Jackdaws are collections of interesting artifacts that provide information about a particular subject, period, or idea, and build background and interest in works of literature for children. Jackdaws are easy to construct: practically anything that is related in some fairly direct way to a piece of literature and that can aid a student's comprehension or interest in a book is eligible, including photographs, recordings, movies, period songs or music, news articles, time lines and maps, biographical sketches of authors, and lists of related books. The teacher can introduce jackdaw items either as a prelude or as a conclusion to a book, or even at appropriate points in the the story. They can also be placed in a reading corner for independent exploration. As students become familiar with jackdaws, they can be asked to add to existing ones or to construct ones of their own, an excellent extension activity following the completion of a story or book. Students can then share their jackdaws with the class or in small groups. Preservice teachers who have used jackdaws in their classroom training report that the collections helped involve bored students, increased understanding, and made classroom discussions more vital. Jackdaws also seemed to attract students to books, a primary goal of reading instruction. (HTH)