It also means that you have to have a whole lot of different activities and ideas in the ‘resources for teachers’ folder that can be whipped out at a moment’s notice. Reading, writing and other important skills are too often taught through rigid activities that young children easily bore from, and that’s why it’s essential to develop these skills through fun and games that will keep their minds from wandering off.
One activity that really helps children to develop reading and writing skills, while also developing their fine motor skills, is creating a book with the whole classroom. This is definitely an activity that you should keep in your teaching resources folder, and do at least once a term.
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating a book with your classroom:
Explain to the class
First things first, as with any activity, you need to carefully explain to the class what you will be doing. Obviously, this will be in much simpler language for the little ones, than the older age groups. Tell your class that you will be creating a book for the classroom, each of them will get a page that is their own to create.
If you have decided to make copies and give each child a book once completed, make this clear, if you don’t have the budget – make sure you tell them that you are making one big book for everyone in the classroom to look at and that it won’t be going home with them.
Choose a theme
Choosing a theme is important and keep in mind that you shouldn’t repeat the same theme with the same group of kids. For younger children, you can choose something like the alphabet, and for an older age group, you can do something like a classroom recipe book.
Whatever you decide to go with, make sure that it is something that all the kids in your class enjoy and will be interested in.
For this blog, we are going to use an alphabet book for younger children as an example:
Allocate letters
Each child should be allocated a specific letter, or two if there is enough to go around. They then need to choose something that they can draw, that starts with that letter. Animals are always a good choice for younger kids.
Writing
They should then write a small sentence under the letter or simply the name of the animal if they are still too young to write sentences. This will help with th28eir writing skills and their motor skills from holding pencils correctly.
Draw a picture
The children can then work on their drawing and creative skills by drawing a picture of the animal and coloring it in however they want.
Print and paint the letter
Each child then has to print their own version of the letter – in both capital and small letter form. They can trace this if they aren’t able to draw it just yet, they can then color or paint the letter as they please.
Put it together
Once everything is done and each child has completed their page – you can then bind the book together. Get each child to present their page and the animal to the class.
Creating a book together is just one activity that should be part of your teaching resources, and there are many more creative games and toys that you can use to create a fun, nurturing and educational classroom environment.
For more resources for teachers and ideas, insights and inspirations for an awesome classroom – have a look at our new guide Getting the Most Versatility Out of Your Teaching Tools.
