Big~ Building CVC Fluency for Early Readers

How to Use This Book

• Show the cover and point to the title.
  
  • Trace over each letter in "Big" with your finger while saying the sound:   B /b/, i /i/, g /g/. Then blend them together: /b/ /i/ /g/ = Big.

• Use a post-it note to cover the letter "B" in the title.
  • Write a letter "P" on the post-it note and show how the word changes from “Big” to “Pig.”
  • Discuss with students how changing one letter in a word can change its meaning. Repeat this with other letters and words (e.g., changing "B" to "D" to form "Dig").
  • Encourage students to blend the sounds of the new word aloud after each change.

Reading the Story:

• Tell students that the author uses the word "big" many times.
  • Show some of the pages where the word "big" appears. Model how to sound out the words and blend the sounds together. For example:        "B" /b/, "i" /i/, "g" /g/ = Big.
  • Have students repeat after you, focusing on segmenting and blending each sound in the words.

Discussion & Comprehension:

• Ask students to talk about the different things the author mentions in the story.
  • Ask: "What are other things around the room that we can describe as big?" For example: "a chair – a big chair, a table – a big table, etc."
    

Reflection on the Ending:

• Ask students to talk about the end of the story.
  • Discuss how the "kid" is the same or different from all the other things in the story.
  • Ask: "How is the kid’s size different from the other things described as big?"
  • Encourage students to reflect on how the story ends and what makes the ending interesting.