Mitten Adventure Lesson Plan
The Mitten Adventure
Lesson Plan • 1st Grade Literacy
Time 15 min
Objective
Students will identify main characters and sequence the order in which they entered the mitten from Jan Brett's The Mitten.
Audience
1st Grade, Subseparate Classroom
(Designed for Low-Mid Level Autism)
Materials
- • Jan Brett's "The Mitten" book
- • Mitten Adventure Slides
- • Character Sequence Activity
Prep
10 Minutes:
- Review Jan Brett's story.
- Ready the Slide Deck.
- Print/cut animal cards for the Character Sequence Activity.
Instructional Steps
1
Animal Sound Warm-up
2 min
Greet students and invite them into the snowy theme with movement and sound.
- "Good morning! Let's make an animal sound. Can you guess your friend's sound?"
- Prompt students to guess each sound (e.g., "Who goes 'Hoot'?")
2
Introduction to The Mitten
2 min
Display the first slide of the deck. Introduce the book cover and the author, Jan Brett.
- "What do you notice on the cover? What do you think might happen?"
- Encourage predictions about the large white mitten.
3
Read Aloud
6 min
Read the book expressively. Use distinct voices for the different animals (e.g., a deep voice for the bear, a tiny voice for the mouse).
- Pause to ask: "Who just went in?" or "Is the mitten getting bigger?"
- Focus heavily on the visual of animals squeezing in.
4
Character Sequence Activity
4 min
Use physical cut-outs or the Slide Deck to guide students through recalling the order.
- "Who was first?" (Guide to Mole).
- Use visual cues and prompts to move through the Rabbit, Hedgehog, Owl, Badger, Fox, Bear, and Mouse.
5
Wrap-up
1 min
"Fantastic job, story detectives! Can you tell me one animal from our story?" Give high-fives or verbal praise.
Why This Lesson?
This lesson builds foundational literacy skills, improves comprehension, and helps students with sequencing, which is crucial for narrative understanding. The 15-minute timeframe and visual focus are specifically tailored to maintain engagement and provide clear structural support for students in a subseparate setting.
Mitten Adventure Slides
Warm-Up
Animal Sound Fun!
Let's make some animal sounds!
Can you guess your friend's animal?
🐻 🐰 🦉 🦊
Welcome students. Ask them to make an animal sound and have peers guess. This warms them up and connects to the animal theme.
Our Story: The Mitten!
🧤
Book Cover
By Jan Brett
What do you see?
What do you think will happen?
Introduce the book, show the cover, and ask students to predict what the story might be about.
Who's Inside?
Listen closely to find out
who wants to be warm!
Explain that as you read, we'll meet many animals who want to get warm. Encourage students to listen for who joins the mitten.
Animal Line-Up!
First?
❓
Last?
❓
After the story, we'll put the
animals in the right order!
This slide sets up the activity. Explain that after the story, we'll put the animals in order of when they joined the mitten.
Sequencing Time!
1
2
3
...
Let's put the animals in order!
Display the animals one by one or all at once. Physical cut-outs are key here for hands-on engagement.
Great Job,
Story Detectives!
You remembered so many animals!
What was your favorite part?
Review one or two animals from the story. Give positive reinforcement for their participation and sequencing work.
Character Sequence Activity Sheet
Mitten Story Cards
Cut these out to use for the sequencing activity!
🐾
Mole
1st Animal
🐰
Rabbit
2nd Animal
🦔
Hedgehog
3rd Animal
🦉
Owl
4th Animal
🦡
Badger
5th Animal
🦊
Fox
6th Animal
🐻
Bear
7th Animal
🐭
Mouse
8th Animal
Mitten Sequence Mat
Place your animals in the correct order!
NAME: __________________________
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
🧤
The Mitten is full!
Excellent work sequencing the story.
