First-graders bring stories to life

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Grade 1 students at the SeDoMoCha Elementary School used what they learned about the works of author/illustrator Jan Brett to create replicas of book scenes.
“Starting in December we introduced author Jan Brett and we read multiple stories,” first-grade teacher Barbara Wentworth said. “She concentrates on other countries and folklore and she adopts these stories to our own fairy tales”
“We read them and talked about her style,” Wentworth said. She said Brett also illustrates borders around her text and images and the margins of the page can feature a foreshadowing of what is going to happen next and/or a separate story.
“After the unit we had the students and parents make parade floats and we displayed these in the hallway for about a week, and we also presented in class,” Wentworth said.
“They used a wide variety of materials,” she said. “A lot of Brett’s books are set in winter and at Christmas time,” as some of the shoe box-sized creations featured gingerbread houses and other holiday decorations.
Wentworth said many students cut out pictures from magazines as well as using images from Brett’s website.
“They might have picked their favorite scene and created that,” she said. “Some of the kids chose the first reading that they did.”
“I learned that creativity is really fun,” first-grader Cara Feldman said about her diorama from “Mossy” she made with her aunt. “It took me maybe from a half hour to an hour.”

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom
AUTHOR DIORAMAS — SeDoMoCha Elementary School first-graders finished a unit on the works of author/illustrator Jan Brett by recreating favorite scenes from Brett’s books at home with their families. From left are Makayla Leigh, Jaedon Haack, Cara Feldman and Preston Harmon.