Celebrate Read Across America Day With Dr. Seuss Lesson Plans
Celebrate Read Across America Day with Dr. Seuss lesson plans, and dish up the "green eggs and ham."
By Marcie Osmanagaj
Each year, students across the country participate in Read Across America Day, often with celebrations in honor of Dr. Seuss, who was born March 2nd. Teachers whip up some green eggs and ham, mix up some Oobleck, and the fun begins.
Theodor Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, was a pioneer in children’s literature. His success wasn't merely luck, he had several attributes that made him a successful children's author. He had a sense of humor, was a talented artist, and knew how to dish out the rhymes. By creating a world inhabited by such characters as the Lorax, Thing One and Thing Two, and the Onceler, Dr. Seuss inspired children to read.
The Cat in the Hat
One of Dr. Seuss' most famous books, The Cat in the Hat, was written after his publisher requested a book using only the 250 words found on a first grade reading list. The Cat in the Hat used 236 words from the list, was very imaginative, and could be read by young readers because of its targeted vocabulary. It became an international success, is still one of the first books read by many children, and was turned into a movie.
There are many ways to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday in your classroom. You can plan a short activity or make it an all day event. It is a great time to do an author study, introduce rhyme and poetry, and promote the love of reading. You could kick off the fun by having your students make their own giant hats out of red and white construction paper. They could wear them all day and then take it home as a souvenir.
Green Eggs and Ham
Next, you could read Green Eggs and Ham and treat the class to a breakfast of, you got it, green eggs and ham. It would be beneficial to have parent volunteers come in and help set up and cook. Students will have a great time eating their Dr. Seuss-inspired breakfast.
Another hands-on activity that children will enjoy is making “oobleck.” You can read Dr. Seuss’s book, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, to your class. Then with the help of parent volunteers, set up oobleck- making stations. This can be done by placing four cups of water in a large bowl. You then add a few drops of green food coloring. After doing this add eight cups of corn starch to the water and mix. After mixing in the corn starch, add 1 ¾ cup more water and mix. Students will have fun playing with the Oobleck. You can turn this into a science lesson and discuss the principles of matter. After teaching students about the principles and allowing students time to experiment, they will discover that oobleck has the properties of both a solid and a liquid.
You can also have students bring in their favorite Dr. Seuss books to read aloud to the class. Students can explain why they have selected that book as their favorite. You may also want to invite the librarian, parents, or local authors to come to your classroom and read their favorite Dr. Seuss book. What follows are some lessons that can make Dr. Seuss' birthday a real celebration.
Dr. Seuss Lesson Plans:
Secondary teachers do not usually think to use Dr. Seuss in the classroom. However, this lesson allows secondary teachers to get their students to think critically using a some of the favorite Dr. Seuss books that they probably read when they were younger.
This lesson gives primary teachers some great center ideas to do with their students to celebrate Dr. Seuss.
Venn Diagram With On Fish, Two Fish
In this lesson, students make a venn diagram using the fish from one of Dr. Seuss' more popular books, "One Fish, Two Fish." Students use cut outs of the red and blue fish and put them into the correct parts of the venn diagram. This lesson helps students with sorting skills.
In this lesson, students read "Green Eggs and Ham." Then, they use the book as inspiration to come up with other creative recipes and eventually compile them into a class cookbook.
And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street Writing Activity
This lesson has a writing activity to accompany the reading of "And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street." The teacher begins reading the story and then stops and allows the students to creatively fill in the blanks in the writing activity. This lesson also has some related pages linked at the bottom that might be helpful to a teacher who wants to teach about Dr. Seuss.
Discussion Question:
How do you celebrate Read Across America Day?
