesday or Thursday so that students can look it up online. I add a picture to our Google Classroom. I also showcase the book on our chalkboard ledge. Sometimes students will find the author on Instagram and Twitter. They will come to class knowing a little bit about the author.

My best tip: Don’t wait until Thursday night. Keep the system moving. Find a teacher club of other First Chapter Friday readers, and steal their book ideas.

My librarian is fabulous, and when I have multiple students who want to read the book, she borrows extras for me. My first suggestion to finding books for First Chapter Friday is to collaborate. If other teachers, administrators, or parents will share books, ask to borrow them.

Second, you can often find a free copy of a reading online. A simple video search will yield great results.

If you don’t have more than one copy of a book, find similar books or give students a similar book. For instance, I once read a Sarah Dessen book for First Chapter Friday, and I ended up distributing several of her books to interested students. Similarly, when I read All American Boys , my kids took other books by Jason Reynolds.

The point for me is that I was putting books into the hands of students.

Will this be an independent reading program?

You might still have questions which is ok!

First Chapter Friday can be part of an independent reading program, especially if your reading can help students connect to literature.

But! The process should be fun, and you can make it your own. Other teachers use Book Trailer Tuesday or Book Red Thursday too. Whatever variation, whatever hard work you are putting into reading with your classes, you’re succeeding.

Finally, no matter how you set up your reading, young readers will benefit the entire year from whatever label you’d like to give your program.

Those are my thoughts and processes behind First Chapter Friday with secondary students. Have you tried First Chapter Friday? What worked for you? What concerns do you have? I’m interested to see other high school teachers’ processes.

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All together!

My students do not complete activities while I read. Instead, literacy is an ongoing discussion in our room. We chat about statistics, life-long learning, vocabulary, and reading choices. Our bulletin boards reflect book suggestions too. Finally, my connections with parents stress the importance of lifelong reading.

first chapter friday read alouds

First Chapter Friday

First Chapter Friday is one of those ideas that checks all the boxes.

• Easy to implement
• Students love it
• It gets kids reading

First Chapter Friday is an easy way to introduce new books to your students and to encourage independent reading. Truthfully, it doesn’t need to be on a Friday. I just think the alliteration is fun, and students (and me) often need a little change of pace on Fridays.

What do you do?

On First Chapter Fridays (or whatever day you choose) select an engaging chapter book and read the first chapter to your students. Since some books may have extremely long chapters or other books may have short chapters, you may want to base it or on time than chapters. For instance, read for 10-15 minutes. Ideally, you end the reading on a cliff hanger that has students wanting to hear more.

This doesn’t replace your current read aloud. Instead, you can think of it as a bonus read aloud. We often have a reading assessment and/or visit the library on Fridays, so I don’t move forward with a new lesson on Friday. That change in our schedule makes this a perfect addition to our day. How you fit it in and incorporate it into your day is completely flexible.

After reading the chapter(s), make sure students have access to the book, because you’re almost guaranteed that someone will want to read it! I don’t try to have a copy for every student who wants to read the book, as that’s not realistic. I draw names and add the names to a sign-up sheet in the order in which I draw their name. I do caution students not to abandon what they are currently reading in order to start the new book immediately. In fact, this is a great time to refer back to your status of the class notes.

What do students do for First Chapter Friday?

It is incredibly important that First Chapter Fridays does not become a chore for students. While I do have students respond to literature and write summaries, I’m also careful to give them the opportunity to read (and be read to) for no purpose other than enjoyment and with no strings or assignments attached. In this activity, students don’t have to do anything except listen.

Since you’re reading from a new book each week, it may be easy for students to forget what they’ve already heard, so I did create a “bookshelf” for students to add to each week. As/after I read, students write the title of the book on any of the book spines and may color/draw/doodle on that particular spine to represent the book.

Which books should I read?

First chapter Friday is a great way to encourage students to read high quality literature that you know students aren’t likely to select on their own. I see students get in “reading ruts” and they don’t explore new genres or authors. The short-term goal is to help students find books they will enjoy, and my long-term goals is to help my students learn to love reading.

It’s important to read samples from a large variety of texts. It’s natural to choose books that you would enjoy reading, but it’s also important to keep your students’ interests in mind. For example, I have no desire whatsoever to read a dragon book, but if I have a feeling that some of my students would really enjoy that, I’ll select one. You want a diverse collection of authors, genres, and reading levels.

While in no way is this an all-inclusive list, I’ve created a list of 84 awesome chapter books to choose from that are geared toward upper elementary students. Some of the texts deal with heavy content, so make sure to familiarize yourself with any book you choose to share with your class.

Another way to decide what books to read is to let your students nominate books. I have students jot down why they think their book would be great for First Chapter Friday, and I often select books from those nominations.

All of these First Chapter Friday forms and the entire recommendation list are available to you for free!

Once students are hooked on a book, we need to make sure they have time to read. Learn more in my post on independent reading .

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10 thoughts on “first chapter friday”.

The blog posts are awesome, and i know i`ll learn from it all. Thanks. Was wondering whether you ran any workshops online on zoom or any other interface?

Do please let me know, particularly related to Reading and writing . Grade 3, 4 5 and above.

Thanks again , rebecca

I don’t have anything planned for the immediate future, but I will absolutely let you know!!

I saw this post in the Bloglovin newsletter and I’m so happy about the idea! I’m a Swedish teacher/librarian and I will start this project as soon as school starts again in autumn! Thank you!

Ashley, I love your First Chapter Fridays idea and so many more of your products. Please forgive me if I am missing something, but I don’t see the entire book recommendation list anywhere. It appears to only be a picture of the first page. I would love to see the entire list!

Did you download the resource from Google Drive?

I agree. I cannot find where to access the entire list and would love to see all of the book recommendations!

When you enter your email in the form at the bottom of the post, it will be sent to you!

I was sent access to the free resource library but I still cannot locate the book list.

This worked! Thanks, so much!

I would love the 1st chapter Friday resources!

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First Chapter Friday: Middle School Book List

When I reflect on teaching in 2020, there’s one thing that stands out. One thing I did right, one “I’ve always wanted to do that” thing that I actually DID, and one thing that brought me joy every single week. That thing? First Chapter Friday, my friends!

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but First Chapter Friday is the best thing I’ve done in my classroom this year. First Chapter Friday has helped my students fall in love with reading again, created class community through our shared love for storytelling, and exposed students to more books than I could have imagined. It’s helped me get to know my students as readers and tailor my book recs to their unique interests and needs. But most importantly: First Chapter Friday has motivated my students to READ more than they have in a long time. (Click HERE to read about why you should try it, HERE for a helpful Q&A post, and HERE for all my tips and tricks to make it successful).

First Chapter Friday is as simple as it sounds: read the first chapter of a different book every Friday. However, there is one challenge that can make or break the whole thing: the BOOKS! For First Chapter Friday to work, you’ll need to select high-interest titles with intriguing first chapters. While it’s fun perusing your bookshelves and skimming first chapters, it can become a chore when you’re short on time. I recommend creating a running list of titles you want to feature so that you’re never stressed on a Thursday night (or Friday morning). Been there, done that. I want to help you start your 2021 stress-free, so I am giving you the gift of ready-to-read recommendations for First Chapter Friday.

At the end of this school year, I’ll compile a second post with even more book recs. If you’re interested in weekly First Chapter Friday recommendations every Sunday, sign up for my teacher email club HERE.  

To help you jump-start your 2021 First Chapter Friday list, here are all of the titles I featured this past semester! Most of these were absolute hits, but I’ve reflected and rated each title out of 5, according to my students’ reactions. I hope this list helps you and your students fall in love with reading again in 2021:

Please note that this post contains affiliate links. My students and I appreciate it when you use these links. Any money I earn goes right back into our classroom library!

The Running Dream, Wendelin Van Draanen

Genre: Realistic fiction, sports fiction

When I first launched First Chapter Friday, I didn’t have a plan or a running list of books (yet), so I just happened upon this one. As it turned out, I couldn’t have picked a better book, and my students were captivated from the first line! The Running Dream follows Jessica, a runner whose life is flipped upside down when she loses a leg in a car accident. The first chapter is short, emotional, and dramatic, which makes it perfect for First Chapter Friday. I had many students vying for my one copy of the book, and the first lucky recipient read it before I even had a chance to ask how she liked it! The verdict: She LOVED it!

FCF Rating: 5/5 – Fan favorite. Short, accessible, and high-interest!

The Maze Runner, James Dashner

Genre: Dystopian

After getting to know my students as readers at the beginning of the year, I noticed I had a lot of Hunger Games fans. Many students had already devoured the series and some were right in the middle of reading it, so I wanted to feature another dystopian title. I wanted to feature Divergent , but I only had a copy of the second book (of course). I didn’t plan ahead enough to check out one from the library, so I settled on The Maze Runner instead. The first chapter is short, a little confusing, and intriguing because it shows the main character, Thomas, waking up in a completely unknown environment with none of his previous memories.

The first few pages reflect just how disoriented and scared he is, which intrigued some students but bored others. It wasn’t a total flop, but it wasn’t an all-around hit, so I’ll probably skip this one next year. Instead, I’ll probably feature Divergent or another dystopian title.

FCF Rating: 3.5/5 – Intriguing for some, boring for others. This would be a better pick for Book Trailer Tuesday!

Ghost Boys, Jewell Parker Rhodes

Genre: Historical fiction

For this First Chapter Friday, I actually read the page and a half that precedes the first chapter of Ghost Boys. We were short on time but I still wanted to hook my students on the book, and this did the trick. Please know that the first few pages can be difficult to read, because they describe the death of 12-year-old-Jerome, who is shot by police while playing with a toy gun. Nothing is too graphic, but Rhodes does not shy away from tackling the issues of racism, police brutality, and injustice. The book is a timely, relevant, and accessible read for middle schoolers. The first few pages do an excellent job of hooking readers, so it’s worth a spot in your FCF rotation!

FCF Rating: 5/5 – A relevant, important, and high-interest first chapter sure to hook students.

Scythe, Neal Shusterman

This was the most exciting First Chapter Friday we had all year! I was in the middle of reading the Scythe series and naturally book-talking it to my students. So it only made sense to feature the book as soon as I finished it! I also wanted to make up for the lukewarm First Chapter Friday with The Maze Runner and feature some dystopian students would love. Because I was reading Scythe and talking about it, I created natural anticipation for our First Chapter Friday. I normally keep the titles a surprise until Friday, but I announced this at the beginning of the week, and the hype was real. Because students were so excited, I even showed them the book trailer before the first chapter. That went so well that I launched “Book Trailer Tuesday the following week…more on that in this blog post.

Anyways, it was an absolute hit, and I would highly recommend it! I think a lot of the success has to do with how we hyped it up, so if you feature it, make sure explain the premise of the book first: a future society has conquered death and now uses people called “scythes” to “glean” (kill) others to control the population. That is enough to hook most readers, but the trailer and first chapter will seal the deal.

FCF Rating: 5.5/5 – The best First Chapter Friday yet. Still searching for a book that will live up to this hype…

Brown Girl Dreaming, Jacqueline Woodson

Genre: Novel in verse, memoir

After the first few First Chapter Fridays, I decided to mix it up with a novel in verse and play the first few chapters of Brown Girl Dreaming. There’s nothing better than listening to an author read their own poetry, and Jacqueline Woodson is no exception. Her poetry is beautiful, relevant, and accessible for young readers. It transports readers to her childhood as she navigates growing up during the Civil Rights movement. It’s fascinating to watch Woodson make sense of the world around her and find herself as a young woman and writer, verse by verse.

Because we are in Ohio, my students and I especially appreciated all the Buckeye state references in the beginning of the book. Students enjoyed this First Chapter Friday and said they were interested in the content of the book, but they stayed skeptical of the genre (“poetry books,” in their words). Still, I accomplished my goal of exposing them to the genre and making novels in verse seem just a little more approachable.

FCF Rating: 4.5/5 – Interesting for students, but still need to work on their bias for so-called “poetry books.” We’ll get there!

City of Ghosts, Victoria Schwab

Genre: Fantasy, paranormal fiction

I featured City of Ghosts after a recommendation from a student! It’s hard to say no to a spooky read during October, especially when the student kindly lends you a copy of the book. The opening chapter introduces the main character, Cass, the daughter of paranormal investigators. The twist: Cass can see ghosts, like her ghost-best-friend, Jacob. Admittedly, the first chapter is not very dramatic or exciting, but because it was peer-recommended, it was enough to generate some interest. I probably won’t keep this in the rotation for next year, because some of the following spooky titles were much more intriguing. But I loved featuring a student-suggested book, and students loved the concept, too. After this, I created a Google form for students to submit more recommendations, and I ended up using another student title the next week!

FCF: 3.5/5 – Not the most interesting first chapter, but student recs are cooler than teacher recs.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Kelly Barnhill

Genre: Fantasy

After featuring a ghost story, I realized I hadn’t featured any traditional fantasy books the entire year! While many of my students love dystopian, I have a handful of fantasy readers, too. So after another student recommendation (and some recs from friends on IG), I decided to feature The Girl Who Drank the Moon. As a fantasy skeptic, I was interested by the back cover blurb and first chapter, so I figured this would hook many students. The first chapter is short and a little confusing, but in an intriguing, creepy way.

It begins with a woman speaking to a child who is asking about the legend of the witch in the woods, a woman who seems to require a yearly sacrifice of a child. Readers only have access to one side of this conversation, which frustrated some students but intrigued others. Ultimately, it left them with lots of questions, and many students asked for “more information.” The second chapter describes the “Day of Sacrifice,” so next year I’ll probably plan to read a little more than the super-short first chapter.

FCF Rating: 4.5/5 – Intriguing premise, but the first chapter can be a little confusing. Will read some of the second chapter next year!

The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal

We finished out a few weeks of spooky reads with The Graveyard Book , a dark, disturbing, and creepy “classic.” Chapter 1 features a knife, a psychopath, a family, murder, one baby, and a graveyard. It gives off major Poe vibes, which my students and I absolutely loved! I playedambient spooky sounds as students walked into the room, which made this First Chapter Friday even more fun and creepy. We listened to the audiobook, which kept the students on the edge of their seats as they listened to see if the poor baby would be spared by the psychopath. (It is creepy, but not too graphic for middle schoolers…and don’t worry about the baby. He survives!)

FCF Rating: 5/5 – For a spooky season read, it doesn’t get much better than this!

Out of My Mind, Sharon Draper

Genre: Realistic fiction

This book is one of my favorites, and I distinctly remember reading it as part of a YA lit assignment in college. It’s one of those books that everyone should read. But I didn’t pick it just because I love it. I actually thought of it after learning that many of my students loved the book Fish in A Tree. While I still haven’t read that, the books are often grouped/recommended together, so I figured it would appeal to those students (and more). While Fish in A Tree is about a girl with dyslexia, Out of My Mind is about Melody, a young girl with cerebral palsy who is quite literally trapped in her own body and mind.

The first chapter was a hit, and it was one of those days where I felt guilty for stopping because the students really wanted to keep reading. Next year, I’ll probably make time to read a little more than the first chapter.  It’s that good!

FCF Rating: 5/5 – An engaging, high-interest chapter that will leave students wanting more!

Lifeboat 12, Susan Hood

Genre: Novel in verse, historical fiction

I specifically used Lifeboat 12 to “trick” my war/survival-story obsessed readers into being hooked by a novel in verse. Although many were interested in the content of the first novel in verse I featured ( Brown Girl Dreaming ), they admitted their bias for so-called “poetry books.” This time, I simply read the book without disclosing its genre. And guess what? It worked! This book caught the attention of the vast majority of my students, especially my avid Alan Gratz fans. Students were intrigued by the story, which follows 13-year-old Ken as he is evacuated from Nazi bombings in London. Full disclosure: The first student who borrowed the book returned it because he “didn’t want to read poetry.” But hey, we’re one step closer to actually reading novels in verse!

FCF Rating 5/5 – Tricked ’em with this novel in verse!

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, Stacey McAnulty

One girl, a lightning strike, and newfound math superpowers = what’s not to love? The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is all about a girl named Lucy, who inexplicably becomes a math genius after being struck by lightning. The first chapter is intriguing and fun, and even if you don’t have time to read the whole first chapter, a few pages are all you need to hook your students. This rec is thanks to my friend Kara over at Riley Reads YA . Check out her review HERE (and make sure you look at her other middle grade book recs, too).

FCF Rating: 5/5 – Unique & intriguing! Students were interested and had lots of questions!

Unbroken (Young Adult Adaptation) , Laura Hillenbrand

Genre: Biography, WWII nonfiction

After we finished A Long Walk to Water as a whole class, I wanted to find a story that would complement it for First Chapter Friday. After looking around my shelves, I decided on Unbroken as soon as I read the first line: “All he could see, in every direction, was water.” It was the perfect contrast to the absence of water in A Long Walk to Water. While former Olympian Louis Zamperini’s story looks a lot different from Salva Duts’, both books are inspiring accounts of survival against all odds.

We actually did this First Chapter Friday during a brief period of online learning, and it worked out well. I played the audio from the preface, which is full of tension and suspense. If you have more time, the first chapter introduces Zamperini and the story a bit more, but the preface is really all you need to intrigue your readers! Bonus: There’s a movie (and it’s incredible), so you can show the trailer to hook students even more!

FCF Rating: 5/5 – An absolute hit! Almost all of my students reported that they were interested in reading this!

Racing in the Rain: My Life as Dog (Young Reader’s Edition) , Garth Stein

Genre: Animal fiction

I ended the semester with something different that I knew my students would love: Racing in the Rain, a story about a dog! Better yet, it’s a book written from the perspective of a dog. This was a major hit, and students were scrambling to get the one copy I had to lend out. I paired this book with my KWL-style graphic organizer (find it HERE ), which prompted students to make inferences and generate questions and predictions. Since we had just studied point of view in A Long Walk to Water, this first chapter offered a fascinating glimpse into how a dog’s point of view can affect a story.

FCF Rating: 5/5 – Students went WILD over this! I immediately purchased more copies at a local used bookstore to keep up with the demand. 🙂

That’s it! Now go add these to your First Chapter Friday list so you can thank yourself later! This post contains 13 recs because we started First Chapter Friday a few weeks into the year and skipped a couple Fridays due to time off, testing, and project presentations. I will round up a second post with the rest of the titles I feature at the end of this school year. In the meantime, stay tuned to my Instagram for First Chapter Friday ideas. If you’re interested in weekly recommendations every Sunday, sign up for my teacher email club HERE.  

Love the idea, but need some help implementing First Chapter Friday in your classroom? Check out the resources & blog posts below:

• First Chapter Friday Active Listening Sheets Bundle
• 10 Reasons to Try First Chapter Friday
• First Chapter Friday: FAQ
• 15 Tips & Tricks for Fist Chapter Friday
• Bonus: If you’re a First Chapter Friday fan, you’ll fall in love with Book Trailer Tuesday. Click HERE to read more about how you can hook students on books in less than 5 minutes a week or HERE to get free links for Book Trailer Tuesday for the entire year.

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First Chapter Fridays Are an Awesome Way To Introduce Students To New Authors

Leave students with a cliff-hanger ending!

Have you heard about First Chapter Fridays yet? They’re taking over the (bookish) world! First Chapter Friday is a fun, super-simple way to bring modern voices into your English curriculum each and every week and encourage your students in their independent reading. Plus, they work easily whether you’re remote or in person.

How do First Chapter Fridays work?

The concept is simple. On First Chapter Friday (or Meet a Book Monday, We Read Wednesday, etc.), you pull an engaging book off your shelf and read the first chapter to your students. Then you make it available for them to access online or check out. Watch it fly out of your hands once they’re hooked, and be prepared for them to beg you to make an exception just this once and read chapter two!

Supplement your curriculum

First Chapter Friday is a great time to read books that you’re having trouble fitting into your full class curriculum. Maybe you can’t get funding for a class set of Born a Crime or All American Boys , but you can share it with everyone by getting just one copy and introducing all your students to it in one go on a Friday. Or maybe you’re getting a lot of pushback from administrators who feel you need to stick with canonical book choices, but you know your students are dying for more diverse voices and more YA. First Chapter Friday is an easy way to incorporate new books as they come out every single month. Grab Angie Thomas’s latest, Concrete Rose , or Elizabeth Acevedo’s Clap When you Land .

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Wondering if your voice will hold up to all that reading?

Make it easier for yourself by batch-recording first chapters on video or audio, then sharing them during each class period. That way you can read the first chapter of one of your favorites one time, then play it for all five of your sections, AND send it to your remote students. Then, you won’t be drinking lemon tea with honey every Friday night! You can set up your phone or camera in a sunny corner of your house and get six first chapters done at once.

For an even bigger shortcut, have famous authors read their first chapters to your students for you! Let John Green read from The Fault in our Stars , Jason Reynolds read from Ghost , or Neil Gaiman read The Graveyard Book .

Keep the fun going by making a special display of your First Chapter Friday books in your classroom, or try putting up a QR code bulletin board that links out to first chapters read by you or by their authors ( make a free copy here ).

Keep your students engaged

You may be wondering how to keep your students focused as they listen. We’ve all dealt with zoned-out-looking audio-listeners and heads down on desks. That’s not the dream. Try inviting your students to sketchnote as they listen instead. A simple guided template ( like this one ) helps the art-wary as they approach this new task. Invite students to doodle and jot down key ideas related to what they’re hearing, then save their sketchnotes together in one place so you can encourage them to look back over the books they’ve explored with you when it comes time to check out a new book in your independent reading program.

Are you ready for action? Friday’s coming soon, so grab a book you love and hit record!

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Bell Ringers

First chapter friday middle school book recommendations and resources |6th |7th | 8th |.

I just finished creating a resource designed specifically for middle schoolers and middle school teachers to utilize and then easily implement First Chapter Friday in their middle school ELA classrooms. Each grade level has forty different curated novels (120 in total) that are perfect for hooking your students into reading the book. They were picked with each specific grade in mind.

If you would like a free preview of each grade level, there is an exclusive Freebie created just for newsletter subscribers.

What is First Chapter Friday ?

First Chapter Friday is simply a way to introduce students to books that they may not otherwise pick. You simply read the first chapter of a novel every Friday (or whatever day of the week you want). Then display the book or have a sign-up list or whatever you choose, so kids can read the books.

Click here or on the image below to be taken to the full resource.

Implementation ideas:

Every school, classroom, and book is going to be different. It may not be possible to read an entire chapter each time. Also, some books like The Maze Runner or the Holes have really short chapters and you might be able to read three or four of those chapters. In my class I just allot eight to ten minutes each time to read as far as I can get in that amount of time.

Just create a system that works. Whether it’s the first chapter, or just a set amount of time you will read the beginnings of books to them, the goal is to just continually try to expose them to a book they might want to read.

I find that students will look at the covers and decide it’s not for them. Or sometimes they will even read the synopsis of the books and determine prematurely it’s not for them. However, when they actually read or listen to someone read the beginning of books, they are much more likely to be hooked. That is the point of this method. Don’t get hung up on the amount of pages, chapters, or time. Just read the start of the books to them!

They are very simple half sheets that just encourage student to think about whether or not it would be a book they want to read.  

How were the books selected for each grade level?

I taught sixth grade ELA for one year, and have now taught seventh and eighth grade ELA for four years. I also have taught a sixth grade books and movies elective for the last four years.

Because of this I know there is a HUGE difference in these grade levels, especially when it comes to the novels they read. The lists are based on interests and content (level was not considered for any of the lists, because that’s not the purpose of this method).

How were the genres decided? Why not more fantasy or dystopian?

The whole point of First Chapter Friday is to get kids interested in books that they might not otherwise read. I did try to vary the genres (realistic fiction, historical fiction, dystopian/science fiction, or fantasy) while also including some format variation (verse novels). Certain genres do have some limitations and I didn’t want to include different genres for the sake of it. I wanted to read the first chapters of these books to get my kids reading. This influenced the genres highlighted for each grade.

Dystopian novels tend to be most appropriate for eighth grade in terms of content. Because of that, more middle school dystopian novels are recommended in the eighth grade lists. Again, I didn’t try to force dystopian novels in the other grades. However, there are some recommendations when it made sense.

Fantasy novels present the opposite issue. Trying to get an eighth grader interested in the fantasy genre, who isn’t already interested in fantasy books, is honestly pretty difficult. In general, my eighth graders who will read middle grade fantasy will read just about anything. Plus, fantasy doesn’t usually even hook fantasy readers right away, so many first chapters don’t do fantasy books justice. Again, I included some of these titles when it made sense, and to vary the genres. But I didn’t force it so as to stay true to the purpose of this method.

What else should I know about the different grade level lists?

I was pretty good about not putting young adult titles in the sixth and seventh grade lists. In eighth grade, I do treat them much more like high schoolers, and there are young adult titles. Most of these eighth grade recommendations are considered young adult. That’s mostly because of violence, but some do have references to and/or imply sexual content. I worked hard to stay away from young adult novels that have actual sex scenes in them. However, you could easily replace any of those titles with a sixth or seventh grade recommendation.

You can get the full resource right here on the The Hungry Teacher Website too! 

• Read more about: Back to School , Middle School Reading

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• Aug 13, 2022

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!

First Chapter Friday Kit

• Independent Reading

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• Secondary ELA

The Ultimate Database for First Chapter Friday

As a teacher, one of the greatest joys you can experience is watching your students develop a love for reading.

First Chapter Friday is such a FUN way to get your students excited about reading!

I don’t hear about First Chapter Friday in High School classrooms as much as I do in elementary classrooms, BUT I want to change that and create a resource for high school teachers to use!

I’ve split my list into two sections: 

• The Classics
• The Best Sellers and Award Winners

What is First Chapter Friday?

The idea is simple. Every Friday, students read the first chapter of a selected book. (Obviously it can be done on ANY day, and not just Friday)

The brief introduction to the book’s plot, characters, and setting hooks students in and encourages them to continue reading it in their own time.

This approach works precisely because it provides students with a taste of the exciting world that is within the pages of a book.

Using "The Classics" with High School Students for First Chapter Friday

Using classic books for First Chapter Friday is a fun opportunity to expose students to those famous stories they’ve heard about at some point in their life. These timeless literary works possess enduring value and offer numerous benefits.

Classic books showcase exemplary writing, complex themes, and captivating storytelling, exposing students to high-quality literature. Additionally, these texts provide cultural and historical insight, enabling students to explore different time periods and perspectives.

Classic literature helps build language skills by exposing students to sophisticated and nuanced language usage. It also encourages critical thinking and analysis by examining complex characters and social issues.

By introducing classic books early on, teachers can establish a strong reading foundation and foster a love for literature. First Chapter Friday classics can often serve as a bridge to contemporary literature, allowing students to make connections and appreciate modern works. 

What makes a book "Classic"?

A book is considered a “classic” when it possesses enduring literary value and has stood the test of time. It’s important to note that the classification of a book as a classic can vary based on personal preferences and cultural contexts. Several factors contribute to classifying a book as a classic:

Timelessness: A classic book remains relevant across generations, addressing universal themes and exploring the complexities of the human experience.

Literary Excellence: Classic books often exhibit exceptional writing style, innovative storytelling techniques, and profound character development that captivate readers.

Influence : A classic book has a significant impact on literature and culture, inspiring other authors and shaping artistic movements.

Enduring Popularity: Classic books continue to be widely read and appreciated by audiences throughout the years, demonstrating their lasting appeal.

Historical or Social Significance: Some classic books provide insights into specific historical periods, offer social commentary, or challenge societal norms, making them culturally significant.

"The Classics" for First Chapter Friday - with audiobook links

• "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee - Chapter 1 (33 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Black Beauty" by Anna Sewell Chapter 1, 2 & 3 (21 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll Chapter 1 (13 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "A Picture of Dorian Grey" by Oscar Wilde Chapter 1 (30 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley - Chapter 5 (16 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Dracula" by Dram Stoker Chapter 2 (30 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett Chapter 1 (11 mins) Chapter 2 (16 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald Chapter 1 (35 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque Chapter 1 (25 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley Chapter 2 (21 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells Chapter 11 (12 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Animal Farm" by George Orwell Chapter 1 (15 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "1984" by George Orwell Chapter 1 (34 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien Chapter 1 (56 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding -Chapter 1 (27 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury Chapter 1 (30 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger Chapter 1 (10 mins) - Audiobook Link
• " A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens Chapter 1 (40 mins) - Audiobook Link

Using Best Seller Books for First Chapter Fridays

Using bestseller books for First Chapter Friday is A MUST.

Most of my high school students will recognize the Award Winner Books that I read with them for First Chapter Friday.

Bestsellers are usually right on the pulse of what’s happening now, often striking a chord with students and grabbing their attention from the get-go. They often tackle current themes and big societal issues, creating an environment that helps students think critically and encourages them to consider different perspectives.

With all sorts of genres in the bestseller lists, teachers can find something for every student’s taste. Plus, bestsellers usually have gripping stories, complex characters, and top-notch writing that make reading a pleasure and inspire students to read more on their own.

Introducing high school students to these popular books doesn’t just encourage them to recommend books to each other and spark great classroom discussions, it also helps build a sense of community.

And by bringing bestseller books into First Chapter Friday, teachers can keep up with the latest in literature, bridging the gap between the classics and today’s books, and creating a lively, engaging, and relevant learning environment perfect for high school students.

Criteria for Best Selling and Award Winning Books

A book becomes a bestseller or an award winner for various reasons, depending on the criteria set by different platforms and organizations. It’s important to note that the criteria for bestsellers and awards may vary among different platforms, publishers, and award-giving bodies. Here are some factors that contribute to a book’s success in becoming a bestseller or an award winner:

Engaging Storytelling: A book with a compelling and well-crafted narrative, intriguing plot, and relatable characters has a higher chance of captivating readers and gaining popularity. “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds is such a great example of engaging storytelling: A Teacher’s Honest Review of “Long Way Down”

Originality: Books that bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, or unique concepts to the table often attract attention and stand out from the crowd. Creativity and originality can make a book more appealing to readers and award committees.

Emotional Impact: Books that evoke strong emotions or touch upon universal themes have the potential to strike a chord with readers. Emotional resonance can lead to positive word-of-mouth recommendations and critical acclaim.

Timing and Relevance: The cultural, social, or political relevance of a book can contribute to its success. Books addressing current issues or reflecting societal trends may garner more attention and recognition. There are so many Essential Questions that can be explored with books that address important issues and social trends.

Positive Reviews and Word-of-Mouth: Favorable reviews from critics, influential figures, and trusted sources, as well as positive word-of-mouth recommendations from readers, can generate buzz and contribute to a book’s success.

"The Best Sellers & Award Winners" - with audiobook links

• "The Giver" by Lois Lowry - Chapter 1 (15 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Speakl" by Laurie Halse Chapter 1 (30 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Harry Potter and the Sorcer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling Chapter 1 (28 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Holes" by Louis Sachar Chapter 1-5 (20 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Big Mouth and Ugly Girl" by Joyce Carol Oates Chapter 1 (24 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini Chapter 1 (8 mins), Chapter 2 (8 mins) Chapter 3 (11 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks Chapter 1 (33 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "All American Boys" by Jason Reynolds Chapter 1 (27 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie Chapter 3 (23 mins) - Audiobook Link start at 48:00
• "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones Chapter 1 (26 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Looking for Alaska" by John Green Chapter 1 (20 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Me, Earl and the Dying Girl" by Jesse Andrews Chapter 1 (25 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Night" by Eli Wiesel Chapter 1 (20 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan Chapter 1 (17 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie Chapter 1 (10 mins) - Audiobook Link
• "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak Prologue (16 mins) & Chapter 1 (26 mins)
• "Turtles All The Way Down" by John Green Chapter 1 (10 mins)
• "Paper Towns" by John Green Chapter 1 (9 mins)
• "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds (5 mins)
• "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds (Starts at 19:20 - 30 mins)
• "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman Chapter 1 (13 mins)

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100: How to Run a Virtual First Chapter Friday Program

• August 9, 2020

In this strange season of transition, in which you may be teaching in person one day, remote the next, and blended the next, it’s important to have some consistent programming set up that can give you easy wins weeks after week. No matter what scenario you’re in. 

These are the flexible programs I shared with you in podcast episode ninety-seven, A Flexible Plan for Blended Learning . I hope you’ll give it a quick listen if you haven’t yet, because a lot of teachers have been telling me it’s helping them feel more comfortable with the uncertainties of fall. 

Today we’re diving into how you might run a First Chapter Friday (or Monday, or Wednesday, etc.) program online. If you set it up for Fall 2020 online now, you can share it in any scenario, adjusting smoothly to whatever changes come. 

You can listen to this (100TH EPISODE) on Apple Podcasts , Spotify, the player below, or the podcast player of your choice. Or, read on. 

Let’s start with the basics. First Chapter Friday is a chance to share many different books with your students so they become familiar with more authors, more voices, more styles, and feel more inspired to read new books. Ideally, it’s part of an independent reading program so you channel that inspiration right into reading. Normally, that would look like a classroom library and a structure to go with it, but right now that probably looks like great access to ebooks and audio books and a structure to go with them. 

On the day you choose to share your first chapters, you crack open a great book, read out loud, and kids listen and sketchnote, so they have a colorful record of the first chapters they’ve heard and might want to read later. (You can read all about the basics of doing this during a normal year right here ). 

It all seems clear enough, right? But of course, taking the whole thing virtual presents a few twists! So let’s look at some FAQs I’ve been talking with teachers about over in my membership program this month.

Let me say up front that I’m not an expert in copyright or a copyright lawyer (I think you knew that!). But it seems to me that if you have a copy of a book that you were going to read to your students in person, then it is OK to read it to them using technology so they can hear it from home. However, I would keep these videos and audios private to your students, much as I wish we could work as a collaborative educator group to put a library of thousands of first chapters in place for teachers around the world to use. (Pausing here to daydream about how awesome that would be. Yes, I did contact my friend at one of the big publishing houses to try to make that happen. No, they did not go for it). 

OK, so let’s dive in to the FAQ.

Does First Chapter Friday have to be on Fridays?

Nope! In fact, if you’re in a blended learning scenario where everyone is online one day a week, I think the online day would be IDEAL for FCF, whatever day it is. Then you have a plan in place for that day every week. 

How can I prepare for a successful program now?

I’m so glad you asked! Now is the perfect time to sit down with your phone or your mic and record a BUNCH of first chapters. This is called batching, and it’s going to make your life a lot easier for the next three months. Get your lighting and set-up and reading outfit ready for video, or your mic and recording software revved up, and hit record! You’ll save a ton of time by not setting this up every week the night before you need to deliver a new chapter. 

Once your program gets going, you can add MORE choices by inviting students to submit audio or video first chapter clips of their own. This was one of the wonderful ideas that came out of discussion of this program inside my membership this week, and I LOVE it! You could make this an assignment partway into the term, offer it as an extra credit option, or just throw it out as a fun option and see if you get any takers. 

How can I deliver the First Chapter Fridays to kids at home and kids in class at the same time?

Once you have your recordings, you have a choice to make. 

Do you want everyone to listen to the same one, the same week? In that case, play the recording for your kids in class at the same time that you share it with your kids at home through your learning platform. 

Do you want everyone to get to choose which chapter to listen to based on their interests? In that case, get all your recordings linked up on a hyperdoc or Google Slide show with short blurbs about the books, and let kids make their own choice each week. 

What if I’m required to be synchronous with students who are at home? 

Go ahead and have the kids at home log into class for attendance and hellos, then have them mic off and go listen to the chapter. If you’ve got some students in class at the same time, you can either play a group chapter to them (if that’s what you chose) or let them make their own choices and listen with headphones on their devices. 

How can remote students do the sketchnotes?

Having something to do as you listen is a critical part of FCFs, because otherwise it can be hard for students to focus. Especially if they’re sleepy. Easy templates (like these and these ) help sketchnote-wary students get more comfortable with the process. But they’re not absolutely necessary. 

Here are a few options for helping remote learners successfully sketchnote. You might just want to let them choose which one they prefer: 

#1 You can give students simple templates through Google slides and let them try their hand at e-sketchnotes (playing around with fonts and shapes, etc. to put down their thoughts). 

#2 You can show students a template, then ask them to simply sketch something similar in a notebook at home. It’s good for them to look away from the screen for a while. 

#3 You can teach students the basics of sketchnoting with this quick video  and then let them create their sketchnote series in their notebooks, skipping the templates. 

Want to go deeper? 

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Another great episode, Betsy! I’m looking forward to trying FCF with my students. Congratulations on achieving 100 episodes!

Curious what resources you use for ebooks for your students. Do you have something paid for by your district or do you have free resources?

For your FCF are you using physical books or audio books? If a student is interested in a book from our classroom library I am concerned that I would not be able to get it into his/her hands since we are totally virtual.

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DeLong Library - First Chapter Friday: Home

American born chinese.

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Graphic Novel - Realistic     Lexile/RL : GN530     Pages : 240

Please note the suggested grade level and preview the selection to ensure it is suitable for your students .

Read the First Chapter

Trigger Warning: Mature Content

Attack of the Black Rectangles

Grade Level: 5  - 8     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 710     Pages : 258

Listen to the First Five Minutes

Aviva vs the Dybukk

Grade Level: 4 - 6     Genre : Supernatural     Lexile/RL : 5.6     Pages : 181   

Black Bird, Blue Road

Grade Level: 4  - 6     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : ?     Pages : 313

The Door of No Return

Grade Level: 6  - 8     Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 5.9     Pages : 418

How To Build A Human

Grade Level: 5  - 8     Genre : Nonfiction     Lexile/RL : 990     Pages : 166

I Must Betray You

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 4.3     Pages : 319

Jennifer Chan Is Not Alone

Grade Level: 5  - 8     Genre : Mystery     Lexile/RL : 640     Pages : 277

The Last Mapmaker

Grade Level: 4  - 7     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 5.2     Pages : 359

Maizy Chen's Last Chance

Grade Level: 5 - 7     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 670     Pages : 276

The Ogress and the Orphans

Grade Level: 5  - 8     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 5.1     Pages : 392

Those Kids from Fawn Creek

Grade Level: 4  - 7     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 4.4     Pages : 336

Two Degrees

Grade Level: 4  - 8     Genre : Adventure     Lexile/RL : 5.2     Pages : 365

Alabama Moon

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Adventure     Lexile/RL : 720     Pages : 294   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Adventure     Lexile/RL : 690     Pages : 404   

Amal Unbound

Grade Level: 5 -8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 600     Pages : 226   

Amari and the Night Brothers

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 4.9     Pages : 408   

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Dystopian     Lexile/RL : 750     Pages : 466   [Ashfall Series]

Beasts and Beauty

Grade Level: 7 - 12    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 5.7     Pages : 324   

Black Brother, Black Brother

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Sports     Lexile/RL : 3.4     Pages : 241  

The Book of Boy

Grade Level: 4 - 6     Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 600     Pages : 289   

The Book Thief

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 730     Pages : 567

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 620     Pages : 320   

Brown Girl Dreaming

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Biography     Lexile/RL : 990     Pages : 349   

Grade Level: 6 - 9     Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 780     Pages : 316   

City of the Plague God

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 4.5     Pages : 383   

Clean Getaway

Grade Level: 5 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 780     Pages : 227  

Coop Knows the Scoop

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Mystery    Lexile/RL : 610     Pages : 299   

Grade Level: 4 - 8     Genre : Science Fiction     Lexile/RL : 670     Pages : 324   

The Crossover

Grade Level: 6 - 9     Genre : Sports     Lexile/RL : 750     Pages : 237   

Counting by 7s

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 770     Pages : 380   

Daughter of the Deep

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Science Fiction     Lexile/RL : 5.2     Pages : 336   

Dead End in Norvelt

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Mystery     Lexile/RL : 920     Pages : 341   

Dragon Hoops

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Graphic Novel/Realistic    Lexile/RL : 550     Pages : 445   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 680     Pages : 585   

Grade Level: 7 - 10     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 720     Pages : 288  

Every Body Looking

Grade Level: 8 - 12     Genre : Realistic    Lexile/RL : Unknown     Pages : 403   

Every Shiny Thing

Grade Level: 5 - 9    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 860     Pages : 361   

Everything Sad is Untrue

Grade Level: 7 - 12     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 800     Pages : 356  

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 830     Pages : 340   

Fighting Words

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 3.6     Pages : 259   

Fish in a Tree

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 550     Pages : 276   

Flight of the Puffin

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 4.3     Pages : 229   

Flying Lessons & Other Stories

Grade Level: 4 - 7     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 800     Pages : 218   

Flora & Ulysses

Grade Level: 3 - 6     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 520     Pages : 231   

The Forgotten Girl

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Horror   Lexile/RL : 670     Pages : 250   

The Fourteenth Goldfish

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Science Fiction     Lexile/RL : 550     Pages : 195  

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 660     Pages : 291   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 640     Pages : 286   

Full Cicada Moon

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 790     Pages : 389   

Furthermore

Grade Level: 4 - 8     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 840     Pages : 406   

Genesis Begins Again

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 670     Pages : 364   

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Sports     Lexile/RL : 730     Pages : 181   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Supernatural     Lexile/RL : 360     Pages : 214   

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 640     Pages : 388  

Grade Level: 6 - 10    Genre : Dystopian     Lexile/RL : 760     Pages : 246   

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Autobiography     Lexile/RL : 5.9     Pages : 355   

Goodbye Stranger

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 560     Pages : 289   

The Great Greene Heist

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 660     Pages : 226   

Ground Zero

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 690     Pages : 304    [2022 DMS Grade 8 Big Read Book]

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Adventure    Lexile/RL : 1020     Pages : 195   

Hello Universe

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 690     Pages : 313   

Hide and Seeker

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Horror    Lexile/RL : 480     Pages : 308   

The Honest Truth

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 550     Pages : 229  

House Arrest

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 610     Pages : 302   

The House of the Scorpion

Grade Level: 7 - 10    Genre : Science Fiction     Lexile/RL : 660     Pages : 380   

How it Happened in Peach Hill

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 4.6     Pages : 232   

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 670     Pages : 325   

The Inquisitor's Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and their Holy Dog

Grade Level: 4 - 7     Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 620     Pages : 363   

Just Under the Clouds

Grade Level: 4 - 6     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 710     Pages : 229   

The Last Cuentista

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Science Fiction    Lexile/RL : Unknown     Pages : 320   

The Last Fallen Star

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Fantasy    Lexile/RL : 5.2     Pages : 352     

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Adventure    Lexile/RL : 630     Pages : 308   

Life as We Knew it

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Science Fiction     Lexile/RL : 770     Pages : 337   

Lily and Dunkin

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 680     Pages : 338   

Long Way Down

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 720     Pages : 306   

Love, Stargirl

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 610     Pages : 466   

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Dystopian     Lexile/RL : 680     Pages : 369   

Merci Suarez Changes Gears

Grade Level: 4 - 7     Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 700     Pages : 355   Series : 1 of 3

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Humor     Lexile/RL : 650     Pages : 247   

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 530     Pages : 293   [2022 DMS Grade 6 Big Read Book]

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 670     Pages : 281   

A Monster Calls

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Horror    Lexile/RL : 730     Pages : 104  

Never After

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Fantasy    Lexile/RL : 5     Pages :322   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 320    Pages : 249   

The Night Diary

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 700     Pages : 264   

The Night Gardener

Grade Level: 4 - 7     Genre : Horror    Lexile/RL : 690     Pages : 350   

Ophie's Ghost

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 6.3     Pages : 325   

Ordinary Hazards

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Autobiography   Lexile/RL : 840     Pages : 325   

Orbiting Jupiter

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 740     Pages : 183  

Other Words for Home

Grade Level: 3 - 6    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 5.3     Pages : 413   

The Outlaws Scarlett and Brown

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Science Fiction    Lexile/RL : Unknown     Pages : 421   

Out of My Mind

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 700     Pages : 295   

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 940     Pages : 224   

The Parker Inheritance

Grade Level: 4 - 6     Genre : Mystery     Lexile/RL : 610     Pages : 331   

Piecing Me Together

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 680     Pages : 264   

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 800     Pages : 361   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 720     Pages : 226   

Raymie Nightingale

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 550     Pages : 263   

Red, White, and Whole

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 5.3     Pages : 217  

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 800     Pages : 338   

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

Grade Level: 4 -6    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 730     Pages : 344   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Humor     Lexile/RL : 730     Pages : 243   

Return to Sender

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 890     Pages : 335   

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party's Promise to the People

Grade Level: 7 - 12    Genre : Nonfiction     Lexile/RL : NA     Pages : 390   

Roller Girl

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Graphic Novel/Realistic     Lexile/RL : 440     Pages : 239   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy    Lexile/RL : 4.6     Pages : 336   

Scary Stories for Young Foxes

Grade Level: 3 - 6     Genre : Horror     Lexile/RL : 640     Pages : 314   

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 740     Pages : 208  

The Screaming Staircase

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Horror    Lexile/RL : 720     Pages :390   

The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 740     Pages : 262   

The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 790     Pages : 210   

Small as an Elephant

Grade Level: 5 - 8     Genre : Adventure     Lexile/RL : 790     Pages : 275   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 4.1     Pages : 244

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 590     Pages : 186   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Adventure     Lexile/RL : 740     Pages : 290   

Stella by Starlight

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 740     Pages : 320   

Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffle Feathers

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 750     Pages : 365   

Grade Level: 6  - 9    Genre : Sports     Lexile/RL : 680     Pages : 312   

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 600     Pages : 180  

Too Bright to See

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Supernatural   Lexile/RL : 5.1     Pages : 188   

The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

Grade Level: 5  - 7    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 310    Pages : 326   

Grade Level: 7 - 10    Genre : Dystopian    Lexile/RL : 770     Pages : 406   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Autobiography    Lexile/RL : 890     Pages : 200   

The Underneath

Grade Level: 5 - 7    Genre : Animals     Lexile/RL : 830     Pages : 313   

Under the Mesquite

Grade Level: 7  - 12    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 990     Pages : 224   

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Humor     Lexile/RL : 750     Pages : 324  

Wait Till Helen Comes

Grade Level: 5 - 7    Genre : Horror    Lexile/RL : 750     Pages : 184  

The War that Saved My Life

Grade Level: 4 - 7     Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 580     Pages : 328   

The Water Seeker

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 730     Pages : 309   

We are Not Free

Grade Level: 8 - 12    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 5.5     Pages : 400   

The Wednesday Wars

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical    Lexile/RL : 990     Pages : 264   

We Dream of Space

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 4.6     Pages : 400   

Well, That was Awkward

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Realistic    Lexile/RL : 620     Pages : 321  

When Stars are Scattered

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Graphic Novel/Realistic     Lexile/RL : 530     Pages : 256  

When You Trap a Tiger

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 590     Pages : 297

Please note the suggested grade level and preview the selection to ensur e it is suitable for your students .

When Zackary Beaver Came to Town

Grade Level: 6 - 9    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 700     Pages : 227   

Where the World Ends

Grade Level: 7 - 12    Genre : Adventure     Lexile/RL : 900     Pages : 324  

White Bird: A Wonder Story

Grade Level: 4 - 6    Genre : Graphic Novel/Realistic     Lexile/RL : Unknown    Pages : 224  

The Wind in the Willows

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Classics     Lexile/RL : 1140     Pages : 259   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 580     Pages : 314  [2022 DMS Grade 7 Big Read Book]

A Wish in the Dark

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 720     Pages :375   

A Wolf for a Day

Grade Level: 4 - 7    Genre : Fantasy     Lexile/RL : 770     Pages :318 

Wolf Hollow

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Historical     Lexile/RL : 800     Pages : 291   

Grade Level: 5 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 690     Pages : 227   

A Wrinkle in Time

Grade Level: 6 - 8    Genre : Science Fiction    Lexile/RL : 740     Pages : 236   

Zebra Forest

Grade Level: 4 - 8    Genre : Realistic     Lexile/RL : 750     Pages : 200   

• Last Updated: Aug 21, 2023 2:02 PM
• URL: https://ecasd.libguides.com/fcf

First Chapter Friday - Cliffhanger

• Google Slides™

Description

This quick, one page Google Slide is intended to be used as a First Chapter Friday assignment with books that contain a cliffhanger at the end of the first chapter. I created this to be used with the book Numbers by David Poulsen, but it can be used with any book containing a cliffhanger.

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A Benefit of First Chapter Friday Nearpod Activities

If you’re a secondary English teacher, and especially if you’re at all connected to other teachers online (or a follower of Abby Gross of writeonwithmissg ), you’ve probably heard of First Chapter Friday. Many teachers are implementing this simple idea—reading the first chapter of a high-interest novel aloud in class each Friday—to get students excited about reading. It’s a great approach: we all know the benefits of reading and the reluctance of many of our students to spend any of their time doing it. But, as with anything in education, teachers must decide how best to implement the activity in their own classrooms. Today, we’re sharing how our approach to First Chapter Friday evolved into a simple 5–10 minute activity students can complete independently.

When we first started doing First Chapter Friday, we kept it simple: we selected a book from our classroom library and read the first chapter aloud to students. That’s it! And any teacher who wants to start implementing First Chapter Friday in their own classroom can keep it as simple as this. We tried to make sure we had multiple copies of the book available for students to check out, even displaying them at the front of the classroom for the week, and we did have students occasionally pick up a book we previewed in class . We made our selections based on books we had available, though we did occasionally order a few copies of newer books we thought our students would love.

Then ( all together now ) the COVID-19 pandemic hit. For the last few months of the 2019–2020 school year, we were, like everyone else, just trying to survive, and our regular routines and “nonessentials” went out the window. We were still recommending books, but we were just posting about them on our Google Classrooms (which meant most students took a pass on checking them out.) Once we learned we would be starting the next school year online, however, we were determined to bring a sense of normalcy and routine to our classroom, which included bringing back First Chapter Fridays.

Because we decided to move toward a flipped classroom model , we wanted to find a way students could complete all their assignments independently. Our district promoted Nearpod heavily during our back-to-school professional development, and we realized it would be an easy way to make First Chapter Friday work. We created Nearpods that included a screencast in which we shared a few words about why we selected the book and played an audio sample (an entire first chapter was not always available), and then we added 2–3 simple multiple-choice questions for students to answer. It was a great bellringer on Fridays: students were exposed to over 35 books, were held accountable for engaging with the activity, and earned a few easy participation points. Our district provided access to Sora for students to check out ebooks, so we did our best to select books from a variety of genres available on that site so accessing the book wouldn’t be an issue for our students.

When we returned to the classroom in the fall of 2021, we made our bellringers into a menu of “weekly assignments” students could complete at their own pace. Students had 10–15 minutes to work on these assignments at the beginning of class each day, and the assignments were all due on Friday. It was fun to see students choose to do their First Chapter Friday Nearpod first and check out the books on Sora. In all, it was an engaging, easy-to-manage way of introducing our students to books they might enjoy.

Now that we’ve left the classroom to support teachers like you, we’re creating and sending out FIVE free First Chapter Friday Nearpods each month. Instead of a few words from us about why we chose the book, we’ve added book trailers before the audio sample, and we’ve included the book pages onscreen while the audio plays for students who are better visual processors (or who want to go back to the text when they’re answering the questions at the end). We strive to highlight contemporary young adult texts from a variety of genres and voices (and toss in a few oldies-but-goodies as well), and only include books we’ve previewed, enjoyed, and would feel comfortable recommending in our own classrooms. If you’re looking for a simple way to build a reading culture in your classroom but don’t have the time to research trending titles or plan an activity yourself, we hope you’ll sign up !

Do you do First Chapter Fridays in your classroom? What is your favorite strategy to engage your students with these text previews? Do you have a book you’d love to see included in our monthly selections? Reach out to us at [email protected] or on Instagram @threeheads.works . Even better? Share this blog with another teacher and give them back some time!

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