Have students draw, paint or color on sturdy paper. Use construction paper to frame the art, and then ask students to say a few words about their picture, which they will write down on an index card by the student if capable, or you can do it for them. Placing the card under the picture highlights the importance of students' words and contributes to the class narrative.
Reinforce themes, such as sea animals, with written words to accompany photos. Write the spelling of each animal depicted, and on or underneath each photo write out the spelling. Refer to a dictionary for the proper placement of vowel and stress marks, and experiment with sound by having children change standard pronunciations.
Help children see the connection between an abstract concept and its name. Bring in magazines, and in small groups, ask children to help locate photos of people or animals that look sad, happy and shy. Use safety scissors for children to cut out the photos they find, and create categories for the various emotions, placing pictures under the appropriate heading.
Transcribe children's stories for them. Choose a writing prompt that asks students to describe their favorite place, friend or toy. Write their stories, and then type them up and display both versions. In the book "Introduction to Early Childhood Education: Preschool through Primary Grades," author JoAnn Brewer reports that "knowing that print can be decoded to reveal wonderful stories and secrets is strong motivation for learning to read."
Ask students to bring in their favorite storybook. Take a photo of the book, and ask students to share why it is their favorite, writing down their answers. Placing the cover photo and typed response on a bulletin board invites children to share their own love of reading while creating interest in discovering new reading interests.