Chalkfull of Ideas: A Seuss-tastic Week!

This week we did an author’s study on the famous Dr. Seuss. The students loved learning in-depth about their favorite children author and illustrator. Especially after we celebrated his birthday the week before Spring Break! We started off by filling in our weekly chart. Each week we fill in a topic of focus chart with three categories: SCHEMA, NEW LEARNING, and MISCONCEPTIONS. I then ask students what they already know about the topic (SCHEMA). Then, as we learn throughout the week we add any new findings about the topic in the NEW LEARNING space. Anything from SCHEMA that we find out to be false, we move to MISCONCEPTIONS. This is a chart that we review each day to build a strong understanding on the topic. Students often reference this chart during writing activities for recalling information.

On Tuesday, we read Green Eggs and Ham. After reading, I had students graph whether they like Green Eggs and Ham. I gave them a picture of a egg to color in green and had them put their name on it. They then place their vote under YES or NO on the class chart. We then analyzed this information to compile a graph and answered questions by interpreting data as a whole group.

My favorite activity of the whole week was a class book writing project aligned with Green Eggs and Ham. We talked about what we noticed in the book: rhyming, silly ideas, nonsense words, crazy illustrations, etc. I told my students that everyone was going to be responsible for one page in the class book. They had to come up with two words that rhyme. One word needed to be a food item and the second word needed to be a thing. I found this page on http://first-grade-fever.blogspot.com for free! On the printable page it says, “I do not like Green Eggs and Ham! I do not like them (Student’s Name) I am! But I would eat _______ on a _______.” I came up with “I do not like Green Eggs and Ham! I do not like them Ms. Engels I am! But I would eat pizza on a cheetah.” My students were laughing hysterically when I read them my page. They could not wait to be creative on their own to complete their own rhyme. First we brainstormed some possible rhyming words. We listed a bunch of favorite foods on the board and came up with words that rhymed with each food item. I always like to get my kiddos thinking and on the right mind track before setting them on their own. Click here to go check out the blog to download this fun and wacky Seuss activity!

on Wednesday, we read The Foot Book and learned about antonyms. Students loved learning about opposites and could not stop giving different examples. After talking with my teaching partner, we decided that next year we needed to have an Opposite Day when we taught about antonyms. I simply sketched out a pair of feet on a piece of paper for students to list opposites on. They put one word in one color on one foot and the opposite in the same color on the other foot. They came up with SO MANY great examples like: messy/clean, rich/poor, nice/mean, healthy/sick, light/dark, yummy/disgusting, new/old, silly/serious, sweet/sour, stop/go, etc. Later in the afternoon we read Fox in Sox and switched the focus to synonyms. I sketched out a pair of socks on a piece of paper for students to list words that mean the same on.

Next, we read the Cat in the Hat and worked on story sequencing. We looked at different events that happened in the story on sentence strips and placed them in the correct order together as a class. Then, students brainstormed about what a day with Thing 1 and Thing 2 at their house would be like. They used my writing process to complete this assignment. The students came up with some very hilarious stories! Some decided they would let Thing 1 and Thing 2 in and play board games, make mini pizzas, and watch movies with them. Others wrote about how they would barricade (YES! One of my first graders used this word!!!) the doors and lock the windows, and keep them out of their house. Like I’ve said before, my first graders always wow me with their creativity and imagination with writing.

Finally, to finish our Dr. Seuss unit off, we read the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Not a single student in my class had heard of this book before and so they all loved it. They were really engaged when following the adventures of Bartholomew who must save his kingdom from a sticky yucky substance called “oobleck.” When I closed the book, the students hands shout up. They immediately asked, “Can we please make our own oobleck?” Lucky for them, I was prepared! We used the recipe I found here to make the Oobleck with Borax and white glue. It stretched good and wasn’t sticky. I gave each student a handful of it in a Ziploc bag to take home.