Big and Small and In-Between

Learning Goals

• Identify how Carter Higgins’s words and the illustrations explore things that are big, small, and in-between.
• Compare objects using size vocabulary and explain how an object can seem big or small depending on what it is compared with.
• Use details from the read-aloud to discuss how experiences and feelings can also seem big or small.
• Create an illustrated big–small–in-between sequence and explain the comparisons through labels, sentences, or oral storytelling.

Activity Steps

1. 1.Introduce the title, Big and Small and In-Between. Show three classroom objects of different sizes and ask students to arrange them from smallest to largest. Ask: “Is the middle object big, small, or both?”
2. 2.Read the book aloud, pausing at examples of big, small, and in-between. Invite students to notice how the words and illustrations work together and to explain their observations using specific details.
3. 3.Revisit selected spreads. Discuss what makes something seem big or small, including examples that move beyond physical size. Ask: “Can a feeling or a moment seem big? What in the book makes you think so?”
4. 4.Have partners compare three related classroom objects, such as three pencils or three books. Students describe the smallest, largest, and in-between object. Grades K–2 use comparison words; grades 3–5 may measure the objects and support their comparisons with numbers.
5. 5.Give each student paper folded into three panels labeled “Big,” “Small,” and “In-Between.” Students draw related objects, experiences, or feelings inspired by the book. Grades K–2 add labels or dictate explanations; grades 3–5 write sentences explaining how their examples connect and why size depends on comparison.
6. 6.Hold a gallery walk or partner share. Students explain one panel and identify a connection to the book. Close with an oral or written response: “Something can be big compared with ___ but small compared with ___.”