Develop a list of big books that would be helpful in teaching children different types of lessons. Big books can help develop reading and math skills and can teach valuable lessons on an array of other subjects, including manners, hygiene and respecting others.
Purchase or make your own big books for your classroom. While there is abroad range of big books available for purchase, you can create customized books using craft materials.
Purchase poster boards that can be bound together with string to form a book. Draw your story or use artwork or free clip art to create each page of your big storybook.You can also use stencils to create designs. You may even want to ask your students to help design the books or write out individual letters that can be cut out and used to create words for your book. Add a Velcro strip to each word, letter or number and to each page of your big book. This will allow you to change the story each time you use the book.
Ask students to point to things on each page, such as a specific color or items that begin with a specific letter. Have them practice saying each color or letter before moving on.
Supplement the use of big books with CDs or other learning aids. Another fun idea is to use puppets to help tell the story or to ask the children questions about the story as it is being read, such as "How did that make her feel?" or "What other animals live in the woods?"