Picture Walk: Before reading the book, have students do a picture walk. Have them look at the cover and flip through the pages, discussing what they see in the pictures. Ask them to make predictions about what they think the book will be about based on the pictures.

Word Hunt: Choose a few key vocabulary words from the book and write them on index cards. Give each student a card and have them find the word in the book. Ask them to read the word aloud and discuss its meaning with a partner.

KWL Chart: Create a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) chart on the board or on a piece of chart paper. Ask students what they already know about the topic of the book and write their responses under the “Know” column. Then, ask them what they want to know about the topic and write their responses under the “Want to Know” column. After reading the book, have students share what they learned and write their responses under the “Learned” column.

Anticipation Guide: Create an anticipation guide with statements related to the book’s topic. For example, if the book is about animals, one statement could be “All animals have fur.” Have students read each statement and indicate whether they agree or disagree. After reading the book, revisit the statements and discuss whether their opinions have changed.

Think-Pair-Share: Before reading the book, ask students to think about a time when they experienced something similar to what they think the book will be about. Have them share their thoughts with a partner and then share with the whole group. This will help activate their prior knowledge and make connections to the text.