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
5 copies of "St. Patrick's Day in the Morning" by Eve Bunting,
illustrated by Jan Brett
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
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.
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?