Previously I discussed how teachers can make their own worksheets with the wonderful world of technology that we live in.
I have found that one teaching material I love to create is student reading books. Each week I try to give my kindergarten students a book that they can read. This is not simply a book for them to take home and read over once. It is an interactive book that the students and I work through all week long. It is typically based on the theme for the week and often addresses particular skills such as rhyming or color words.
The students can then take their books home on Friday and read them with their parents. By the end of the week, the students are fluent at reading the book. They are proud and their parents are excited to hear them read.
These student reading books can be found and copied out of teacher resource books. However when you create your own, you control the theme and skills addressed. Many of the books in resource materials are also not interactive.
One example of an interactive student book that I created dealt with the five senses. On each page of the book (most of my books have five pages one for each day of the week) a different sense was discussed. The text is very simple and the details are basic. For example for seeing the text may read, “I can see with my eyes”.
Each page of the book also had a task for the students. For the sense of touch there was a picture of a bunny. The students were to color the bunny and glue a soft cotton ball to its tail. For smelling, there was a picture of a peppermint candy and the students added scent to the candy by rubbing peppermint extract on it.
Reading the books is much more meaningful for the students when they physically take part in its creation. The activities make the book fun and interesting.