Reading Leads To Write Good Leads, Leads to More Reading!
“I think I might actually read this book.” Music to my ears in class just the other day, while doing a simple activity on leads.
The basic idea of the activity is to show students how to take what they appreciate in a good lead -what grabs their attention and apply it to their own writing. Simple. However, I have found that this activity serves more purposes than just that!
Here’s how I like to do my “great leads” activity:
1) Have students make a chart in their LA scribblers with the following headings: Title, Lead and My Thoughts
2) Take your class to the library (I used my own class library this year)
3) Have students choose 5 books randomly from almost anywhere in the library (you may wish to focus just on fiction or non-fiction, and omit poetry)
4) Have students record the info under each heading for the books that they choose
It always amazes me how this simple activity engages even the reluctant readers in the room. I think it’s because the expectations are something that everyone can attain – they don’t have to READ the book, just copy that first sentence and decide if they like it or not – easy!
Although this is a lesson on “what makes a good lead” and how to apply those characteristics to their writing, something else happens during this time.
Kids are looking at books – all kinds of books. They may have expectations of the book and they may not. They may pick up books they’d like to read, books that they think they’d never read, books that look interesting or just plain weird.
What has happened with my students when I’ve done this activity over the last three years, is that it gets them excited about books! They love sharing the great leads that they find and tearing apart the ones that they don’t like. The discussion is awesome! I have found that everyone contributes to the sharing portion of this lesson, because they only have to read one sentence aloud to the class and most (if not all) are okay with that. They also find books that they realize they’d like to read (because they want to know where that amazing first sentence leads). That was an unexpected surprise the first time that I did this activity.
In addition, they hear leads from books that their classmates have found and it’s like it opens up a whole new world to them.
If you haven’t explored leads with your students – try this activity out! You need no prep, and I guarantee you that your students will gain a better grasp of how to hook a reader through their own writing, while getting hooked themselves!
Have fun, and let me know how it goes if you give this lesson a try!
