Bookmarks are easy to make and can be associated with whatever book you're reading to the class. After reading the story, ask students to create a book mark using construction paper and colored pencils. Ask your students to draw a favorite scene from the story or write a favorite passage from the book, then have them cut what they've done into a bookmark. To make it more fun, allow them to decorate the bookmarks with glitter or color them with markers.
Make puppets or face masks featuring characters from the book you will read. Help students by describing the characters, then use markers, paper bags and construction paper to create the crafts. Assign puppets and masks to some of the students and have them act out scenes with the puppets as you read from the book.
Sketching a favorite scene is an effective way to get students to recall a story. Arm your students with pencil and paper and ask them to draw a favorite scene from the story. Gather the students together when the drawings are completed to see how much of the story the drawings tell. This is an interesting way to see what images your students are picking up from the books you read.
Have students write a letter to a favorite character in the book. Students can compliment characters on their behavior in the book, ask the characters questions or describe how they would have behaved if they'd been in the same role as the book characters. Encourage students to describe to the characters in the book what they learned from the story. Decorate the letters with glitter and stickers relating to the theme of the story and frame the letters to hang in the classroom.