Assembling and Stapling a Half-Page ‘Mini-Book’.

On March 3rd, I posted about how to   

Make a Mini-Book for Beginner Readers, 

and this week I'm posting 
Instructions for Stapling your Mini-Book.

You don't need a long-arm stapler, even if you are using A4 paper folded in half - here's how to staple the booklet through the middle with just a normal stapler.

WHAT YOU NEED:  

• A4 sheets of paper to make 1/2-page booklet (suggestions and layout for computer in March 3 blog post)
• Stapler – one that can be opened out almost flat
• scissors
• Piece of firm foam/polystyrene or carpet, to staple into

METHOD:

1.Assemble your sheets of paper with pages in order. 

Fold in half with cover on the outside and make a clear crease along the fold.

2. Open out, cover up, and place the middle over your foam block or on the carpet. Open out your stapler and ‘staple’ onto the fold line (note that the staple will be 2mm or so back from the metal end of the stapler so make allowance for that). 

2a. Check that your staples are aligned right on the fold; take out ‘off-centre’ staples and re-do if necessary.

3. Turn the booklet inside-up so the ends of the staples are sticking up. Use the end of the scissors, almost closed, to push the ends of the staples down flat. 

3a. Make sure the sharp ends of the staples are pushed right down. If you are making a book for a young child, you may want to put a piece of sticky tape over the staples to make sure no-one gets scratched).

4. Close the book again – finished!

I’ll post the information and PDFs for this Fast Track Sight Words book and list next week.

Note- If you are going to be using this technique more than one or two times, you may want to keep a suitable piece of polystyrene foam. I used an odd-shaped piece of packing, which I had to cut with a sharp serrated knife, and it made a mess (I should have had the vacuum cleaner handy). I could have sealed the cut edges with PVA glue if I wanted to keep it, but it’s usually easy to find better pieces – or just use your carpet!

Instructions to Download:

If you would like to download a 2-page PDF Instruction sheet on Assembling and Stapling a Half-Page ‘Mini-Book’, click on the picture below: