Are you looking for an engaging way to introduce your students to new books, authors, and genres they might not have explored otherwise? Then you need to give First Chapter Fridays a try! This simple approach can build excitement and leave your students on the edges of their seats, eager to read more. Let’s explore why First Chapter Fridays work, read tips from fellow educators who have successfully implemented these read-alouds, and explore ways to keep students engaged during whole-class reading.

What Are First Chapter Fridays?

First Chapter Fridays are the perfect way to introduce students to new books, authors, and genres they might not try otherwise. You can read these chapters during snack time, transitions (like cooling down after recess), or even at the end of the day as students pack up.

You may also choose to call it a Favorite Chapter Friday instead. Sometimes books start a little slow, so in this case, I pick a particularly action-packed or suspenseful chapter. I give students a quick summary or background before reading the enticing chapter. Of course, you have to be careful not to give too much away!

Here are more ideas from our Free Facebook group to make the most out of your First Chapter Friday.

Cindy B. described how she approaches First Chapter Friday with her class and I love her approach. She said, “I share on the document camera the cover, read the back jacket or inside flaps and then read the first chapter or if too long the first several pages. We discuss the genre and then do a quick look to see if it is available at our school library or local library. If several want it, I pull a name. Sometimes the author will read their own first chapter so I play that video instead. I love choosing the first book in a series to hook them.”

Cori W. had another great suggestion. She said, “I do all of the above plus have parents come in and read first chapters from their favorite (age-appropriate) books! We keep track of what the book was, the genre and how many kids read it throughout the year.”

Book Tastings

If your students enjoy First Chapter Fridays, they’ll also love book tastings. Book Tastings are a wonderful way to get kids engaged in reading and familiarize them with a wide variety of genres. At the end of the tasting, they all end up with a list of books that they can’t wait to read. Visit this post to see our book tasting in action.

Novel Read-Aloud Engagement Tips

What does that look like when you find a novel that you want to read in its entirety with the whole class?

I have a collection of novel posts with book recommendations and teaching tips, but a question I haven’t previously addressed came up in our Free Inspired in Upper Elementary Facebook group. Sarah C. was looking for tips to help keep students engaged during read-alouds when you’re working with only one copy of a book. That’s a great question!

While I love to read aloud simply for enjoyment, read-alouds can also be the perfect way to reinforce reading skills. Here are ways to keep students engaged with novel read-alouds.

• Blooket Pop Quiz: My students can’t resist Blooket! I love throwing a few questions on from the previous day’s readings and letting them battle it out. 
• Parking Lot: This is a great use of a parking lot anchor chart! I like to create charts that have four sections: Questions, Connections, Surprises, and Words I Heard.
• Stop and Talk: When something interesting is happening, I have students stop and talk for a brief moment to make predictions, discuss opinions, or consider the pros/cons of a certain situation. 
• Let them Draw: I have ALWAYS given my students the option to draw while I read aloud. For most, this helps them focus on the story. Sometimes, I’ll require that they are sketching about what I’m reading. 
• Set A Purpose: At the beginning of the day’s reading, I like to set a purpose so they are listening for something specific – like clues about a character’s choice or motivation or the key themes in the book.

Novel Study Activities

This set of Novel and Book Study activities for upper elementary are the perfect resources for your literacy block. These novel study activities are perfect for pre-reading, during reading, and after reading. Use them with almost any novel to help your students to think critically about what they’re reading!

I NEED ThESE!

Novel Study Journals

These novel study journals are perfect to use before, during, and after reading. The differentiated options can be printed into little flipbooks with tabs or regular double-sided booklets for easy printing and assembly.

I have journals for:

• ​Reading Skills Option 1​
• ​Reading Skills Option 2​
• ​Historical Fiction​
• ​Fantasy Novels​
• ​Nonfiction

Task Cards

If you’re looking for something quicker, here are a variety of task cards you can use before, during, and after reading. 

I use these free pre-reading task cards to introduce new novels. If I am using a novel for the whole class, I pair students up and give each pairing a card to complete, then we share our responses. The cards are differentiated so you can look them over to decide which ones would be best for your students who need extra support and which ones might be best for your students who need an extra push. They’re all great for activating schema and getting students ready to read.

I also use these free open-ended reading response task cards often. 

With these reading response task cards, you can engage your students in thoughtful discussions about their reading ALL YEAR LONG! The bundle is designed to enrich and extend ordinary thinking about a wide variety of reading skills to move your students beyond basic, literal understanding of what they are reading, and branching out into inferential, critical thinking. 

Finally, head to this post for engaging novel projects you can use with any book!

More Novel Study Tips from Teachers

“I would have them come up close to you, up to the rug if you have one, and have the read aloud be interactive. Have them turn and talk a lot, create anchor charts about character traits, character change, plot, etc together. Use this time to reinforce the reading skills you’ve covered. Have them listen for figurative language. I found unless the kids had a purpose for read aloud, some zoned out no matter what I tried.” – Leslie N.

Stacy L. said, “I really like to have students complete “matchbooks” for each chapter. They write a summary inside the matchbook and draw an illustration of the cover. The strike flap is labeled with the corresponding chapter. I typically model the first three chapters using the somebody wanted but so then structure. This gives my students who need more support a structure that they can use with ease. Also the limited space keeps my more loquacious students within parameters of size.”

“We go over what good readers do/comprehension strategies (visualize, connect, react/respond, reflect, summarize, ask questions, infer, predict, find purpose) as I read they do one or two of those on their dry erase board and we share… sometimes I assign one but mostly I let them choose… no prep other than teaching what these things mean at the beginning of the year… they apply to all literary reads and most informational… plus they are great stems for discourse…” – Amy F.

You can visit this post in our Facebook group for more tips from our community. We’d love to hear your suggestions, too!