1-2-3 Come Do Some Apple Activities With Me

The 3 main characters in Dr. Seuss’s story “Ten Apples Up On Top” are a dog, lion & tiger, so I thought it would be fun for children to practice number recognition and counting to 10 with an animal "slider".

After reading the story, have students transition to this whole-group craftivity.

There are 6 BW pattern choices.

Two of each animal, plus I’ve included full-color templates so you can quickly & easily make a sample to share, helping explain what you want your students to do.

Simply run the patterns off on white construction paper or card stock and give children a choice.

They color their animal, then trim around the edges.

There are 4 apple slider strip options.
Two are in BW the others in color.

The apples are numbered as well as blank, so that students can write them in.

So that the "slider" is not pulled out, have children fold and glue the end. Wahla! Instant stop guard.

To play this whole-group game, call out a number.
“I see 6 apples up on top!”

Children gently pull on their slider, counting out 6 apples, then hold their animal pet in the air.

You can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

* Save the number 10 for last, then count all of the apples together one more time.

* Children lay their animal down, and point to each number as you count the apples to ten.

* Students exclaim: “Hooray! Ten apples up on top!”

* If you’re also learning how to count backwards from 10, do that next, by having children pull the apple slider back down, pausing at each number, looking at it and saying it.

* When you get to the end, have children crouch down with their critter and repeat the backwards sequence exclaiming:

“No apples up on top. 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-0. Blast off!”

* As they yell “Blast Off!” they jump in the air, and can quietly file out to their backpacks to put their animal slider away.

Have older students glue two apple strips together to count to 20 and work on those tricky teen numbers.

This is also a great activity and story to read for a substitute teacher. (Instant lesson. Just tuck in your sub tub). 

Today's featured FREEBIE also has an apple theme.

It's an inexpensive little gift you can give your kiddos on that first day of school, or during your apple unit. 

Click on the link to pick up your free packet today: Back To School Apple Puzzle Gift Baggies.

Well that's it for today. Hope you are enjoying your summer. Mine is going way too fast.

My mom's coming for a visit next week, so It's time to get some marathon cleaning and shopping done.

Wishing you a carefree day.

"Summer: Rest, Relax, Repeat!"

 1-2-3 Come Do Another Cat in the Hat Activity With Me

Just when I thought I was done designing Seuss "stuff" 'til next year, I'm back at it.  (Part of my "obseuss-ion" with this author?) Actually, it's all Paula's fault. (I say this with a big smile on my face, as I LOVE helping others.)

She's from Florida and asked if I had any March-themed activities to help practice alphabetizing.  She's working on that with her kinders, who are quite bored with the standard.

Since they were already "not interested", I certainly didn't want to make another "same-old" worksheet. 

What could I design that would be a hands-on kind of game that they'd find interesting?

One thing led to another and the result was The Cat in the Classmate Hat packet.

Paula LOVED it! I hope you can use it too. There are two main alphabetizing activities.

The large cat hat can be used as a game, independent center or whole group activity.

Print the stripe template off on red and white construction paper, so that you have enough stripes for however many students you have.  Laminate the paper and then trim.  

Make an alphabetical list of your students' names, so that when you pass out a strip to each child it will be the appropriate color. 

Then later, when you arrange their names in alphabetical order, they will show the correct ABAB color pattern like Seuss's hat. 

Children write their name on the strip.  For extra pizzazz, have them glue their photo next to their name.  Collect the strips and keep them in a Ziplock Baggie.

To play as a whole group game, or independent center, children arrange their classmates' names in alphabetical order on a brim of their choice:  "1-2-3 Come ABC with me!" , "__________'s students really stack up!", "Hats off to wonderful word work! We know how to alphabetize.", and "The alphabet begins with ABC. Numbers begin with 1-2-3. Music begins with do-re-mi and friendship begins with you and me."

You can demonstrate  what you want children to do, by first playing this as a whole group activity, explaining rules for alphabetizing along the way. 

I've included a recording sheet if your students choose to take the "Speed" challenge, to see who can assemble the hat in correct alphabetical order the quickest.

Make an extra set to hang up as a bulletin board or hallway wall display. There are 9 "brim" options for you to choose from. 

The packet also includes a mini cat hat activity for your students, along with a worksheet to help them alphabetize their classmates' names.

They can choose to put their hat on a cat template, a photo of themselves, or pick a head pattern and draw a face on it.

There are 9 faceless head templates they can pick from. Children color, trim and glue their hat on top.  

These completed projects also make an adorable bulletin board.  Click on the link for the Cat in the Classmate Hat packet. 

Thanks for visiting.  As usual, my day is flying by me. I have got to put my adult hat on, and get to the grocery store, so I can wear my chef hat and dream something up for dinner. 

It's dreary and cold, and I'd much rather snuggle in and play.... Wishing you a wonderful week.

 "Today was good; today was fun; tomorrow is another one!" -Dr. Seuss

60 pages!

This packet is extremely versatile.  You can do these as a whole group activity, as an independent center, for a bulletin board, for a class-made book (each student contributes a letter) or have each child do all of the letter booklets and keep them in a "portfolio" file folder.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Horton Hears A Who Activities With Me

Happy TBT (Throw Back Thursday). Elephants are my favorite animals.  Although I truly love them all, the elephant holds an extra special place in my heart.  Perhaps this is why I find Dr. Seuss's Horton so endearing.  I'm also a huge fan of Elmer the Elephant as well.  

They were also very popular characters with my Y5's.  With that in mind, I designed some Horton-themed activities, with a splash of Elmer for comparison. This blast- from-the-past blog article, features 3 popular elephant-themed downloads that I hope your kiddos will enjoy. 

First up is my "Peek-a-Who" Horton-themed writing prompt packet.  Run the elephant head template off on gray construction paper; students trim. 

They have a choice of 22 "trunk tales" to pick from.  These are on separate trunks, which they trim and glue to their elephant head, then complete the writing prompt.  Completed projects make an awesome bulletin board. 

The packet also includes an elephant puppet craftivity made out of a toilet paper tube.  If you don't have time for this as a kid-craft, make one up to use as a manipulative when you read the book. 

Another writing prompt craftivity reinforces rhyming.  It's a 3D project, as the elephant's ear is a flap and flips open. "Horton hears a Who, how 'bout you?"  is written on the front of the ear.

Children write their name and in Seuss-style sing song rhyme, write a few lines of what they heard: 

"Diane heard a Harley, which was really quite snarly. The Harley's name was Karly and she likes vegetable soup with barley."  

There's room under the ear for the student's illustration.  These too, make a sweet bulletin board.

Finally, I designed a whopping 42-page Horton-Elmer packet that covers lots of Common Core State Standards in interesting and fun ways.

There are 3 character, setting, event pocket chart cards that you can use for either story, as well as a beginning, middle, and end graphic organizer or anchor chart.

Review who, what, why, when, where, & how with another anchor chart. 

Afterwards, have students complete the adorable-matching writing-prompt craftivity.

Practice grammar at the same time reviewing the story, with 15 "fix the sentence" (with capitalization and end punctuation) Horton cards.

Using the 2 Venn diagrams, will help your students practice comparison and contrast writing. 

Here they compare charaters (Horton with Elmer), as well as each story.  For more practice, the 2 hexagon worksheets will reinforce descriptive writing using adjectives. 

There's an Elmer Spin & Color Game, which reviews colors and color words, as well as 4 graphing extensions, a "retell the story" bookmark, plus a label the Horton bookcover anchor chart activity.

An elephant mask craftivity; a "find the letters" newsprint-elephant craftivity, along with some tally mark practice are also included in the packet.

Reinforce colors and color words with 30 elephant color cards + a cover so that students can make an Itty Bitty booklet.   They are also great for playing all sorts of games.

Finally, there are a few rhyming, alphabetical-order worksheets with an alphabetical list of 47 words that rhyme with who. 

Pick and choose whatever activities fit your needs then end your day with a sweet elephant lollipop treat.  

If you'd like to see the animated version of Horton Hears a Who, click on the link for Cat in the Hat theater.  It's 25-minutes long, so you could show it over 2 days, as a special treat at the end of your Seuss-celebration week.

Thanks for visiting.  I'm not quite ready to let Seuss stuff go, as I'm finishing up a Cat in the Alphabet Hat packet, which has taken much longer to complete than I had planned. 

Any hoo, I hope you can pop by tomorrow for my newest Seuss FREEBIE hot off the press.  Time to go make meatloaf for dinner.  I'm wishing you a day as sweet as Horton and Elmer.

 "We won't tell anyone. And if we do, we'll tell them not to tell anyone." -Dr. Seuss's Tommy, from Horton Hears a Who

1-2-3 Come Do Some More Green Eggs and Ham Activities With Me

Did you know that Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham on a bet that he couldn’t write a book with fifty or fewer distinct words?  After doing some checking, I discovered that the bet was made in 1960 with Bennett Cerf, the co-founder of Random House, and was for $50.  Ironically, even though Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham using EXACTLY 50 words, it's been reported that Cerf never paid up. 

Green Eggs and Ham ranks in the top 3 best-selling Seuss books, so it's definitely worth reading.  I wondered what the 50 words were?  Did he use lots from the Dolch word lists? 

I was intrigued, so I grabbed my copy and painstakingly found all 50 words, then alphabetized them in a handy list, as well as on an anchor chart poster, and YES(!) all but 8 of those words (6 of which are nouns) are also listed on our Dolch lists. (Happily, 6 of the other nouns that he used, ARE listed on the Dolch list of nouns.)

For quick and easy printing, I made 50-mini word cards that fit on one page.  Use them to play a variety of games like "Speed", Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?". 

Students could also pick a partner, and play "Speed" against them, to see who can arrange their set of cards in alphabetical order first. The packet also includes a 2-page tip list of ideas, like "Kaboom!".

For writing practice, print, laminate and trim the cards.  Toss them into a Seuss hat and have students choose 2-3 and incorporate those words in sentences.  Remind them to use proper spacing, capitalization and end punctuation. 

So that children can practice long and short vowels, I've also included two green eggs vowel sorting mats.

For some rhyming practice, run off the two "trace, write and alphabetize" worksheets, which use words that rhyme with Sam and green.  All of these activities are perfect for your Daily 5 word work block. 

Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs and Ham Word Work packet.  As always, everything on my site is FREE. 

If you use my activities, I'd love to hear from you.  Comments help keep me energized.  You can leave one below, or contact me via e-mail: diane@teachwithme.com  I also design quite a few items from requests.

To see all of the Seuss FREEBIES on my site, simply click on the link to zip on over to that section.  I also have an entire Seuss board on Pinterest, featuring lots more creative ideas, free educational activities and crafts.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting. I try to design and blog daily, so do pop back often for the newest freebies hot off the press. This week I'm working on St. Patrick's Day and kite-themed activities. 

 The sun is FINALLY shining, so I'm off for some much-needed fresh air.  Chloe, my poodle pup will be thrilled.  The ground is still littered with dirty piles of snow, but the promise of spring in now in the air; at least for today.  Wishing you an energy-filled day, with the sounds of spring in your heart.

"Sometimes you may never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory." -Dr. Seuss

1-2-3 Come Do Some Green Eggs and Ham Activities With Me

I think one of the reasons that Seuss is so popular with children, is that he captures the reader's attention with outlandish characters, tongue-twisting alliteration, and nonsense words that complete the sing-song rhyme, a poetic beat that has become synonomous with Seuss. 

Ironically, as a child I didn't really care that much for him.  Possibly, because teachers across the world were not as enamored with this author, as they are now.  Back then, it was all about Dick and Jane and "See Spot run."

It wasn't 'til I started teaching that I too hopped on board the Seuss bandwagon.  You might go as far as to say I became quite "obseussed" wth Seuss and all things silly.

My "obseussion" is reflected in the over 50 Seuss-themed FREEBIES that are available on TeachWithMe, especially for Seuss's iconic Cat in the Hat. 

No matter what grade I taught, the cat was always the chosen favorite on our "Who's Your Favorite Seuss Character?" graph.  I thought this was perhaps, because we had done a lot of Cat in the Hat-themed activities. 

With that in mind, I wanted to expand my students' horizons, and read a different Seuss book each day, followed up by some interesting and fun activities that they could transition to. 

Green Eggs and Ham quickly became "the" favorite, 'til of course I introduced them to the Lorax... Today's blog article features some of my most popular Green Eggs and Ham downloads.

The Green Eggs and Ham packet is a whopping 65-pages long, and covers all sorts of reading, writing and math Common Core State Standards. The packet includes green eggs and ham-themed alphabet cards, as well as number cards from 0 to 120. 

My personal favorite part of the packet, is the 3D writing prompt craftivity pictured.  Completed projects make an interesting bulletin board for March is Reading Month.  Students write whether they like green eggs and ham or not; the half paper plate features 2 things that they like to eat, as well as a combo they think is disgusting.

By folding up the edge of the plate, and inserting it through a slit in a sheet of brightly colored construction paper, it looks like a ledge.  The traced hand of the child, is holding up the plate, just like the illustration in Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham book.  

The packet also includes a "Would You Eat Green Eggs?" graph.  Each year I find that I'm in the minority, as most of my Y5s are quite adventurous and would eat Sam's green eggs. 

My students also enjoy picking a partner and filling in a Venn diagram, comparing the book Green Eggs and Ham, with the Cat in the Hat story.  There hasn't been a run-away winner here.

Since the other grammar card downloads have been so popular, I included 12 green eggs and ham-themed pocket chart cards in the packet as well.  

Using a dry erase marker, students correct the sentences by adding capital letters and end punctuation. 

Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs and Ham Activities Packet.

Toss in some math standards, by playing the It's Time For Green Eggs and Ham spinner game.  Students can choose to play with clocks to the hour, or time to the half hour.   Whatever time they spin, they color in the green eggs under that clock.

Review colors and color words in a fun way, with the Green Eggs and Ham Color packet. Children spin the colored egg spinner.  Whatever color they land on, they color the matching color word egg that color.  There's also a recording sheet with no words, so  young children can easily play the game too.

I've also included colored eggs with matching, traceable-color word cards. 

These are great for more games or to make an Itty Bitty booklet.  Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs and Ham Color Packet.

Another egg activity that I think your students will enjoy is an egg color matching game.

Students can match either the colored egg yolk to the color word, in a face up fashion, or flip the cards over and match a colored egg with a word color egg, for a Memory Match game.

If you have plastic eggs, have students twist them apart and match the colors and color words that way. 

Students can also play "I Have; Who Has?"  i.e. "I have the color word egg yellow.  Who has the yellow egg?"  Click on the link to view/download the Egg Colors Packet. 

I wanted to make another activity to help students learn and practice contractions. A cracked egg shape was the perfect vehicle to show the contraction on the top, and the words that make it up, on the bottom.

Run the template off on a variety of shades of green to use with Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, or use pastel colors for springtime. Keep the laminated eggs in a basket. 

There's also a blank set of eggs to program with upper and lowercase letters, word wall words, spelling words, equations or whatever.  Click on the link to view/download the Egg Contraction Packet.

Finally, since continued reinforcement of standards is important, I like to review shapes throughout the year.  Where Have My Green Eggs Gone?  Is an emergent reader about a shape mystery.

Students read the sentences, circle the capital letters and add end punctuation. 

They also trace the shape word, write it, trace and draw the shape and then color the shaped egg yolk green.

This booklet reviews the circle, oval, triangle, rectangle, square, hexagon, pentagon and octagon shapes. Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs Shape Booklet.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  My tummy's reminding me that it's time to get some breakfast.  "I'm Diane I am, and I won't be eating green eggs and ham."  Wishing you a delightful day.

"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too." -Dr. Seuss

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Telling Time Activities With Me

Since March is national reading month, and Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat is a symbol for Read Across America, I like to do all sorts of Seuss-themed activities in all my subjects, not just reading.  With that in mind, I designed some telling time activities using Seuss's iconic Cat in the Hat's hat. 

Practicing analog & digital time to the hour and half hour with these Seuss-themed  games, make learning these concepts less tedious and more fun.

The packet includes:

Two "It's Time For Seuss" dice games.  (One to the hour, the other to the half hour.) There's a large worksheet as well as a smaller one, with two-on-a-page for quick printing.

I've also designed a time to the half hour anchor chart, reminding students to also move the hour hand. 

You may find that some children will draw the hour hand on a clock that shows 12:30 directly on the 12, which is incorrect. Use the poster to explain things, then hang it up as a reminder.

There's also a time to the hour Cat's Hat clothespin clip game.  Pinching a clothespin is a fun fine motor skill, which will strengthen children's finger muscles.

I thought it would be cute to make the tip of my clothespins look like mini Cat in the Hat hats.  Simply trim and stick on a white Avery address label, then add stripes with a red marker. 

Toss the cards and a few clothespins into a Seuss hat or other container.  To make this independent center game self-checking, simply put a dot on the back of each card.  When a child clips a clothespin to the correct digital time, they can flip the card over to see if their clothespin is covering the dot.

I've also included a "sequencing the time" card game.  Print up two sets on two different colors of construction paper. There are 6 clock cards on a page (2 pages total) for easy printing.

Students choose a partner, and play "Speed" to see who will be the first to sequence all of their cards. You could also use them to play Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games.

Besides games, there are two "Trace the digital time, and draw the hands on the analog clock" Itty Bitty booklets as well. (One for time to the hour, the other time to the half hour.)

All 12 time cards are on one page, including a cover for their booklet.  These booklets could also be used as a fun way to assess your students too.

The packet has a set of Seuss-themed pocket chart digital and analog time cards, for time to the hour & half hour.

Use them as a pocket chart review, mini anchor charts, flashcards or puzzles.  Make extra sets for games.

You can give the two certificates of praise in the packet, to the winners of the games, or to everyone who now understands time to the hour or half hour. 

Finally, there's an analog and digital time assessment worksheet, which can be used individually or as a whole group. 

Click on the link for the "It's Time For Seuss!" Telling Time Games & Activities packet.  

If you're looking for more activities to help your kiddos learn about time, click on the link to pop over to that section of my site.  There are over 40 Telling Time FREEBIES there.  I also have an entire Telling Time Pin board, with more ideas, and free activities. 

Thanks for visiting today.  It's 27 degrees this morning, so I'm not sure if that qualifies as March's weather coming in like a lion or a lamb.  Regardless, I'm certainly glad it's March, which brings us one step closer to springtime! 

I'm off to do a zillion and one errands, not the least of which is to mail our taxes at the post office.  So happy that's done!  Wishing you a sunshiny day.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not!"  -Dr. Seuss  from The Lorax

 1-2-3 Come Play Some Word Family Games With Me

Practice reading word family words in a super-fun way, with these Cat in the Hat Word Family Games.  The packet includes 39 word families.

Simply choose the word families that your students are working on.  Print the template page twice; once on red construction paper, the other on white. 

This way, after cutting the strips apart, you will be able to make two word family hats with an ABAB color pattern.

Laminate and trim one set, to use for an independent center, partner game, or whole group activity.  Students "stack their hat" puzzle piece "stripes" in alphabetical order on top of the "I can read these ____ word family words!" hat brim.

Glue the other set on a sheet of turquoise construction paper and put up as a display by your word wall, or a separate Cat in the Hat Word Family bulletin board.

To practice the word wall hat display, toss the word family mini cards into a Cat in the Hat hat, or other container.  (There are 39 of them.)  Children pick one. 

Whatever word family they get, is the one that they will read on the display.  Make it more fun by turning off the lights. 

Children can point to each word stripe with a flashlight, as they read the words in the dark.

The mini cards can also be used to tell students what word family they will use to complete their hat stack word family worksheet. 

Children write the words on a sheet of scratch paper, then write them in alphabetical order on their hat. 

Afterwards, they color the stripes with a red crayon, so that the hat shows the Seuss ABAB striped pattern.

You can also partner students up and give them both the same word family puzzle.  They compete against each other to see who can alphabetize and put their hat stack together first. 

They could also partner up with a person who has a different puzzle and take turns reading their puzzle to each other.  Afterwards, they can mix up the pieces and then swap.

You could also use the worksheet as a spelling quiz for whatever word family you're working on.  Say the word, then children write it on their worksheet. 

Well that's it for now.  Thanks for visiting.  My day certainly blew by me, as it took "forever" to get this 79-page packet done, and I'm chomping at the bit to get a few more things accomplished before lights out. 

Don't think that's happenin' though, as my bones are starting to yell "Enough!"  Wishing you a happy-go-lucky day. 

"Today was good; today was fun; tomorrow is another one!" -Dr. Seuss

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Super-Fun Grinch Activities With Me

There are so many activities out there for Seuss's Cat in the Hat, that I wanted to design some things with another popular character. 

We usually think of the Grinch in December, because after all, he tried to steal Christmas, but I felt he was the perfect "creature" to "munch and crunch a variety of standards for lunch!" so I created the "Feed the Grinch Game".

"Feeding" cards to a Grinch-topped container, is a quick, easy and fun way to review all sorts of things.

Print, laminate and trim the "food" cards. 

These are mini cards that include upper and lowercase letters, numbers from 0-120, 11 number word cards, twelve 2D shape cards, twelve 3D shape cards, 35 contraction cards, 94 "GR is for GRinch" gr word blend cards, and 11 color word cards!

I chose bright neon-colors, for that extra touch of Seuss-pizzazz. There's also a set of blank tiles for you to fill in with whatever else you want to review or practice. 

Besides "feeding" the Grinch, make extra sets of the cards to play all sorts of games.  I've included tip lists suggesting more activities, plus the "Kaboom!" game.

There's also a set of math symbols as well, so you can use the number cards for other math activities, like making up equations and solving them, plus showing greater & less than. 

Students can also sort the number cards into odd and even piles and sequence them.

Play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games with the number word cards and their matching number cards.

The shape cards, as well as the color cards, work in the same way.  You can also play these games with the letter cards, matching an uppercase letter to a lowercase one. 

There are a number of options you can use for the container.  I bought a green bucket from The Dollar Store.  Currently, they have all sorts of pails and buckets for the Easter season.  

Print off the Grinch on green construction paper then cut around the edges.  If you want his eyes to pop, print another Grinch on yellow construction paper then cut out just the eyes and glue them on.

So that the Grinch’s face, easily fits over the top of the bucket, I glued it to half of a sturdy paper plate. Fold his “mouth” on the dotted line so that children can flip it up and drop the Grinch “food” cards inside the bucket.

Add a green "hair" feather at the top, for extra pizzazz, and hold the plate down with some glue dots.  The packet includes labels to decorate your container.  Store each set of “food” cards in their own Ziploc Baggie inside the bucket. 

To play, simply pass out whatever cards you want to practice with to your kiddos, then call out a word, letter, number etc.  The child holding that card comes up, reads and shows it, then "feeds" the hungry grumpy Grinch.

Besides using a bucket, you can also use a dishwashing-detergent, flip-top container, to make your hungry Grinch.   Only the front section lifts up, making the perfect “mouth” for “feeding”.

The container in the photo, is from a 10-pack of Mr. Clean erasers that I bought at Sam’s Club. Cascade, as well as other dishwashing detergents, also use this type of container.  (It's the detergent that comes packaged in little pillows.)

Finally, celebrate Seuss with these two Grinch "craftivities" that I just finished today. 

Both of them are in the  Rhyming & Writing Are a Cinch With the Grinch packet. 

One features two writing prompts.  Students think of things that make them grin like the Grinch. 

They jot these down on the left side.  On the right side, they list things that make them "Grinchly and grumpy".  

The other craft is a "doorknobber".  Children fold their paper in half and glue it together, cutting the slit and hole at the top.

On the front, students glue their photo face over the Grinch's, after they color it. 

On the back, they list all of the words that they can think of that rhyme with whatever word you assign.  I chose Grinch and Seuss. 

Samples of both are included, so you can easily show examples to your students, to help explain what you want them to do.

Well that's it for today.  It felt good to get a few more things checked off my too-long "To Do" list.  Feeling overwhelmed, definitely makes me feel "Grinchy". 

My feet have hit the floor running, as there's lots to do today.  Wishing you a "Seuss-tastic" day, filled with giggles galore.

 "So be sure when you step, step with care and great tack, and remember that life's a great balancing act!" -Dr. Seuss

1-2-3 Come Do Some Seuss-Themed Writing Prompts With Me

Louis L'amour said: "Start writing no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on."  However, if "It's time to do some writing..." is greeted with a cacophony of classroom groans, it's definitely time to fuel your students' imaginations, peak their interest, and tweak what they write, so that they'll WANT to.

Many Dr. Seuss books, lend themselves to interesting and fun writing prompts.  (For a complete list of his books, scroll down to yesterday's article.) Today's blog features some of my most popular, Seuss-themed, writing prompts. Hopefully, writing time, will be met with the more harmonious and intellectual sounds of engaged and busy minds happily working away.

After reading Dr. Seuss's ABC book, create a silly, creature-filled class-made alphabet book.  Print and trim the mini letter tiles.  Toss them into a Seuss hat.  Students choose one, glue it to their page and think of a creature that starts with that letter.

Stress imagination and creativity.  These should be made up creatures like the ones that Dr. Seuss thought of.  Younger students can simply name their animal and draw a picture.

Encourage and challenge older students to make a rhyming sentence, using plenty of tongue-twisting alliteration like Dr. Seuss. 

For example, Zz is for a Zigglewag who likes to play wiggle tag.  He eats zinnias, zingles and zag, all of which make me personally gag.  or Bb is for Boomtoot, who's from Bangladoot and likes to eat fruit, especially bapples, belon and bloot. 

The packet includes a page for students and one for the teacher, a sample, plus 26 Seuss-font letter tiles.

Another Alphabet book I think your students will enjoy making is On Before Ant. This is a take off of Dr. Seuss's book On Beyond Zebra, which is about all of the letters that come after  Z. In the beginning of the story, Cornelius is bragging that he knows all of the letters from A to Z. 

He's shocked to find out that there are more!   "Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor, when I picked up some chalk and drew one letter more. A letter he never had dreamed of before..."  like the letter Snee, which is for "...sneedle, a terrible kind of ferocious mos-keedle.  Whose hum-dinger stinger is as sharp as a needle. "

All of these goofy letters have a name and symbol.   I thought it would be fun to make a class book of all of the pretend letters that might possibly come before the letter A. 

Run off copies of the inside page and have students think up a letter, design it, and then give an example of something that starts with that letter,  finishing up with an illustration.  After students share their work, collect the pages, collate and make into a class book. 

Another interesting writing prompt, has to do with Seuss's book If I Ran The Circus.

The packet includes a class book with two writing prompts to choose from, as well as a 3D cylinder "craftivity."

Students color and cut out their circus tent and then attach their completed writing prompt paper to either side, so that they can bend it into a cylinder shape. 

The photo shows the various views of a completed project.  Punch holes on either side, add a yarn loop and suspend from the ceiling.

For that finishing touch, children add a toothpick flag, and then choose either a clown or a ringmaster to color and glue their photo on top of that face, so that it looks as if they are peeking out of the tent flap. 

Two more writing prompt "craftivities" go along with Seuss's book, Oh The Places You'll Go.  Ironically, this was the last book published before his death in 1991.

On the large bucket, students think of 5 places they want to visit. 

They write the place, followed by what they want to see or do there.

On the small bucket, students think of all of the things they'd like to do. 

This can be for the month, year, in 5,10,20 years, or a list of all that they want to accomplish in their lifetime.  Completed projects make terrific bulletin boards.   

I've also designed a 3-dimensional "Oh the Places You'll Go" writing prompt balloon, which features 3 simple prompts younger students can do: "My favorite place to go is _________. " "A place I'd like to go is _________." and "A place I've been is ________." 

Run the basket template off on brown construction paper. For that finishing touch, students glue their photograph inside.

This is one of those "awwww-dorble" keepsake activities that mommies are especially fond of. 

Another one is the Lucky Ducky writing prompt craftivity, which was inspired by Seuss's book Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? 

To read more about it, and grab this sweet FREEBIE, click on the link.

Finally, after reading Dr. Seuss's book, What Was I Scared Of?  discuss what kinds of things people are afraid of, and how they can overcome their fears.

The packet includes a class book writing prompt, as well as a more advanced writing prompt for older students.  There's also a list of 19 quotes about fear.  Share a few in discussion, or have students choose their favorite and comment on it, including why they like it and if they agree with it. 

The book, The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything, by Linda Williams, is a wonderful comparison story, and offers more opportunities for writing and discussion.  I've included a Venn diagram to help students compare and contrast these two stories.

Well that's it for today.  If you're undecided, why not give your students a choice. You may be surprised to find that they want to do more than one!  Time for me to go do some writing of my own.  Wishing you an imaginative day filled with wonder.

"Fill your pages with the breathings of your heart." -William Wordsworth