Making Class Books in the Classroom

Do you make class books? Class books are books made by the students in the classroom. Class books can be used for ANY classroom or any grade. I make class books all the time and at every grade level I've taught. Class books can be used for any subject too. Plus the students LOVE and cherish them. 
When I'm done teaching a lesson, the class will help me make a class book to review what we just learned. Once the book is finished, it goes in the classroom library. Students in the classroom will pick up the class book and read it! Class books serves many functions. They review concepts, the students have ownership in making their page stand out with good writing, the students are reading, and they get to see other students' work.  I make sure to make enough class books for the same number of students in my class. At the end of the year, each student gets to take a class book home to keep forever. 


Here are some ideas for making class books:
  1. After reading a story, I sequence the story. I take about 10-15 blank pages and summarize the story with the students using 10-15 sentences, one sentence for each page. I write each sentence on a blank sheet of paper. I pair students up for them to create a picture that matches the sentence on their sheet. They sign their name to the bottom or the back of the sheet. Make sure to get someone to make a cover for the book. Assemble the sheets to sequence the story, staple on the left, and place in your classroom library or all to read and reread.
  2. When teaching antonyms and synonyms, I folded a piece of blank paper in half. I gave each student a word. They wrote the word with an antonym on one side of the paper and the word with a synonym on the other side of the paper. They drew a picture to match. I had an early finisher make a cover for the book. I collected all the sheets, stapled on the left, added a cover, and placed in the classroom library. Folding the pages in half and making into a book is easy and can be used for other ideas besides antonyms and synonyms. For example, contractions. Put the contraction on one side and the two words that make up the contraction on the other. Use homophones, homographs, or even math terms or social studies vocabulary. 
  3. One time I read the story, "If you give a Mouse a Cookie" to the students. I made a worksheet for each student in my class. On the worksheet it said, "If you give a child a _____ he'll want to ________." Students filled in the blanks with their own answer and drew a picture. This idea can be used for any book too. Have students fill in a prompt with the theme or idea from the book you read. After reading a story, I always try to think of a way I can redo it in a class book. 
  4. Have students write a paragraph about what they did over the weekend. I assembled all the completed paragraphs in a classbook. Boy oh boy was this a popular one. First of all, I told students their paragraph was going in a class book. They were so careful with their writing! They wanted to make sure it looked good for their classmates to read. Students loved to read each other's work too! Double whammy! 
  5. ABC books are great for review. I assign a letter to each student. They have to come up with a word that matches the lesson of review. For example when learning about George Washington, I assigned a letter of the alphabet to each student. If the student was given the letter V, he could come up with a word like, Virginia or Mount Vernon. If the student was given the letter L, he could come up with the word, leader. A picture was drawn to match the word. Instead of words, use sentences. Students start their sentence with the letter of the alphabet. If you have 26 students, this works best. If you have less than 26, some will need to do extra letters or if you have more than 26 students, pair a few students up as partners to complete a page together.
  6. Students create a poem. Assemble the poems students make into a class book. These are fun to do around Valentine's Day. 
  7. Make a rule book. Have each student write a rule they must follow at school on a sheet of paper and draw a picture to match. Assemble into a book! Students will love reading and rereading about the rules! 

When students don't have anything to do, they can grab a class book to read. You don't have to twist their arm to do it either. They are happy to sit down to read a class book! Class books take no time to make either. They are quick and easy to make and assemble. Some class books I staple, and some I bound with the plastic spiral. Sometimes I make the cover and add our room number or school name. Sometimes I let the students make the cover. I would laminate the cover to make them last longer because they get handed so much. I also make sure each students signs his or her name to the sheet they made to show ownership.  

 Mind Your Manners Class book
I have a FREE class book to share with you. It's all about Using Your Manners! I copy the 23 pages and give each student a sheet. They read the top part about showing good manners and they complete the prompt at the bottom. They draw a picture to match the manner. An early finisher colors the cover. Assemble the pages when all have completed their page and place in your classroom library. Students can read over and over how to use their manners. I got this idea from a teacher I taught with years ago. Thank you Mrs. Hoover! You can only download this class book here on my blog. Click the picture to download it and begin using it. 

Do you make class books too? What are some of your ideas? Feel free to comment below with your ideas. I'm always looking for new ideas to implement and I'm sure others wouldn't mind hearing either.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Happy book making!
See you soon,
Stacy









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