Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!

Hello Readers!

        This week my class and I celebrated one of my favorite days of the year…Dr. Seuss’ Birthday!!! He is one of my favorite children’s authors and I love to share his creativity with my students. This year being the first time I’ve had my own classroom, I went with a big celebration. Although my students are in the fifth grade, I truly believe that picture books and Dr. Seuss are for all ages!

My students started the day with a treat bag of goodies at their seats. The Target Dollar Spot had Dr. Seuss themed pencils, bookmarks, and erasers that I just couldn’t resist buyingJ The room was decorated with cut-outs from Oh the Places You’ll Go in addition to The Cat and the Hat bulletin boarder and a “Grab Your Hat and Read with the Cat” poster on the classroom door. Every Dr. Seuss book that I own was displayed in my reading corner. I greeted my students at the door with a smile on my face, a striped red and white hat on my head, and a t-shirt that said, “Teacher of All Things.”

Throughout the day, the celebration continued. During my reading block, the students played the role of detectives as they read alibis and tried to determine which Seussical character committed the crime of messing up our classroom library. They worked independently and in pairs to sketch the crime scene and use context clues to determine a guilty suspect. In the end, students presented their case courtroom style using evidence from the crime scene and information from the alibis to prove their claim. I have never seen my students so actively engaged in using context clues, text evidence, and creating an argument. I will definitely be using this activity next year and searching for similar activities to incorporate throughout the school year.

The entire fifth grade read aloud one of Dr. Seuss’ lesser known titles, Daisy Head Mayzie and worked on complimentary activities. We used the story to discuss theme and the students worked on a project to demonstrate their understanding. Each student received a daisy cut-out. They wrote one of the themes from the story in the center and were then asked to find five quotes (one for each of the petals) from the story to support their theme. This activity made for an adorable bulletin board!

At the end of the day, my students enjoyed watching the movie, Horton Hears a Who. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day!

Until Next Time,

~A



Link to Dr. Seuss Mystery Activity: http://libraryeverything.blogspot.com/2013/03/seusstastic-mystery-in-library-revealed.html