Scholastic
Owl Moon Teaching Plan
Capture the engagement of young readers with this collection of activities based on Jane Yolen's book, Owl Moon. Following a shared reading of this children's story, the class explores the geography of the American Northeast, creates...
Curated OER
Briar Rose: Anticipation Guide
Prepare your readers for Briar Rose with an Anticipation Guide that asks them to agree or disagree with a series of statements that reflect issues raised by Jane Yolen’s narrative about a young girl’s research into her grandmother’s...
Curated OER
KWHL Questioning Strategy for Briar Rose
Whether new to the KWHL strategy or not readers of Briar Rose will benefit from the detailed procedures and templates designed for Jane Yolen’s novel. Links are provided for research into the Holocaust and activities reveal the many...
Curated OER
Unsent Letter: Characterization in Briar Rose
After completing Jane Yolen’s Briar Rose, class members assume the voice of Gemma and craft a personal letter to her granddaughter telling Becca how she feels about Becca’s actions and the discoveries at Chelmno. Complete directions for...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Letting Swift River Go (Yolen)
If your class is reading Jane Yolen's Letting Swift River Go, explore these vocabulary words in context: faint, quench, remain, and sacred. Before reading the story aloud, acquaint learners with these words briefly. As you read,...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? (Yolen and Teague)
If you are reading Jane Yolen's fun story How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?, use these strategies to enhance the experience for budding readers. What new words will they learn? Find detailed comprehension questions for these in-text words:...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? (Yolen)
Dinosaurs don't go to school...but what if they did? Use Jane Yolen's book How Do Dinosaurs Go To School to explore vocabulary in context. Find this on YouTube if you don't have the text on hand. These in-text words give some ideas of...
Curated OER
Pastimes
Students define and discuss personal pastimes, listen to the story Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, discuss owling as rural pastime, demonstrate comprehension by writing responses to story, and discuss how climate and geography often determine...
Curated OER
Briar Rose: Character Comparison
Expand this Venn diagram so it's a little larger for your class. As they're reading Briar Rose, stop them and encourage them to compare Becca and Gemma, two characters from the novel. A teacher's guide gives some possible ideas.
Curated OER
The Holocaust: Retelling the Story
High schoolers compare and contrast two different presentations of Holocaust experiences. They participate in class discussions and write journal entries to explore the differences between the book "Until We Meet Again" and the film...
Curated OER
Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram for Briar Rose
Compare and contrast the characters of Gemma and Becca from Briar Rose. Using a Venn diagram (not included but easy to create), readers will explore the characters. Not much direction or explanation is included here.
Curated OER
The Holocaust: Watching the Anchor
Students view a film about the Holocaust titled "Devil's Arithmetic" that is based on the novel by Jane Yolen. They write journal entries to predict which characters will live or die and explore their personal reactions to the film.
Curated OER
The Holocaust: Media Anchors
High schoolers explore the Holocaust by reading the book "Until We Meet Again" and viewing the film "Devil's Arithmetic". They identify the political, economic and social context of the Holocaust and complete a research project on a real...
Books in the Classroom
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: Bird Watch: A Book of Poetry
This site is on the book "Bird Watch" by Jane Yolen. It includes a review of the book, a listing of things to notice and talk about, activities related to the book, other related books, and links to other resources.
Other
The Official Jane Yolen Website
The most complete information you can get on author Jane Yolen! Teachers, writers, kids- everyone can find something here. Lots of pictures too!
Scholastic
Scholastic: Myth Writing Workshop With Jane Yolen
Well-known author Jane Yolen takes you step by step through the process of writing a myth. The site includes a Myth Brainstorming Machine to help get ideas flowing.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Owl Moon
Discover more about the Caldecott Medal book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. This online resource provides a description, a discussion guide, a writing prompt, a teaching plan and more.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Jane Yolen Activity
A classroom activity about the life and works of adolescent author Jane Yolen. Includes discussion of her books such as "Owl Moon," "The Bird of Time," and "Off We Go," and related activities.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Book Report Alternative Creating a Childhood for a Character
Contains plans for four lessons that ask students to create childhoods for characters in books they have read. This lesson plan uses Jane Yolen's "Merlin and the Dragons" as an example, but this book report alternative can be used with a...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Teaching Science Through Picture Books: A Rainforest Lesson
Contains plans for five lessons that teach about the tropical rainforest using picture books such as "Welcome to the Green House" by Jane Yolen. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites...
Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Jane Yolen Lesson Plans
Web English Teacher provides links to lesson plans, learning activities and more for several specific titles from Jane Yolen's work.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Jane Yolen Biography
Discover more about the award-winning Caldecott author Jane Yolen when you explore this site. This resource provides a biography, interview transcript, booklist and more.
Read Works
Read Works: 3rd Grade Lesson: Science Fiction
[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson in which learners use the book Commander Toad and the Intergalactic Spy by Jane Yolen to learn about the characteristics that define science fiction. Lesson includes direct teaching, guided...
Other
Book Page: Yolen Interview
This resource is an article about author Jane Yolen. It gives a little biographical information, pictures of book covers, and great quotes from the author.