Dr Seuss Plans

Dr. Seuss Celebration: Practicum Special Project

For my practicum special project, I was in charge of preparation and partial delivery of our two-week Dr.
Seuss Celebration in March. This included developing lesson plans for each grade level, creating related
bulletin boards and displays, and designing support activities and materials to promote Dr. Seuss
throughout the library and the school.

Dr. Seuss Hero Cards and Bulletin Board: The overarching theme in the library program this year was
heroes. Each quarter, Peggy incorporated a new genre of heroes into the library (such as animal heroes,
superheroes, etc.). To integrate the Dr. Seuss unit into this theme, I selected seven “heroes” found in Dr.
Seuss stories and created short narratives about why they are heroes. These were displayed on the hero
bulletin board in the hallway and on the cards that assign students to tables each time they come to the
library. This was a great way to get kids interested in the Dr. Seuss unit right away.(See picture of
bulletin board below.)

Dress Like Dr. Seuss Week: To get the whole school talking about Dr. Seuss, I decided that the middle
week of our unit would be Dress Like Dr. Seuss Week, with each day’s suggested clothing would
correspond to a specific Dr. Seuss Book. I made two announcements during the school-wide morning
meeting in the cafeteria to get it on everyone’s radar, made bookmarks with the week’s clothing for kids
to take home with them the week before, and created a bulletin board in the hallway with examples of
what they could wear during the week. While I was only there to see one of the days, Peggy informed
me that it seemed to be a pretty big success – even the principal got involved. If I were to do this again, I
would probably switch out Thursday’s “Wear a Thneed Day” for something else. I thought that with The
Lorax movie coming out, more kids would know what a thneed was, but it seemed to just confuse them.
I was very impressed by the kids that did get it, and wore some very creative thneeds! (See picture of
bulletin board below.)

Guess How Many game: Over the past couple years, Peggy had collected a bunch of little Dr. Seuss gifts,
including tote bags, pencils, erasers, stickers, socks, markers, etc. She thought we could have a guessing
game for kids to win the prizes. The younger students (K-2) guessed how many eggs were in a big jar
(playing off Horton Hatches the Egg) and the older students (3-5) guessed how many stars were on the
posterboard (playing off of The Sneetches). They each made a guess during the first week of the unit,
and the top 4-6 students from each class got prizes the next week. Not only was it fun for them, but it
worked an important math skill (estimation) into the library lesson! (See picture of star poster below.)

Lesson Plans
When: March 8th – 21st

BRIEF OVERVIEW:
Extra materials/activities:

Dr. Seuss hero cards (Sam, the Fish, Mack the Turtle, Horton, The Lorax, kid in Lorax, Dr.
Seuss himself)
Guess How Many Game (Stars on poster board; Eggs in jar)
Dress like Dr. Seuss Week Bulletin Board --
o Monday: stripes (Cat in the Hat)
o Tuesday: wacky socks (Fox in Socks)
o Wednesday: wacky outfits (Wacky Wednesday)
o Thursday: thneed (anything knitted - Lorax)
o Friday:anything green (Green Eggs and Ham)
Dr. Seuss Heroes Bulletin Board

Kindergarten: Read Cat in the Hat

Design a New Hat for the cat

Dr. Seuss Birthday Cards

1st Grade: Read Green Eggs and Ham

Rhyming words Matching Game

Dr. Seuss Birthday Cards

2nd Grade: Read Yertle the Turtle

Design their own turtle

Dr. Seuss birthday cards

3rd Grade: Read Horton Hatches the Egg

Create their own combination animal

4th Grade/5th Grade: Read the Lorax

Dr. Seuss Jeopardy

Grade level: Kindergarten

Length of Lesson: 2 (20 min) periods

Purpose: To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, practice using the “text-to-self” reading comprehension
strategy, and use creativity to imagine a new hat design.

Learning Outcomes: Students will…

… know about Dr. Seuss’s contributions to the literature world.
… access their background knowledge to make connections from the text to their own lives.
… use their imaginations to re-design the Cat’s hat.

Common Core Reading Standards for Literature:

Key Ideas and Details (1): With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key
details in the text.
Range of Reading (10): Actively engage in group reading activities with purpose and
understanding..

Materials: Day 1

Cat in the Hat book
Jar of eggs
Birthday cards

Instructional Procedures: Day 1

Focusing event:

Introduce Dr. Seuss (Who has ever heard of Dr. Seuss? Who was he? (discuss) This week
is his birthday, and if he was still alive, he would be 108 years old! Kids all over the
country are celebrating his birthday this week by reading his books. Today we’re going to
read one of his most popular books. Many of you may have read this one before: Cat in
the Hat.)
Direct attention toward hero theme(This year in library we’re talking about heroes. As
we’re reading, see if you can think of who might be a hero in this story.)

Input from you: Read the book.

Check for Understanding:

During the book:

Should the kids have let the Cat into the house? Why or why not? Would you have
let him in?

What should the kids have done when the Cat came in? What would you do?

After the book:

Should they have told their mother about their day? Would you have?
Who do you think is a hero in this story?
What was your favorite part of the story?

Closure:

After reading the book, bring over the jar of eggs and explain guessing game. Bring out birthday
cards. Read the card aloud. Have students choose one of the cards and write and / or draw their
favorite part of the story.These will be displayed around the top of the non-fiction bookshelves.

Materials: Day 2

Hat presentation
Crayons and hat outline


Focusing event:

Review last week (What book did we read last week? Why did we read it? Who
remembers what the Cat’s hat looks like?)
Discuss “imagination” (One of the things Dr. Seuss used most when he wrote his stories
was his imagination. What is an “imagination”?)
Introduce activity (Today we’re going to use our own imaginations to design a new hat
for the Cat. He’s been wearing the same hat for more than 50 years. What could his new
hat look like?)
Look at pictures of different hats

Activity:

Create new hats for the Cat.
Staple thin paper strips to hat to fit around student’s head.

Closure:

Have each student share their new hat with the rest of the class.

Grade level: 1st Grade


Purpose: To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, practice questioning the text to increase reading
comprehension, and play with rhymes


…understand how to recognize a rhyme.

…become more comfortable pausing in reading to question the text.

…know about Dr. Seuss’s contributions to the literature world.

Common Core Reading Standards for Literature and Foundational Skills:

Key Ideas and Details (1): Ask and answer questions about key details in the text.
Craft and Structure (4): Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or
appeal to the senses.
Phonics and word recognition (3b): Decode regularly spelled one-syllable words.

Materials: Day 1

Green Eggs and Ham book
Jar of eggs
Birthday card print-outs


Focusing event:

Introduce Dr. Seuss (Who has ever heard of Dr. Seuss? Who was he? (discuss) This week
is his birthday, and if he was still alive, he would be 108 years old! Kids all over the
country are celebrating his birthday this week by reading his books. Today we’re going to
read one of his most popular books… many of you may have read this one before: Green
Eggs and Ham).
Direct attention toward hero theme (This year in library we’re talking about heroes. As

Input from you: Read the book.


During the book:

Who knows what it means when 2 words rhyme?

Which words on this page rhyme?
Why do you think the man in the hat does not want green eggs and ham? Would you
like to try green eggs and ham?

After the book:

Who in this story might be a hero? Why do you think so?
What about now—do you think you might try green eggs and ham?
What was your favorite part of the story?

Closure:

favorite part of the story.

Materials: Day 2

Green Eggs and Ham
Bingo cards
Bingo markers
Candy (for bingo winners)


Focusing event:

Review last week (Who remembers what book we read last week? Why did we read it?
Do you remember what it’s called when the end of two words sound the same? )
Use book to point out pictures of “house”, “fox”, “car”, and “train” and review rhymes
(What rhymes with this picture? etc.)

Guided Practice:

Rhyming Bingo: At tables, pass out the bingo cards and markers.
Explain rules of Rhyming Bingo (I will say a word,you find that word on the card, and
place a marker on it. When you get five in a row, call BINGO)

Check for understanding:

What’s a word that rhymes with [word]? (Ask this after each word to increase understanding of
rhyme).

Closure:

Who didn’t get a chance to make a birthday card last week?

Grade Level: 2nd Grade


Purpose: To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday and the strengths of our differences and to practice making
connections from text-to-self and text-to-world to increase reading comprehension.



…access background knowledge to make connections.

…explore characteristics of good leadership and bad leadership

…gain appreciation for diversity.


Key Ideas and Details (1): Ask and answer such questions such as who, what, where, when, why,
and how, to demonstrate understanding of key details.
Key Ideas and Details (3): Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and
challenges.

Materials: Day 1

Yertle the Turtle book
Egg Jar
Birthday card print outs


Focusing Event:

Introduce Dr. Seuss (Who has heard of Dr. Seuss? Who was he? (discuss) This week is his
birthday, and if he was still alive, he would be 108 years old! Kids all over the country are
celebrating his birthday this week by reading his books. Today we’re going to read one of
his stories: Yertle the Turtle.)
Direct attention toward hero theme (This year in library we’re talking about heroes. As

Input from You: Read the story.


During the book:

How do you think Yertle got to be king?

What makes a king great?
How would you feel if you were Mack at the bottom of the stack?
Why do you think all the other turtles listened to Yertle?

After the book:

Was Yertle a good king?
Who was the hero in this story?
What was your favorite part of this story?

Closure:

favorite part of the story.

Materials Needed: Day 2

Turtle print-outs
Scissors
Glue


Focusing event:

Review last week (Who remembers what book we read last week? Why did we read it?
Was Yertle a good king?)
Direct attention toward uniqueness of turtles (Let’s look at the pictures again (**page
with the moon). What do you notice about the turtle shells? They all look different don’t
they? Just like all of us look different, so do the turtles of the pond. But just because we
look different doesn’t mean that we should treat each other differently, does it? Dr.
Seuss was big on celebrating what makes each of us unique and recognizing that no one
is better than anyone else. So today we are going to make our own group of diverse
turtles for the turtle pond.)

Guided Practice: Students create turtles by cutting out the pieces, designing a shell, and gluing
the pieces together.

Closure: Is there anyone who didn’t get to make a birthday card last week?

Grade level: 3rd Grade


Purpose: To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, practice questioning the text to increase reading
comprehension, and use their imaginations to create something new.



…increase their comfort with pausing while reading to ask questions to increase their
understanding of the story.

…explore concepts of responsibility and loyalty.

…use their imaginations to create a new animal hybrid.


Key Ideas and Details (1): Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text,
referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
Key Ideas and Details (3): Describe characters in the story (their traits, motivations, feelings)
and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events.
Craft and structure (6): Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of
the characters.

Materials: Day 1

Horton Hatches the Egg book
Sneetches star poster board


Focusing Event:

Introduce Dr. Seuss (Who can tell me who Dr. Seuss was? What are some of the books
he wrote? (discuss) This week is his birthday, and if he was still alive he would have been
turning 108 years old! Kids all over the country are celebrating his birthday this week by
reading his books. We are going to celebrate to by reading Horton Hatches the Egg.)
Direct attention toward hero theme (In the library this year, we’re learning about
heroes, so see if you can spot who the hero of this story is.)

Input from You: Read the book.


During the book:

Why does Horton stay on the nest even in the rain and cold?
How could we describe Mayzie?
(page with the mountain) What do you think Horton’s thinking here?

After the book:

How could we describe Horton? Is he a hero?
Would you be as faithful as Horton?

Closure: Bring over the Sneetches poster and explain the guessing game.

Materials: Day 2

Horton Book
White paper
Scissors


Focusing Event:

Review last week (Who can tell me what book we read last week? Why did we read it?)
Introduce concept of creative creature-blends (Who remembers what comes out of the
egg at the end? (discuss – show page with Elephant Bird). If this story was a non-fiction
book, would this have happened? No, it wouldn’t have, but Dr. Seuss liked to play with
what could really happen and imagine new things. Let’s pretend we’re scientists. If we
discovered this Elephant Bird, what would we call it?)

Activity:

Brainstorm what traits a blended creature might include (wings/scales/feathers/fur
/legs/antlers/ears/mouths/beaks/stripes/spots/color)
Have students create their own creature by combining different traits of animals and
then naming it.

Closure: Students tape their new animals in the big nest on the pole.

Grade level: 4th and 5th Grade


Purpose: To celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday, share their knowledge of Dr. Seuss with each other, and
practice making text-to-self and text-to-world connections to increase reading comprehension.



…access background knowledge and use it to increase understanding of the story.

…share their knowledge of Dr. Seuss and his books with each other.

Common Core Reading Standards for Literature: 4th grade

Key Ideas and Details (1): Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text
says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
Key Ideas and Details (3): Describe in depth a character setting, or event in a story drama,
drawing on specific details in the text.

Common Core Reading Standards for Literature: 5th grade

Craft and structure (4): Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative language such metaphors and similes.

Materials: Day 1

The Lorax
SneetchesStar poster board

Instructional Procedures

Focusing Event:

Introduce Dr. Seuss (Who can tell me who Dr. Seuss was? What are some of the books
he wrote? Does anyone know what’s special about this week? (discuss) This week was
Dr. Seuss’s birthday and if he were still alive, he would be 108 years old! He published
more than 60 books in his lifetime and students all over the country are celebrating his
birthday by reading some of these. Today we’re going to read The Lorax, which is also
coming out as a movie this week! )
Direct attention toward hero theme (Who can remind me of the theme for library this
year? Be watching out for who in this book might fit the bill of a hero.)

Input from You: Read the book


During the book:

What’s a Lerkim?
Was it okay for the Once-ler to chop down a Truffula Tree?
How would you describe the Once-ler?
What’s going to happen if the Once-ler and his family keeps chopping down the trees?
What’s the factory doing to the environment?

After the book:

Did everyone need a thneed? What does this remind you of? What in our society does
“everyone need”?
What do you think the boy is going to do? What would you do?
Who’s a hero in this story?

Closure: Explain next week’s activity, suggest to read up on Dr. Seuss books during the week. Explain the
Sneetchesposterboard.

Materials: Day 2

Dr. Seuss Jeopardy Powerpoint
Paper to keep score
Candy for winners


Focusing Event: Review last week (What did we read last week? Why did we read it? What did I
say we were going to do this week?)

Activity:

Explain Jeopardy rules (The captain of each table is your spokesperson. This is the person
who will give me your team’s answer. When it’s your team’s turn, you will select a
category. I will read the question aloud, you will have 30 seconds to discuss, then your
spokesperson will give me your answer. If it’s wrong, the first team I see with their hand
raised will get a chance to answer. Play goes around till time is up. Team with the
highest score wins.)
Play Jeopardy game

Closure: Candy to the winning team.

Photos:

Dress Like Dr. Seuss Week Bulletin Board

Dr. Seuss Hero Bulletin Board (to correspond to the Hero Table cards): the background stays the same
throughout the year; I just added the Dr. Seuss characters/explanations.

Posterboard I created for the 3rd-5th graders. They guessed how many stars were on the board. The
closest 5 in each class got a Dr. Seuss-related prize.

Some of the turtles in the 2nd Grade Turtle Pond

Pillar of hybrid animals created by the 3rd graders.

Close up of some of the hybrid animals created by the 3rd graders

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