Featured Author - Eric Carle

Early Learners Kindergarten and First Grade

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What do You See?

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?

Eric Carle beloved author and illustrator of children’s books wrote these two favorites.  These books use rhythm and rhyme to teach early learners how to read.  Children quickly pick up the repetition of the story and soon begin to read the story aloud.  The colorful illustrations help learners use context to determine word meaning and develop comprehension skills.

Objective:  The child will focus on story elements:  characters, setting, events, problem and solution. 

Activity:  Give child a piece of drawing paper.  Fold the paper into four boxes.  Number each box with a one, two, three, four.

Read one of the stories.  Then ask the child to name four characters they remembered from the story.  The child draws one character in each box and writes the name of the illustration.  For example, child will draw a fish and write the name Fish.  

To extend this concept you can use an adjective to describe each character, “the white dog”.  To further extend this skill you can use the character in a sentence.  Skills achieved could be phrases, sentence formation, punctuation, and description.  Examples,

the yellow fish (description and adjectives)

The yellow fish is swimming in the pond. (sentence formation and punctuation)

Grades Two and Three

Eric Carle writes about his work.  This quote was found at the end of the story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  “When I first began to think about children’s books, it reawakened in me struggles of my own childhood.  A child spends five or so many years at home – a place of warmth, play and protection.  Then school begins and all of a sudden it is a world of schedules, abstraction, and organized learning.  Very simply put, I decided I wanted to create books that make this transition easier”.

Objective:  The child will listen the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar and order the events of the story in the correct order.

Activity:  Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Fold a piece of paper into eight boxes.  Number each box from one to eight.  Write the day of the week in each box.  Draw a picture of what the caterpillar ate each day of the week.  For day seven, write the caterpillar was not hungry and for day eight, write the word cocoon and what happened to the caterpillar.  

After the graphic is completed ask,

Why did the caterpillar eat so much?  (to go to sleep, etc.)

What happened to the caterpillar after he made his cocoon?  (He turned into a beautiful butterfly)

Grades Four and Five

Objective:  Create a Circle Story for Sequence

Activity; Read Roosters off to See the World

The child will create a Circle Story.  Give a piece of paper to the child.  Child will draw a large circle.  Then draw lines to create a pie shape with eight pieces.

Ask the child, Who did Rooster meet first on his journey?  Child will write the answer in triangle number one.  Continue this pattern for other answers to be recorded in each shape.  See pie chart and possible answers below.

#1  Rooster is off to see the world.

#2  Meets two cats

#3  Meets three frogs

#4  Meets four turtles

#5 Meets five fish

#6  Meets ten fireflies

#7  Everyone but Rooster goes home

#8  Rooster goes home

The child will then use each triangle as part of a summary using sequencing.  First, Rooster decides to see the world.  Second, he meets two cats.  Third, etc.