Ezra Jack Keats

1. Ezra Jack Keats Great American Author and Illustrator

2. Unique Facts • Jacob Ezra Katz born on March 11, 1916 • He began to sell his artwork at the age of eight when he was paid 25 cents for a picture advertisement. • In high school one of his paintings won a national Scholastic art contest. • After high school, Keats was awarded several art scholarships. His family was very poor. Ezra moved on to work as a comic book illustrator.

3. Unique Facts • Keats entered thearmy on April 13, 1943. The Army trained him to design camouflage patterns. • He worked as an illustrator for the covers of publications, such as The Reader’s Digest. • He legally changed his name to Ezra Jack Keats due to the fact that some people were discriminating against him due to his culture. • In 1960, he attempted to write his first children's book entitled My Dog is Lost.

4. Unique Facts • For the next two years, Keats worked on the book that was to follow that depicted a young African –American boy namedPeter. He wasinspired to create this character by a picture clipping from Life Magazine. • The book entitled The Snowy Day received the renowned Caldecott Award. • Keats was determined to write a book that depicted an African American child as the hero. • His style for illustration came from the innovative technique of blending gouache with collage. • The characters in his story came from real people in the neighborhoods where he lived as a child.

5. Web Address • www.ezra-jack-keats.org

6. Keats's Books In Dreams, Keats describes the sleepless night of a little boy by the name of Roberto. Roberto looks out his window and see Archie’s cat trapped by a big dog! He does not know what to do. His paper mouse that he made that day in school falls from his window and casts a giant shadow onto a wall scaring the dog away. Archie’s cat makes his way safely home.

7. Keat’s books . • In Jeannie’s Hat, Keats describes a young girl by the name of Jeannie who is looking forward to a present from her aunt, a new hat. When the hat arrives, Jeannie is very disappointed because the hat is plain and nothing as she had hoped it would be. Jeannie feeds the birds in the park every Saturday, and the birds overhear her speaking of her hat. They follow her to church the next day and decorate her hat for her with beautiful flowers and ribbon.

8. Keats's Books . • In Goggles!, Peter and his best friend Archie find a pair of old motorcycle glasses. They are very excited until a group of older boys try to bully them into giving them the shades. Peter, Archie and Peter’s dog Willie use their heads to outsmart the bullies and keep the goggles for themselves.

9. Keats's Books . • In My Dog Is Lost, Keats tells the story of a little boy named Juanito. In the story, Juanito had just moved to the city from Puerto Rico. He has no friends and cannot speak English. He is very sad because he recently lost his dog. He sets out determined to find him and stumbles upon different groups of people in his neighborhood that take up the cause to help him. In the end Juanito is reunited with his dog. • Keats includes several simple Spanish words in the book.

10. Keats's Books . • In Peter’sChair, Keats describes a young boy named Peter dealing with feelings of jealousy over his new little sister, Susie. His parents are taking all his old things and painting them pink in order to make them right for Susie. Peter draws the line at his favorite chair, he decides to run away and he takes his chair, his dog, his toy alligator, and a picture of himself as a baby. After a little while, his mother sees traces of his return home. In the end he helps his father paint the chair for Susie after he discovers that he can no longer fit into the chair.

11. Keats's Books . • In The Snowy Day, Keats describes the adventures of Peter on a snowy day. Peter plays in the snow. He places a snowball in his pocket to save for later. After he is ready for bed, he discovers that the snowball has melted and is very sad. He awakens to more snow the next morning. • This book received the renowned Caldecott Award in 1963

12. Keats's Books . • In Whistle For Willie, Keats tells yet another story of his beloved Peter. Peter Tries to learn to whistle in order to be able to call his dog Willie. He tries and tries to no avail, but he doesn’t give up. In the end he learns to whistle.

13. Keats's Books . • In A Letter to Amy, Keats describes Peter as he deals with the awkwardness of a first crush. Peter is having a birthday party and he invited all his friends-the boys. He wants to invite Amy, but after he runs into her with the invitation and accidentally knocks her down, he is worried that she will not come.

14. Keats's Books . • In Apt 3, Keats describes the story of two brothers, Sam and Ben, who are inspired to explore their apartment building in search of the source of the beautiful music they hear. They find a blind man who becomes their new friend.

15. Keats's Books . • In The Trip, Keats tells the story of Louie, a little boy so sad about moving that he creates a diorama of his old friends and neighborhood. This brings him comfort and helps him to cope with his feelings until he begins to make new friends in his new neighborhood on Halloween night.

16. Complete Listing of Keats's Books

17. Keats's Books

18. Keat’s Lesson Plans • Part of the Ezra Jack Keats Author Study • Peter vividly expresses the wonder children feel for the world around them. Whether it's snow falling, a squirrel scampering up a tree, or the sun shining, children are curious about what they see outside their windows and have a natural desire to know more. Use the following questions to guide children in a brief discussion about Peter, the world outside his window, and the world outside their windows. • Where do you think the story takes place? What are some clues? • What are some ways you are like Peter? • Do you remember waking up to a snowy world outside your window? What was it like? What did you do? • Why do you think the snowball in Peter's pocket wasn't there when he checked before bed? Can you think of a way to save a snowball? • What do you wonder about the world outside your window?

19. Keat’s Lessons • The Snowy Day Science Lesson • Peter awakens to a world of snow. He makes tracks and snow angels, goes sliding, and packs snowballs - saving one in his pocket for the next day. Keats' simple story and collage illustrations capture a child's natural wonder for the world in a book that charms readers of all ages. • Materials: • Snow • Pans or dishes • Pens/paper • If you've got snow on hand, let students scoop some up to make some snowballs. See how long they last in your classroom under different conditions. Have students measure the amount of snow that they use so each snowball is the same size. Set each snowball in a pan or dish to catch the drips and then place them in different places around the room - a sunny windowsill, under a cover, in the closet, or in a pocket - like Peter did in the story! • Place paper and pen beside each snowball and ask students to record observations every 30 minutes. Which snowball do they think will last longest? Which will melt first? Why? • Adapted from: Using Caldecotts Across the Curriculum by Joan Novelli

20. Keats's Lessons Letter to Amy Lesson Plan By Jeremy Brunaccioni OBJECTIVE: Students will "use a variety of forms or genres when writing for different audiences."--Massachusetts English/Language Arts Curriculum Framework MATERIALS A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats writing pencils writing paper, one sheet per student envelopes, one per student colored markers chart paper SET UP AND PREPARECome up with an event that your students can share with another class.  (You will need a class list from that class.) You might choose to have an art show, a science themed party, or a poetry jam.

21. Keats’s Lessons DIRECTIONSUse the chart paper to model an invitation. Give your students the name of a peer from the class list, and have them write an invitation. They can use the colored markers to illustrate or decorate the invitation. When they are done, use the chart paper to show them how to address the envelope. Have your students deliver the invitations, so that they may enjoy their peer's reactions. SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERSTalk to the teacher whose class is being invited to your event. Ask her to talk up the event with her students so that they have a positive response when they receive their invitations. LESSON EXTENSIONPut an R.S.V.P. card into the invitation.Turn your dramatic play area into a post office.Visit your local post office.Related ResourcesThe Official Ezra Jack Keats Foundation Web site www.ezra-jack-keats.org

22. Keats’s Lessons My Dog is Lost! Lesson Plan By Jeremy Brunaccioni OBJECTIVEStudents will "tell or show what a map is..." --Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework MATERIALS My Dog is Lost! by Ezra Jack Keats graph paper (one sheet per student) writing pencils colored pencils DIRECTIONSTalk about the places Juanito visits in his search for Pepito. Explain that students will be creating maps showing Juanito's apartment, grocery store, playground, movie theater, butcher shop, laundromat, subway entrance, and bank. Students should use the writing pencils to create roads and buildings on their graph paper, labeling the different places. They can then use the colored pencils to color their map.

23. Keats’s Lessons SUPPORTING ALL LEARNERSIf you want to modify this activity for kindergarten, print out mailing labels with the names of the places Juanito searched. Have students create their maps, one building at a time, and attach the labels as they go. LESSON EXTENSIONUse the maps to create three-dimensional models.Look at a map of New York and locate China Town, Little Italy, Park Avenue, and Harlem.Related Resources

24. Keat’s Lessons Over in the Meadow Lesson Plan By Jeremy Brunaccioni OBJECTIVEStudents will "retell or dramatize traditional literature." --Massachusetts English/Language Arts Curriculum Framework MATERIALS Over in the Meadow by Ezra Jack Keats SET UP AND PREPARETell students to pay attention to the creatures featured in the book, as they will be acting out some movements during a second reading.The text of this book is based on a rhyme written by Olive A. Wadsworth. Before teaching the movements, you may want to remind students to be safe with their bodies. It's easy for them to get out of control during the frog jumping movement.

25. Keats’s Lessons DIRECTIONS Read through the book slowly, teaching students the following movements. "Dig!" said the mother. (Use your hands to make a scooping/digging motion, as if you had flippers.)"Swim!" said the mother. (Put your hands together in front of you and sway them back and forth to simulate a fish swimming.)"Sing!" said the mother. (Place a hand on your chest, and reach the other hand out in to the air, as if you're singing.)"Dive!" said the mother. (Put both hands together and point down as you bow your head, as if you're going to plunge into the water.)"Buzz!" said the mother. (Put your hands to your sides and quickly flap your fingers to simulate a buzzing bee's wings.)

26. Keats’s Lessons Caw!" said the mother. (Put your arms out to your sides as if you're a crow flapping your wings, and make one "caw" sound.)"Chirp!" said the mother. (Rub your hands and arms together.)"Bask!" said the mother. (With head upturned, spread your arms out, palms up, to welcome the sun.)"Croak!" said the mother. (Croak like a frog and make a little stationary jump as you croak once.)"Shine!" said the mother. (Throw your fingers open in front of you, to simulate a flashing light.) LESSON EXTENSIONHave your class perform a reading with the movements for an audience. Remind students to use a clear voice and good eye contact.Related Resourceswww.ezra-jack-keats.orgwww.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/keats/main.html

27. Keats’s Lessons Pet Show! Lesson Plan By Jeremy Brunaccioni OBJECTIVEStudents will "collect, sort, organize, and draw conclusions about data using concrete objects, pictures, numbers, and graphs." --Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework MATERIALSPet Show! by Ezra Jack Keats new shower curtain liner colored masking tape SET UP AND PREPAREAsk children to bring in one stuffed animal for a Pet Show activity. Be clear when asking children to bring in one stuffed animal, or students may bring in large amounts. You may also want to specify how large you'd like the animals to be. If head lice is a concern, don't let children share animals with each other.Spread out the curtain liner and use the tape to create a large grid. The liner will function as a large piece of graph paper. Be certain the squares are big enough to fit an object like a shoe or stuffed animal.

28. Keats’s Lessons DIRECTIONSSpread out the shower curtain graph and gather students in a semi-circle. Have students take turns placing their animals on the graph, sorting by: A) number of feetB) colorC) omnivore, carnivore, herbivoreD) skin, scales, feathersE) flying, walking, swimming LESSON EXTENSION Use a large sheet of graph paper to record and label one of the student-generated graphs.For older students, have them use graph paper to create graphs based on their "Pet Show" animals. Related Resourceswww.ezra-jack-keats.org/www.lib.usm.edu/~degrum/keats/main.html

29. Keats’s Lessons A Letter to Amy Teaching Plan • This lesson is adapted from Teaching With Favorite Ezra Jack Keats Books available from Scholastic Professional Books. • In A Letter to Amy by Ezra Jack Keats, Peter is inviting only one girl to his birthday party: his friend Amy. Rather than asking her in person, he decides to send her a special invitation—but a thunderstorm on the way to the mailbox sends Peter’s plans into a tailspin. Will Amy get the letter in time? And will she come to Peter’s party? This story’s themes of communication and friendship are sure to resonate with boys and girls alike. • Postcard Pattern (PDF) Before Reading • Begin a discussion with children about letters and mail. Have children ever sent or received a letter? Ask: • Would you rather get a letter in the mail from a special friend, or talk to them on the phone? How would you feel if you went home today and found a letter addressed to you in your mailbox? • What kinds of things do people tell each other in letters? If you were to write a letter, who would you write to and what would you say? • Next, show children the cover of the book and read the title aloud. Invite children to make predictions about the story by asking: • What do you think the letter to Amy is about? What might the boy want to say? • What is the weather like? What do you think will happen to the letter? 

30. Keats’s Lessons • After Reading • Talk with children about the characters’ feelings throughout the story. Ask: • Why do you think Peter wanted to send a special invitation to Amy? • Why didn’t Peter want Amy to see the letter? How did Amy feel when he bumped into her and grabbed the letter? • How did Peter feel when he finally saw Amy at his party? • Next, discuss the weather in the story and how it affected the characters and plot. Ask: • Why did Peter have so much trouble mailing the letter? How do you think he felt on the way home from the mailbox? How do you feel on rainy days? • Invite children to talk about any birthday parties they may have had. Did they invite any friends? Did they send out invitations or ask their friends in person? Which way do children think is better, and why?

31. Keats’s Lessons • Rain in a Jar (Science)Rain is an important element in A Letter to Amy. Children can find out how rain works by making their own rainfall. • Gather several large, clear jars or bowls, sheets of plastic wrap, and several ice cubes. Fill each jar with hot water, supervising closely for safety. Help children cover the top tightly with plastic wrap. Put a few ice cubes on top. • Encourage children to watch closely to see what will happen inside the jar. Soon they will see a “cloud” forming under the plastic and “raindrops” beginning to fall back into the water! This is because some of the hot water has evaporated and turned into water vapor. When the vapor hits the cold plastic, it condenses into drops which fall back into the water. Children have just witnessed the water cycle right in the classroom. • Watching the Wind (Science and Art)In the story, a windy day caused Peter a lot of trouble. Children can have fun exploring the properties of wind with a project that combines art and science.

32. Keats’s Lessons • To make wind socks, provide each child with half of an empty paper towel tube and colored tissue or crepe paper cut into 1/4-inch by 6-inch strips. First, let children decorate the outside of the tube with crayons, markers, or paints. • Next, have children smear glue along the inner edge of one end of the tube. Then have them attach the ends of several tissue paper strips to the inside of the tube. (The strips should be placed close together and can even overlap a bit.) • Help children punch three holes at equal points in the opposite end of the tube. Provide each child with two 6-inch lengths of yarn and one 12-inch length of yarn. Thread each piece of yarn through a hole and tie the ends in place. Then tie all three pieces together to complete the wind sock. • You can begin your wind explorations indoors with an electric fan. Start by turning the fan on at its lowest setting. Let children take turns holding their wind socks in front of the fan (with the tails facing away from the fan). What happens to the tissue strips? Invite children to predict what will happen when the fan is turned higher, then try it to find out. (If you have an oscillating fan, you can also experiment with wind direction.) • Invite children to use the wind socks outdoors on the next breezy day. Have them hold their sock by the long length of yarn and watch as the tail flies behind them like a kite. Children can also experiment by running at different speeds with their socks in hand. This is a colorful way to watch wind at work! 

33. Keats’s Lessons • It’s Party Time! (Language Arts and Social Skills)In the story, Peter’s mother helps him include the right information on his invitation to Amy. Why not help children practice invitation-writing by having your own celebration? • Have a party for an upcoming birthday, a special event, or simply to celebrate friendship and sharing. You can invite another classroom to join you. Encourage children to tell what information they think is important to include in their announcements (they might like to look in the book for reference). Then help children create invitations that include the date, time, place, and theme of your party. The Postcard Pattern (PDF) can double as an invitation. Have children write the party information on the left and a child’s name and classroom number on the right. Children can draw party symbols such as hats and streamers on the front of the card. Help children deliver their completed invitations. On the day of the party, encourage children to thank their guests for coming to join in the fun.

34. Keats’s Lessons • Birthday Wish Graph (Math)When it’s time for birthday cake, Peter’s friends suggest several wishes for him to make—but Peter makes his own wish before he blows the candles out. Revisit this part of the story and use it as a springboard for a fun graphing activity. • Discuss the end of the story with children. What do they think Peter wished for? What kinds of wishes have they made on their own birthdays? Write children’s ideas on a sheet of chart paper. • Create several “cakes” from large rectangles of tagboard and let children decorate. Create “candles” from strips of colored construction paper. Give each child a candle and have children label them with their names. • Next, choose several wishes from the list children created earlier. Write each one on a large sticky note and attach the wishes to the cake shapes. Help children read each wish. They can attach their candle to the cake with their favorite wish using removable adhesive. • When all the candles have been placed, help children count the candles on each cake and interpret the results. Which wish was the most popular? Which was the least popular? Try the activity again, using different wishes from the list.

35. Keats’s Lessons Word Play Look through the book with children for words related to weather. Words they might find include: rain, clouds, lightning, thunder, and wind. Write these words on index cards and attach them to a bulletin board to begin a weather word wall. Invite children to suggest additional nouns and descriptive words for the wall, such as snow, storm, sunny, warm, cold, and so on. Encourage children to observe the weather each day and record it on your classroom calendar using a word from the wall. If children cannot find a word to match the day’s weather, it is time to add a new one to your collection!

36. Keats’s Lessons • Postcard to a Pal (Language Arts and Art)Invite children to send messages to special friends by creating a post office right in the classroom. • In advance, collect a shoebox for each child in the class. Invite children to decorate their shoebox with paints or collage materials, and help them cut a slit in the lid. Assign each child a different number and have children write their name and number on the box to create an “address.” • Make one copy of the Postcard Pattern (PDF) for each child. Help children cut out the postcard, fold in the middle, and seal using a glue stick. Then assign each child a secret “Postcard Pal.” Have children write the pal’s name and “address” and include a message. Children might like to write about what makes their pal a good friend. Then have them flip the postcard over and draw a picture of how they like to spend time with their pal. • Encourage children to deliver their mail by matching the name and number on the postcard to the correct mailbox address. When all the postcards have been delivered, let children open their mailboxes to find their Postcard Pal’s message. You might like to keep a supply of postcards in your writing center so children can send one another messages throughout the year. • Variation: You can also try sending the postcards through the real postal service. Be sure to copy the postcards onto heavy paper for durability, and have children seal the front and back together well. Children can design and send postcards to friends, relatives, or even to family members at their own address—and then watch to see when it arrives! (Note that the postcard is not regulation size and therefore will require a letter-rate stamp.) • http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/search/?Ne=782&query=ezra+jack+keats%27&Ntt=ezra+jack+keats%27&Ntk=SCHL30_SI&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=866&T=C