Piggybacks for Teachers and Librarians

Enhance and Enrich the Curriculum with Jan Brett Books thanks to Theresa Marie The web projects are ongoing adventures. The goal is to provide educational information that can enhance and enrich any elementary school curriculum. Each project begins with a Jan Brett book in hand. Jan Brett's books have beautifully detailed illustrations and warmhearted stories that inspire children and adults to learn more about our amazing world. Books included in the web projects are connected to five subject or curricular areas. lessons, links and activities related to a book are located under the subject areas. The web projects are intended for use by elementary students, teachers and librarians. The lessons, links and activities can be adapted to fit the backgrounds and experiences of individual children or an entire class.
Gingerbread Friends
Armadillo Rodeo	Annie and the Wild Animals
The Hat	The First Dog
Berlioz the Bear	Town Mouse Country Mouse
Comet's Nine Lives

Teaching with Jan Brett Books
thanks to Alicia Thomas

     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 http://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 project.
     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! 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 table. 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! Alicia Thomas

Jan Brett Projects

The Owl and the Pussycat

The Hat

Hedgie Blasts Off!

Daisy Comes Home

Saint Patrick's Day in the Morning

Annie and the Wild Animals

Jan Brett Interviews

Jan Brett's Library of Congress
Bookfest Interview

Jan Brett's Interview with School Children

Jan Brett at Her Home

Reading levels for Jan Brett Books

Web Projects from other great Teachers
The Mitten - Cyberguide. thanks to Sheron Mehl San Diego County Office of Education	The Wild Christmas Reindeer - General Activities, Science, Art. thanks to Nancy Anderson Ohio Council International Reading Association
Town Mouse Country Mouse - General Activities, Social Studies, Writing Activities. thanks to Nancy Anderson Ohio Council International Reading Association	Armadillo Rodeo - Writing Activities, Sequence, Art, Science. thanks to Nancy Anderson Ohio Council International Reading Association
Internet Author Study thanks to Mary Costale Makawao School, Pa'ia, Hi	Berlioz the Bear - General Activities, Social Studies, Language Activities, Sequence, Music. thanks to Nancy Anderson Ohio Council International Reading Association
Baking a Smart Cookie thanks to Betty Kobes West Hancock Kanawha Elementary	Activities for Reading Fritz and the Beautiful Horses thanks to Shirley Wilborne Park Avenue Elementary School
Make a Sailors Bracelet thanks to Shirley Wilborne Park Avenue Elementary School	Comet's Nine Lives Another project for Comet's Nine Live thanks to Theresa Marie
Trouble with Trolls - Prewriting, Comprehension, Writing Activities, Art. thanks to Nancy Anderson Ohio Council International Reading Association

Reading Comprehension Sheets Thanks to Barb Pavoni
Armadillo Rodeo Page 1 Page 2	Annie and the Wild Animals Page 1 Page 2	Berlioz the Bear Page 1 Page 2
Christmas Trolls Page 1 Page 2	Comet's Nine Lives Page 1 Page2	Daisy Comes Home Vocabulary Page 1 Page 2
Daisy Comes Home Comprehension Page 1 Page 2	The First Dog Page 1 Page 2	Fritz and the Beautiful Horses Page 1 Page 2
Gingerbread Baby Vocabulary Page 1 Page 2	Gingerbread Baby Comprehension Page 1 Page 2	Hedgie's Surprise Page 1 Page2