Another Jan Brett book is in the spotlight today! Many teachers read her books during the winter because she has so many great titles, but we love her book Hedgie’s Surprise. This is a great book to bring out in the spring because it is all about hatching chicks! Students will love the opportunity to hear another Jan Brett book. - Jodi and the Starts With a Story Team
SUMMARY
One day, the Tomten on the farm got tired of eating porridge for breakfast. He started going into the hen house each morning and taking one of Henny’s eggs. At first Henny didn’t mind, but then she realized she could never have babies if this kept happening. Thankfully, her friend Hedgie offered to help her trick the Tomten.
When the Tomten come to Henny’s nest each morning, she and Hedgie left a different food for the Tomten. These foods were never enough and left the Tomten feeling hungry. He demanded Henny leave him an egg or he would eat her. The next morning when the Tomten reached into the nest, he grabbed Hedgie and was stuck by his quills. When the Tomten runs aways Henny starts to hear peeping. She realizes that Hedgie hid her eggs in his nest and now they’ve hatched into chicks!
USE THIS BOOK TO TEACH:
Jan Brett’s books make the best mentor text! We’ve gone ahead and picked some of the best skills to teach using Hedgie’s Surprise. Check out our list below:
- Practice comprehension by asking students specific questions about details from the text and then encourage them to think of their own questions they might still have about the story.
- Ask students to summarize the story and retell important events.
- Integrate informational writing by having students write about the life cycle of a chicken.
- Have students write a letter to the author explaining what they liked about the book. This will get students excited about writing reviews.
- This book is packed with examples of onomatopoeia, use it to introduce this grammar skill to students.
- Explore different time order words and how authors use them.
- Discuss the importance of problem solving and how the characters in this book solved their problems.
NO-PREP PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES:
If you are looking for “ready to go” activities for the first day of school, be sure to check out the book companion. With it you’ll receive all of the following resources to align with this specific book:
- comprehension questions
- 30 writing prompts with themed paper
- vocabulary activities
- word study print & go activities
- ideas for grammar lessons with focus sentence printables
- social emotional learning discussion topics
- graphic organizers to target specific comprehension skills and strategies
Whether you need activities for a single lesson or want to teach this book over the course of the week, our book companion has what you need!
GET THE PRINTABLE ACTIVITIES
ADDITIONAL BOOK SUGGESTIONS
You and your students will also love these similar books:
- Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
- Mossy by Jan Brett
- The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren
- Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
TRY OUT A SAMPLE COMPANION
It's hard to explain how amazing the Starts with a Story book companions are because there is just so much goodness included in each one. It's best if you experience using one for yourself. Sign up below & we'll send you an entire book companion to try out for FREE!
