On Hand: Approximately twenty books from your classroom library, sticky notes, five or six cloth book bags, duct tape, and a permanent marker.

Mini-Lesson: Tell students that you are going to read some of the leads from the books you gathered and that you would like them to look for similarities-for ways of categorizing the different beginnings. Students may begin to recognize some of the traditional ways we teach leads, recognizing that authors often use a question, dialogue, a sound, or description. Or they may come up with their own strategies for organizing the leads, such as the following:

·         "Author talks to reader" (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems [2003], No Laughing, No Smiling, No Giggling by James Stevenson [2004])

·         "-est beginnings," in which the author states a superlative: "Bella Lagrossi was the messiest monster in Booville" (Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi [2004]).

·         "'It' leads": "It was in the summer of the year when the relatives came" (The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant [1985]) and "It was school picture day" (School Picture Day by Lynn Plourde [2002]).

·         "Leads that tell when": "When Owen's granny heard he was a baby . . ." (Banjo Granny by Sarah Martin Busse and Jacqueline Briggs Martin [2006]), "Not so long ago, before she could even speak words . . ." (Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems [2004]), "When I was younger it was plain to me . . ." (A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant [2008]).

            The excitement will grow as students begin to move the books around, deciding in which pile each belongs. Provide them with sticky notes to help them keep track. Some books will, simply because of your current pool, have no mates at all. Often students want to pull more books off the shelves; you may want to allow this to build upon their excitement, or you may want to suggest they continue to add to the bags or make new piles later. Once you've designated piles, place the books from each pile into a separate bag and use a strip of duct tape to label the bags with the appropriate category. Students can refer to the bags when trying to determine how to begin a piece, or they can take turns checking the bags out and reading the books with family members at home.

Extension: Suggest that students examine their own work and list the types of leads they've used.