The One With The Reading Chain

I posted this picture in this tour post.  

The poster in the top right corner with the pink edges is our genre poster.  Each color circle represents a different genre.  For example, dark blue is realistic fiction and yellow is historical fiction.  If you look closely you can see corresponding circles on the spine of the books.

This makes it easy for students to not only find their favorite genres, but it also helps them step out of their comfort zone if they are looking to try a new genre.

As students finish book they pick up a link in those corresponding colors to fill out.  The links are simply strips of construction paper.  I cut them so that they are 8.5" long.

 Students pick up a strip of paper corresponding to the genre of the book they just finished and write their name and the name of the book on the strip.  They then file the strip in a drawer for me.

After several strips have been completed, I create a chain to hang from the ceiling.  The idea is that by the end of the year my ceiling will be covered by a visual representation that my students read.  You can also clearly see 7th grade's favorite genre.  Right now it appears to be Science Fiction.

The chain should be much longer than this already.  I'm behind in putting the links together.  Students love knowing that they are links in the chain.  It builds community in my classroom as work together to build the chain.