The Jolly Postman

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Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. The Jolly Postman is one of my favourite picture books. The book encompasses multimodality and intertextuality flawlessly. The book is eye catching and young children will be engaged in it because it involves them getting each letter out of the envelopes. Ask the children about other kinds of letters might be sent through the mail. As students brainstorm, add the kinds of letters to the chart paper. I remember when my grands were younger they said, "Can I go deliver the mail to the neighbors? I want to see their happy faces, too." Little hands will love opening the envelopes to read the post in this magical story, full of festive, fairy tale surprises!

Review the chart of characteristics created in the previous session. Answer any questions students have. When I saw this book I thought it was so very special. I kept it around to share with my grandkids when they were young, and it is still in my personal library.Show an example of a letter and an envelope that has already been prepared. You can use an example from the book or a letter that you have on hand.

The cross-curricular links for this book are Geography, Art and Design and Drama. Creating a map for the Postman allows children to explore direction and distances, designing a stamp/postcard allows them to explore their creativity and through acting out the story of The Jolly Postman children begin to understand how written stories can be adapted to physical movement and also explore how to embody the characteristic of each character.Join the Jolly Postman as he delivers letters in fairy-tale land in this fun, interactive story book! English: Letter writing- write letters to characters in the book, could write one to the postman himself. Janet Ahlberg (1944-1994) was a British children's book illustrator, and the co-creator, together with her husband Allan Ahlberg, of the best-selling Jolly Postman series. Born as Janet Hall in Yorkshire in 1944, she studied at Sunderland Technical College, where she met Ahlberg. The two married in 1969, and began to work together, publishing their first co-venture - The Old Joke Book - in 1976. She won the 1978 Kate Greenaway Medal from the British Library Association - an award recognizing the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject - for Each Peach Pear Plum. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics). The Jolly Postman has a busy day ahead. It's Christmas Eve in Fairy-Tale Land and there's plenty of post for him to deliver!

As an alternative to letter writing, use the interactive Postcard Creator to create original postcards. After printing their text, students can illustrate the front of the cards using markers or other art supplies.Brilliantly designed with lots of little details to spot, this old favourite will be enjoyed time and time again." - Book Trust

As a class, look at different types of mail-friendly letters, business letters, persuasive letters, greeting cards, and so forth. Discuss the similarities and differences of each type. Encourage students to use their own letters to find examples of the various parts of letters as they are discussed. Introduce the genre by discussing letters and letter writing, using the following questions as a guide: Circulate among students as they work, answering any questions and watching for evidence that students are using genre characteristics to sort the letters.

Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works. Each character's letter has a connection with their traditional story and gives children a new and interesting concept of how traditional stories can be adapted and reconceptualized. Through activities such as, hot seating, children can then begin to test their knowledge of the characters and the stories connected to them, and then imagine how this story could be told differently. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.