Make a Slam Book

Slam books mix together the concept of a journal and old-fashioned passing notes. They are books that people usually pass around school or groups of friends to learn more about each other. Keep them positive and fun!

Steps

Gathering Materials for Your Slam Book

1. Buy a notebook or journal. You will need a book with many blank pages to be your slam book. You could simply buy a composition notebook at many drug or department stores.
   • These don’t have to be expensive, and any notebook can work. You could buy a black covered composition notebook with lined paper inside or something that looks more like a journal with a fancier cover. It’s up to you.
   • The goal here is to use a book with a lot of blank pages because you will be passing it around for people to write in.
   • How many blank pages you need depends on how many people you want to pass it to and how many questions you want to ask them.
2. Decorate the cover of the slam book. This is where your personal creativity starts to come in.
   • You’ll want to decorate the cover of your slam book so that people know what it is and it looks attractive. Use stickers or marker to write the words “slam book” on the cover of the notebook or journal.
   • Some people also decorate their slam books with colorful stickers, Make Glitter Glue, and even fake gemstones. Use your artistic talents!
   • There is not one way to decorate the cover of a slam book. Some people keep the book closed by tying a ribbon or even a string of beads around the slam book, but you don’t have to do so.
3. Include a teacher, parent, or other adult. If you’re going to be passing a slam book around school, it can be a good idea to let the teacher know what you are doing. Some people pass slam books around their families too! You don’t only have to pass it around other people your age.
   • This can help prevent you from getting in trouble if the teacher thinks the slam book is something that is distracting students from classwork. The other problem with not telling the teacher is that the teacher might think the slam book is negative because of its name.
   • Be kind. It will take you a long ways in life, in general. Explain the purpose of the slam book to your teacher (and parents). Let them know that the purpose is positive and that any negative “slams” will not be allowed.
   • The adults will probably appreciate your creativity if you take the time to explain to them. Ask them when you can circulate it. Maybe you will agree to only circulate it during recess, for example. Maybe you include the teachers in the slam book circulation! It might be interesting to know your teacher’s favorite band or ice cream, for example. Why not?

Getting the Slam Book Ready

1. Create a name page. You will want to create a few pages toward the front of your slam book where people should write their names in order. This allows you to figure out later which people gave which answers.
   • You should include a list of numbers on the name page that indicate how many people you want to sign the slam book. Some slam books have spaces for 10 names, others have 25, and so on. It’s really up to you.
   • If you choose 10, write the numbers 1 to 10 on the name page. It depends if you are trying to keep the slam book among a small circle of friends or a larger one.
   • The person given the slam book first signs his or her name in the first available number. That’s the number they will use when answering questions you pose throughout the other pages of the slam book. The next person uses the next number, and so on.
2. Write a question at the top of each page. This is how a classic slam book works and starts. You should start by writing a question at the top of the first blank page inside the book after the name page.
   • The question should be something that you want to know about other people, including your friends. It could be something like, “what is your favorite school lunch?” Or “what is the last thing you bought at the mall?” Or “what color are your eyes?” Or “what’s the last music video you watched?” Or “what’s your favorite class?” Or “if you could be one current celebrity, who would you choose?”
   • Questions work well when they are designed to tease out another person’s likes or dislikes or when they seek non-embarrassing information that helps you learn more about your friends (such as their pet’s name or their favorite ice cream flavor).
   • They work best if they provoke short answers. So, try not to ask things that will require lengthy response. Really any questions work, though, as long as they aren’t mean, inappropriate or passing rumors. It’s also possible to just write statements that also provoke answers. For example, you could write “favorite music artist” on one page and “last trip you took” on another.
3. Try not to be mean. A slam book, in its best version, should be something you use to find out more about your friends, including their likes and dislikes.
   • What a slam book shouldn’t be is a notebook or journal that ends up full of mean comments about this person or that. That’s bullying, and bullying can cause serious damage to other people.
   • Don’t pass rumors in slam books and don’t go negative. When people get in trouble, it's usually because they went negative in some way.
   • A good rule of thumb is never to write something in a slam book about another person that will upset them or that would upset you if it was written about you.
4. Put numbers on each of the question pages. If you do this, it will also help people understand what they are supposed to do when they turn to each page.
   • Make sure people know they are supposed to answer the question on each page. Sometimes there is confusion with slam books, but, usually, once the first few people do it, they tell others how it’s supposed to be done and word spreads.
   • So, if you have created, say, space for 25 names on the name page, you would create a numbered list from 1 through 25 on each question page too.
   • You don’t have to do this. You could just instruct people on a front page to put their number and answer on each question page, but the more guidance you can give people the better, usually!

Passing the Slam Book Around

1. Answer you own questions first. It will probably help your friends if you become the first person on the list to answer the questions you have posed.
   • Don’t assume everyone knows what a slam book is! You could just explain it to your friends. However, it may end up circulated pretty quickly among other people you haven’t directly explained it to. That’s why answering each question as #1 yourself provides people with an example of how it’s supposed to work.
   • You could also create a page toward the front of the page that says something like “how this works” and then explain what each person is supposed to do.
   • Include the instruction that when the final number on the name page list is taken, the book should be returned to you. People need to know who the slam book belongs to and where to return it or you may never see it again!
2. Pass the slam book to a friend. Here’s how it works. You pass the slam book to a friend, and that friend is supposed to answer the questions on each page.
   • The friend should indicate they wrote the answers by writing #1 or #2 (if you filled out #1 already) and then their answer on each page.
   • Or, if you have already chosen to number each answer page, they should write their answer after their number.
   • Once your friend #1 answers the questions, they are supposed to pass the slam book to a second friend, who then answers the question on each page by writing #2 (or #3 if you were #1) and then his or her answer.
3. Save the slam book. It will be a lot of fun to look back at your old slam books with friends as you age.
   • Some people feel slam books are almost like time capsules in that they capture the vibe of a certain era. You will find it interesting to look back on what you wrote years ago.
   • For example, slam books have existed for decades, and some news sites think it’s entertaining to see what people were writing in slam books in the 1980s.
   • It could be fun to do a new slam book every year. You could even note the year on the cover of the slam book. Let it become a ritual, and compare how people’s tastes change with new trends and as they age!

Tips

• Intercept your slam book now and then to make sure it hasn’t been taken over by bullying.
• It cannot be stated enough: Do not be mean in slam books.
• Cross out any comments that pick on individual people.

Warnings

• If this falls into the wrong hands, people could mess with you by screwing it up.

Things You'll Need

• A close friend or friends (or a friend you'd like to get closer to)
• A composition notebook
• Writing skills of at least an elementary level

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Polymer Clay Tiny Book
• Create a Wedding Memory Book
• Make a Spiral‐Bound Book
• Decorate a Girl's Diary or Notebook
• Create a Paper Bag Book Cover
• Make a Durable Plastic Book Cover
• Make Book Earrings
• Turn an Old Book Into a Clock
• Make a Book Cover
• Make a Coupon Book for Tasks

Read more ...