Read Across America

• A day to celebrate and encourage reading

• March 2, 2012• Dr. Seuss’ s Birthday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM03KeIaYoE&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Who is Dr.

Seuss?

Theodor Seuss Geisel

• Born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Mass

• His mother used to chant rhymes to get her kids to sleep

• Attended Dartmouth College and was editor of a humor magazine, using Seuss as his pseudonym (name used for writing)

• Went to Oxford University, but decided to tour Europe instead

• Wrote 44 children’s books, translated into 15 languageso 11 television specialso A Broadway musical, “Suessical”o Several full-length movies

• Died in 1991

His Books: How many have you read?

• And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

• Bartholomew and the Oobleck

• The Butter Battle Book• The Cat in the Hat• The Cat’s Quizzer• The Cat in the Hat Comes

Back• The Cat in the Hat

Songbook• Did I Ever Tell You How

Lucky You Are? • Dr. Seuss’s ABC• Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book• The Foot Book• Fox in Socks• Great Day for Up!• Green Eggs and Ham• Happy Birthday to You!• Hop on Pop• Horton Hatches the Egg• Horton Hears a Who!

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas

• Hunches in Bunches• I Am NOT Going to Get Up

Today!• I Can Draw It Myself• I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today!

And other Stories• I Can Read with My Eyes

Shut!• I Had Trouble Getting to

Solla Sollew• If I Ran the Circus• If I Ran the Zoo• The King’s Stilts• The Lorax• Marvin K. Mooney, Will You

Please Go Now!• McElligot’s Pool• Mr. Brown Can Moo!

Can you?• My Book about ME • Oh Say Can You Say?

• Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!

• Oh, the Places You’ll Go!• On Beyond Zebra!• One Fish Two Fish Red

Fish Blue Fish• Scrambled Eggs Super!• The Seven Lady Godivas• The Shape of Me and

Other Stuff• The Sneetches and Other

Stories• The Tough Coughs as He

Ploughs the Dough• There’s a Wocket in my

Pocket!• Thidwick the Big-Hearted

Moose• Yertle the Turtle and other

Stories• You’re Only Old Once• The 500 Hats of

Bartholomew Cubbins

His Books• And To Think That I

Saw It on Mulberry Streeto Was published in 1934o Was rejected 27 times before

being acceptedo First published children’s book by

Dr. Seuss

• Cat In the Hato Was published in 1957o Written in partnership with Houghton

Mifflin and Random Houseo Dr. Seuss was challenged to write a

book using only 236 ‘new-reader’ vocabulary (made up words) and he DID it with “The Cat in the Hat”!

• Horton Hears a Who!– Published in 1954– Talks about the

importance of friendship and community

His Books

• The Loraxo Published in 1971o Focuses on

environmentalism and going green

o Has been made into a movie, opening March 2nd

• Oh, the Places You’ll Goo Published in 1990o Last story published before his deatho Encourages ‘you’to overcome and

achieve great things

• Green Eggs and Ham– Published in 1960– Only uses 50 words

– Wrote it because of a bet

– 4th best-selling children’s book of all time

Videos

And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

Green Eggs and Ham

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSYIQXEBZSs&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULDtgnQ0fy4&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Videos

Oh the Places You’ll Go

The Cat in the Hat

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZNxeFM5Ecw&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtfCqv27HjE&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

It’s time to read (or listen to) a Dr. Seuss

book

• Now your teacher is going to read you a Dr. Seuss book. Sit back, listen quietly, and enjoy a Dr. Seuss book.

• If you still have time in class, there are three slides after this one with LOTS of Dr. Seuss activities to do. Feel free to browse through them and do the activities.

Activities- Choose one or two to do…

• And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Streeto Seeing a horse and wagon on the

street in our day would be unusual and something worth sharing. But 75 years ago, horses were used for transportation. Pretend that you are Marco and that you have traveled through time from 1937 to 2012. Imagine and write about a modern street scene based on Marco’s 1937 point of view.

o Use your powers of imagination to describe something you saw on the way to or from school.

• The Cat in the Hato Pick out a few subject-specific

vocabulary words and create a story.

o Discuss the last question in the book, “What would you do if your mother asked you?” What is Dr. Seuss trying to teach his readers?

• Horton Hears a Who?o Answer the following questions,

either as a class or individually.• What do you think Dr. Seuss

meant when he said “a person’s a person no matter how small”?

• Why do you think Horton was so determined to help the Whos even though the other animals were making fun of him?

• What difference did Jojo’s voice make for the Whos? What do you think this shows about community?

Activities

• The Loraxo Start a class discussion using the

following questions:• Was it fair for the Once-ler to

destroy natural habitats for his business?

• Could the Once-ler have kept his business going without cutting down every Truffula Tree?

• Do people destroy natural habitats in your community? Where has it happened?

• Does destroying other animals’ habitats affect humans?

o Divide the class into groups and assign each group a section below to act out for the class.• Then discuss the possible ways

the Once-ler could have continued his business without damaging the environment as much.

o Scene #1: Describe the land before the Once-ler came

o Scene #2: The Lorax appears in the story

o Scene #3: When the different animals are forced to leave their homes

• Green Eggs and Hamo Sam-I-Am is trying to get the other guy to

eat green eggs and ham. The other guy says he doesn’t like them even though he’s never tried them. Describe something new that you want to try even though you might be scared.

• Oh! The Places You’ll Goo Start a class discussion using the following

questions:• What does the author mean when he

talks about ‘bang-ups’ and ‘hang-ups’? Can you control these events, and does everyone have them?

• Who do you think makes most of the decisions in your life?

• What does Dr. Seuss mean when he compares life to a great balancing act? What different things do you balance in your life?

o Hand out paper and divide the paper into 3 sections.• In the first section, draw pictures or

describe everyday choices or challenges you face as well as hobbies or activities.

• In the second section, draw or write the major challenges or ‘slumps’ you have had to overcome in the past.

• Show what your goals are for the future in the third section.

• Finally , at the bottom, write a paragraph describing your most important goal for the future.

Activities