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