When I student taught, the schools I went to used an unbelievable amount of paper in a day, much of it being copied into "dittos" and a lot ending up in the recycling bin anyway. Since then, I'm constantly looking for ways to teach, and assess students, without using paper, or at least very much of it. For our illustrator project, I chose to research Jan Brett and write about her body of work. Jan Brett has an amazing website with hundreds of links and activities, many of which are broken down into usage based on the curriculum. It's fabulous (www.janbrett.com).
Looking through her activities, I was thinking how it would be great to pick and choose which ones I would want my students to do based on the story we were reading and have them in one place where they could easily find them. With that thought, and my constant quest to save the trees, I started writing this blog.
This is based on the ELA curriculum of a third grade class in New York State. Since I am only substitute teaching and do not have my own classroom webpage, this seemed like the perfect fit. The best part is...it's easy! This isn't quite a blog because I'm not journaling, but it's a way that my students could access all of the websites and information I have compiled using both Jan Brett's website, and many other sites across the internet. Not only would it be great in the classroom, but it's something my students can access from anywhere. All of the activities on here are educational and most don't require one sheet of paper. There is a link to the Scholastic, Inc. website with a full list of books authored and illustrated by Jan Brett at the bottom of the page. It provides information on the reading levels appropriate for each book on scales like Lexile and DRA level- very useful! Take some time to explore! I hope this provides you with ideas for a project of your own! Happy Reading and Happy Teaching!
6.24.2009
"St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" Lesson and Links
Objective: The third grade students will compare and contrast one of Jan Brett's earliest illustrated books with their previous conceptions of her work.Art Standard 3: Responding to and analyzing works of art
Social Studies Standard 3: Geography
NYS ELA Standards 1 and 2
Lesson Materials:
5 copies of "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Jan Brett
World Map
Chart Paper
Markers
Magnifying glasses
Anticipatory Set:
Ask students if they know who Jan Brett is. If there are no volunteers for answers, give them a couple of key words of books they may have read. For example, "The Mitten," "Honey, Honey...Lion," and "Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?" When students are familiar with the person you are talking about, discuss the role of an illustrator.
Some questions to ask:
What does an illustrator do?
Where do they get their ideas?
What materials do they use to make the pictures?
Do you know any other illustrators?
Look around the room and think of any other illustrators we have talked about in the past.
Can an illustrator be an author too?
Next, brainstorm using chart paper, any describing words or sentences the students can think of when they hear "Jan Brett." Most, if not all of the students, will have never read many of her earlier publications.
Body of the Lesson:
Say that we will be doing an Author and Illustrator Study on Jan Brett and that we will be looking at one of her earliest published works.
Show the cover of "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" and ask students to tell what they think of right away when they see the illustration on the cover.
Next, take a picture walk through the story, asking for any comments about the illustrations.
While reading the story, see if students can make predictions like they can in most of her recent books, and why they think it's harder with this book.
Discuss the difference between one person being the author and the illustrator, and two people doing separate jobs.
When the story is over, pass out 1 copy to each group of 4 students and magnifying glasses to share. Have students write down describing words for the illustrations. We will do this same activity with one of Jan Brett's more recent books.
Closing the Lesson:
Compare our describing words for the pictures we saw under the magnifying glasses with the words we came up with before reading the story. Talk about where other Jan Brett books take place and show places like Norway, Denmark, and Africa on the world map. Then show Ireland and talk about the climate there compared with some of the other places in Jan Brett's books.
Activities to Follow:
Create a time line of Jamie and Nell's early morning activities, based on the assumption that the whole trip took about three hours.
Map out Jamie's route from his spot by the fireplace, all the way up Acorn Hill, making sure to identify where he picked up the items on his trip.
Research and report on St. Patrick's Day festivities in Ireland.
Complete a Jan Brett coloring page online
What does the sash mean in a St. Patrick's Day parade? And some other St. Patrick's Day symbols?
"Annie and the Wild Animals" Links
Hunt for Animals Activity Page
Annie's Corn Cake Recipe
Nursery Rhymes About Cats and Kittens
Kitten and Mitten Math page
Moose Matters Activity page
Learn about the trees around Annie's House
Get your questions about snow answered!
Paint with snow! (When it's cold out)
Make a Paper Snowflake!
"The Owl and the Pussycat" Links
The Owl and the Pussycat Word Search
Learn about the island of Martinique
Poetry for Kids!
This Cat Logic is a Challenge!
Can You Identify the Flowers in the Borders?
Can You Identify the Sea Creatures Under the Boat?
Learn about the Ocean!
Fun Facts about the Ocean!
Owl and the Pussycat Coloring Page
"The Hat" Lesson and Links
Objective: The third grade students will cooperate to perform a Reader's Theater presentation of "The Hat" by Jan Brett.
NYS Art Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Arts
NYS ELA Standards 2 and 4
NYS MST Standard 4: Science
NYS MST Standard 5: Engineering Design and Tools
NYS Social Studies Standard 3: Geography
Materials:
Guide to "The Hat" Reader's Theater
Actors and Actresses
Clothesline and clothes
Jan Brett Masks
Materials to build the set- including Hedgie's house
Copy of the script
Procedure:
Read "The Hat" by Jan Brett, referring to our past stories we have read and the illustrations we've looked at. Be sure to note the borders in "The Hat" because we have not seen so many predictions yet in our Author Study.
Introduce Reader's Theater and explain that you're putting on a play based on a book.
Assign parts, build the set out of common materials, and rehearse the play.
Perform for another third grade class at the end of the day.
Follow-up Activities:
Learn more about Denmark
After the success of the first performance, practice a little more and put on a performance for other classes in the school.
Use magnifying glasses to describe the illustrations in "The Hat." Make comparisons to our other describing words so far.
Make a Hedgehog Book!
Fun Facts About Hedgehogs
Jan Brett talks about her Hedgehogs and teaches you how to draw one!
Hedgie Blasts Off! Lesson and Links
Objective: The third grade class will compare and contrast "Hedgie Blasts Off!" by Jan Brett with the books we have read by her previously.
NYS ELA Standards 1, 2, and 3
NYS MST Standard 4: Science
NYS MST Standard 5: Technology
Materials:
Previous brainstorming web of describing words
New chart paper
Marker
This blog!
Links to Jan Brett's "All About Hedgie Blasts Off! Book"
T-chart in Kidspiration software
Anticipatory Set:
Review what we have learned so far about Jan Brett's illustrations. Review what we know about Jan Brett using folktales and borders in many of her stories. Review all of the describing words we came up with for what we have seen. By looking at the cover of "Hedgie Blasts Off!" ask the students to point out any differences they notice right away in Ms. Brett's illustrations and characters.
Body of the Lesson:
Read "Hedgie Blasts Off!" writing down describing words on a separate piece of chart paper for the illustrations and characters in this particular story. Ask students what they notice about the plot as a whole, the names of characters and places, and any new and different aspects of the animals we have not seen before.
Assign computers to partners. As a class, make a T-chart in Kidspiration software with "Compare and Contrast Jan Brett's Stories and Illustrations" at the top, "The Hat" on one side and "Hedige Blasts Off!" on the other. I have chosen "The Hat" to compare this to because many of Ms. Brett's books are done in the same style. Even though "The Hat" is not a folktale itself, the students will have a thorough knowledge of it from doing our Reader's Theater performances.
Using our knowledge of "The Hat" including story inspiration, plot, illustrations, details, depictions of the animals, etc., the links below, and the story from "Hedgie Blasts Off!" the students will compare the two works on the T-chart. Each T-chart will then be saved by each student and posted to this blog so that we may save paper and maintain an archive of student work.
Jan Brett's "All About...Book" for "Hedgie Blasts Off!"
Page 1: Yellowstone National Park
Page 2: Learning About Geysers!
Page 3: Weird and Wonderful Plants!
Page 4: Flying with the Blue Angels!
Page 5: Hedgie the Astronaut Coloring Page
Follow-up Activities:
Learn to Draw Hedgie in a Spacesuit!
Video of Jan Brett Flying with the Blue Angels
Bake Hedgehog Cookies
Hedgie Reads a Book to You!
NASA Games for Kids
Send NASA a Rock and Help Scientists
Play Gravity Launch
Jan Brett's Booklist
Click on "Jan Brett's Booklist" above for a complete list of books Jan Brett has illustrated and/or authored.
For the purposes of this unit, I have decided to use the following books in lessons:
"St. Patrick's Day in the Morning (1980)," "Annie and the Wild Animals (1987)," "The Owl and the Pussycat (1991)," "The Hat (1997)," "Daisy Comes Home (2002)," and "Hedgie Blasts Off! (2006)."
I will use as many other Jan Brett books as read-alouds that I can get my hands on!
For the purposes of this unit, I have decided to use the following books in lessons:
"St. Patrick's Day in the Morning (1980)," "Annie and the Wild Animals (1987)," "The Owl and the Pussycat (1991)," "The Hat (1997)," "Daisy Comes Home (2002)," and "Hedgie Blasts Off! (2006)."
I will use as many other Jan Brett books as read-alouds that I can get my hands on!
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