Big books are over-sized picture books used by teachers to read aloud to a group of students. These books enable students to clearly see the pictures and words on each page, enabling the teacher to guide students as she is reading the story. Having students discuss and understand what is happening in the pictures is one aspect of guided learning and big books make these activities easier for both the teacher and students.
An effective guided kindergarten reading center should include different types of books and stories. Spend some time understanding what interests your students -- such as animals, trucks or TV characters -- and include books that relate to these interests in your literacy center. You should also include several types of reading materials, including easy readers, books without words, magazines, poetry books and child-made books.
Books are not the only thing that should be included in a guided reading center. Activities, such as magnetic letters and cookie sheets, letter flash cards, letter stencils, spelling puzzles and other spelling games can also be incorporated. With some guidance from the teacher, students can have fun playing with and learning from these literacy manipulatives.
Writing is another important part of guided reading centers in the kindergarten classroom. Include a variety of writing materials, such as notepads, blank paper, pens, pencils, crayons, chalkboards, dry erase boards and letter stencils. Provide each student with their own journal for daily writing. Use it for practice writing their names, letters or words. Depending on their writing level, students may also be able to use their journals for writing whole sentences or paragraphs.