Instructify

Millions of children (and adults!) have enjoyed the classic children’s book of Eric Carle at home, in the library, and at school. The author and illustrator has a website that includes biographical information, a bibliography with summaries and links to reviews, a photo and video gallery, and a frequently asked questions page that contains the answers to many questions your students might wonder about Carle’s work.

One of the most helpful areas of the site for K-6 teachers is the Caterpillar Exchange, a bulletin board where parents, teachers, and librarians can share their own creative ideas for using these books to enrich children’s learning experiences. Organized by book, the bulletin board includes ideas for using more than two dozen of Carle’s books, including classics like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Ladybug, Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? and A House for Hermit Crab. The submitted ideas and activities include Carle-inspired art projects, literacy activities, snack ideas, math integration, science projects, and even foreign language study. For example, in the section on The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you’ll find ideas for student writing projects, bulletin boards and hallway decorations, graphing activities for 2nd grade math, board games for kindergarten language lessons, science lessons about the butterfly life cycle, and vocabulary practice for high school foreign language, as well as ideas for birthday parties, snacks, and craft activities based on the book.

Keep the ideas flowing by submitting your own ideas for incorporating Carle’s colorful books into your classroom teaching! -KATHRYN WALBERT

Caterpillar Exchange

The Official Eric Carle Web Site

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