In the beginning...leads in the library.

I was thrilled when one of our new middle school English teachers came to me recently and wanted to connect their classroom learning on writing leads to the library.

After the class arrived, we recapped what they have been learning about leads.  Leads come at the beginning of a piece of writing.  They are designed to hook a reader, set the tone, and/or provide background information.  They may vary in length and style.  All types of genres have leads, and the writer should keep the audience and purpose of writing in mind when crafting the beginning of the piece.

Next I read the one-page prologue from Kay Honeyman's The Fire Horse Girl (Scholastic, 2013) because it so beautifully talks about how the author carefully chooses the first words of a story.

Then I read leads from 4-5 books.  Although these varied from period to period, a few were as follows:
Brain Jack, Brian Falkner (suspense)
What Jamie Saw, Carolyn Coman (repetition for effect)
Notes from a Midnight Driver, Jordan Sonnenblick (humor)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, Rick Yancey (author speaks to readers)Full Tilt, Neal Shusterman (one sentence lead)

I also included two informational books about Issac Newton.  One was a standard series biography with a pretty standard lead.  The other was Kathleen Krull's much more interesting lead to her Issac Newton book from the Giants of Science series.

Afterward, students were given a few minutes to find a good by going to the stacks and perusing books of their choice.  Then they partnered up, shared the leads they found with the other person, and decided which they felt was the better lead. 

Finally, they paired up with another duo to make a group of four.  After reading the four leads aloud, they selected the strongest from the group. We reconvened the class, and the student who had selected this lead read it to the large group. 

The kids were engaged, and they seemed to enjoy sharing what they found. Best of all, several students wanted to check out some of the books. 

Cool tools: Ikea display stands

Sometimes cool tools can be low tech (and inexpensive), as evidenced by these great display stands I found at Ikea for .99 each (search Tolsby on ikea.com).

I'm using them right now for several things, as you can see in the photos. 

Last week I used them as table numbers for the book pass activity (see previous post).  The numbers are clip art that I re-printed in color this morning to spiff them up a bit.

The students of one of our Spanish teachers are getting ready to do a big Dia de los Muertos project in the library, complete with a large altar to Frida Kahlo and smaller, individual altars to relatives and personal heroes.  I put related pictures in the display stands and will set these on library tables to compliment their projects.

Finally, I'm working on a new display, Read Any Good Movies Lately? After poking around on IMBD, I discovered that we have almost all of the books that correspond with the top 40 or so books-to-upcoming movies on their site. I'll display the books themselves, the IMBD list, and a handout of the books.  I'm including the display stands with 4 x 6 color copies of the book covers so the display won't be bare if (hopefully when) the books are checked out.


What other uses have you thought of for these low tech cool tools?

Book Pass

In the spirit of Steal Like an Artist, by Austin Kleon, another of our summer professional reading books, I have happily borrowed a wonderful idea from a neighboring teacher.

Kay Honeyman, brand new author of The Fire Horse Girl, blogs about holding a book pass in the library.  Her librarian is a friend, the terrific Jill Bellomy.  Their book pass sounded like so much fun that I decided to give it a go.

A book pass is just what the name implies.  Students come to the library to pass around books set out for them to examine.  They make a list of ones that sound appealing and add to the list throughout the year.  The goal is for this "to read" list to contain lots of books that they will enjoy reading for pleasure.

I did a book pass with sixth graders today, and it went really well.  Even the pickiest (er, most discerning) reader left with two or three books they want to read this year.

I modified yesterday's book pass due to a short period with the sixth graders, and I'm including the steps here:

1.  Set up enough tables so that your class will be sitting in groups of three or four.
2.  Number each table.
3.  Make a book pass sheet for students to write down the books they want to read. 
4.  Place 8-10 books at each table of various genres.
5.  Before the students start, ask them how they choose the books they read for fun.  Ask them to use these strategies for the book pass and to write down any books they might like to read.
6.  Give students 4-5 minutes at each table, rotating tables until each group has been to each table.
7.  If you see a group that's not really interested in the books on their table, walk by and add a few different books to the mix.
8.  Ask students to star books on their list that they are most excited about, and then give them the opportunity to check out books from any table.  If more than one student wants a particular book, place holds.
9.  Allow students to share what interests them about the books they have selected.
10.  Tip:  Since the tables will be mostly empty after one period, use books that the previous group has just returned to the drop box or good books from your shelving cart to replenish the tables.

Let us know how the book pass worked for your students!  Happy reading...