Dana Smith: “The way you grow old is kind of like an onion or like the rings inside of a tree trunk or…”

I’m not sure why read-alouds stop when kids get older. They still love to be read to. They get a sense of calm. They feel like a kid again. It’s a connection that they’re making with their teacher and with the book.

“And you don’t feel 11 at all.”

So St. Mary’s is a small rural school in North Central Pennsylvania. There’s not a whole lot of diversity, so exposing our kids to a variety of authors from different backgrounds and cultures is very important.

Beth Penn: We started using First Chapter Fridays because we didn’t have time in our curriculum to read as many novels with our students as we wanted to. And we know that a lot of our students are not reading at home.

Dana Smith: So First Chapter Friday is when we choose a book and read the entire first chapter to our students during class. Because it’s just that little snippet, they might be more interested in reading to find out what happens next.

Beth Penn: “Who am I? I am Levi. I am small, but fast. I am smart, but dumb.”

Harper: Today, we read Knockout. It was about this kid who’s going into seventh grade and he was a tiny kid.

Beth Penn: “My best friend in the whole world is a girl I met in kindergarten. She was born early too. She has an inhaler too, but her mom doesn’t make her constantly wash her hands.”

Harper: He was trying to get more freedom and wanted to try sports out.

Beth Penn: “But as Mom reminds me, sports are dangerous. Sports are for bigger kids.”

When choosing a First Chapter Friday book, you want to think about what you are teaching at the time. We had been studying poetry, so I chose Knockout because it was also written in verse.

“My heart does a skip, jump, skip, jump.”

As they are listening, they fill out a sketchnotes page.

Maddox: They have five details about the chapter, a doodle section, a prediction section, a rating from one to five stars.

Beth Penn: I think the sketchnotes help them stay focused, and it also allows them to think more deeply about what they’re hearing. And it gives them an opportunity to give their opinion, and every middle school student loves to give their opinion on something.

“I take a puff from my puffer. Sure, I’ve thought about it. Baseball?”

Make sure you stop at a good point so they want to know more.

By a show of hands, how many of you have given this a three star or more?

Maddox: I really liked the friend dynamic and with his father.

Beth Penn: Go ahead.

Just about every week, one or two kids will say, “Do you have a copy of that book?” You want to make sure that the book you choose is one that is readily available so that if it is something that they can’t wait to read, you can put it right in their hand before they leave.

Dana Smith: You open your eyes and everything’s just like yesterday. Only it’s today.

Beth Penn: I’ve never had a student tell me, “I’m too old for this.” I’ve heard more students come in my room and say, “Oh yes, it’s a First Chapter Friday.”

Harper: It’s definitely very calm and relaxing. First Chapter Friday helps us stay less stressed about what’s going on with our day.

Dana Smith: Hearing somebody read to you, there’s just something about it. Once students hit a certain age, they are expected to be these “older kids” that don’t need those things anymore, but they’re going through so much in middle school that sometimes it’s nice to just treat them like kids.

“A tiny little O in the sky. So tiny, tiny, you have to close your eyes to see it.”

St. Marys Area Middle School

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Getting Teens Hooked on Books With First Chapter Fridays