Jan Brett Author Study
Beloved picture book author and illustrator Jan Brett celebrates her birthday on December 1. Start your author study by reading a short biography of Jan Brett. and reading her books. Then use the activities and lessons below to introduce students to Brett's timeless tales and stunning illustrations.
For more lesson ideas, see Teaching with Favorite Jan Brett Books from Scholastic Professional Books.
Continue the fun by visiting Jan Brett's Web site which has a wealth of teaching resources and free activities including video, coloring sheets, and projects.
Resources
Jan Brett Interview Transcript
by Jan Brett
Author and illustrator Jan Brett was interviewed by students and teachers on Scholastic.com. Read the transcript!
Hedgie's Surprise Lesson Plan
In this lesson plan for Hedgie's Surprise, children will discuss the importance of friendship while focusing on literacy concepts such as main characters, setting, story sequence, and main idea.
Letter From Jan Brett
Book Clubs |
Send students home with an illustrated letter from picture book author Jan Brett.
Lesson Plans
Armadillo Rodeo Lesson Plan
by Jeremy Brunaccioni
Students love Jan Brett and enjoy moving to the music. In this lesson, students will "demonstrate partner skills of copying, leading, following, and mirror imaging."
Christmas Trolls Lesson Plan
by Gayle Berthiaume
I use Christmas Trolls for a Jan Brett author study. I also use it when we study about Norway. My students love the illustrations in Jan Brett books. They also like the story in the border of each page.
Comet's Nine Lives Lesson Plan
by Jeremy Brunaccioni
Students enjoy searching through the small shells and picking out the ones that they deem special.
Honey... Honey... Lion! Lesson Plan
by Jeremy Brunaccioni
Students love Jan Brett's timeless tales, and Honey...Honey...Lion! is no exception. Students love chasing one another around the circle.
Wild Christmas Reindeer Lesson Plan
by Gayle Berthiaume
I use The Wild Christmas Reindeer as part of a Jan Brett author study. I also use it to remind students how to treat others. My students enjoy the story and the illustrations.
Trouble with Trolls Lesson Plan
by Gayle Berthiaume
My students love the way Treva tricks the trolls at the end of the story. They also enjoy talking about the story that is happening at the bottom of each page.
Gingerbread Baby Lesson Plan
by Jeremy Brunaccioni
Students love Gingerbread Baby, and have even more fun baking and eating him. Students love the fact that the Gingerbread Man does not get eaten in the story. Ironic since they love eating the cookies!
Mitten Lesson Plan
by Gayle Berthiaume
I use The Mitten to teach sequencing and predicting, and to teach the children how to retell a story. My students like retelling the story with different voices.
Umbrella Lesson Plan
by Gayle Berthiaume
I use The Umbrella to teach sequencing and predicting. I also use it to compare to The Mitten and The Hat. My students like retelling the story with different voices. They also love looking at the details of the illustrations.
Hat Lesson Plan
by Gayle Berthiaume
Jan Brett is a favorite author in my classroom, so we read The Hat for our author study. The students like the funny ending to the story. They also love the illustrations and being able to predict what will happen next.
