Cat in the Hat – Astute Hoot

Celebrate Dr. Seuss in Style

February 25, 2018February 25, 2018By astutehoot

Read Across America is around the corner–celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday with these fun, no-prep activities:

1. Cat in the Hat Kabob: Download this FREE recipe to make these adorable Cat in the Hat kabobs, a perfect activity to incorporate during your Read Across America celebration. You only need 3 ingredients–large marshmallows, red Swedish fish, and kabob sticks to make this snack. (Use strawberries and bananas to make a healthier kabob.) This activity includes Common Core State Standards as students are reading functional text and answering text-dependent questions.

Dr. Seuss snack dr.-seuss-kabob-1-800x529 2. Cat in the Hat Pointillism Portraits: I found this cute, FREE template from just4teachers@blogspot.com. You simply need red, white, and blue paint along with Q-tips (or students can use their fingers). My students LOVED this activity!

Materials 1 Pointillism 1 Completed painting 1 3. Seussical Photo Booth: I borrowed the librarian’s giant Cat in the Hat and added lettering to create this Seussical photo booth. I took a picture of each of my students which will the cover of our Dr. Seuss books (compiled at the end of the week). Replicate this with any type of Dr. Seuss-themed props.

Check out tomorrow’s Read Across America blog where I will show you how to use Dr. Seuss supplies (from Target’s Dollar Section) to teach character trait analysis and central message.

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Teach Central Message & Theme with Dr. Seuss

February 29, 2016By astutehoot

Students love Dr. Seuss books because of their engaging, rhymed text, memorable characters, and whimsical illustrations. But, Dr. Seuss books are so much more. They are the ideal tool for teaching central message because each one focuses on a specific theme or life lesson. Plus, the majority of students have had multiple exposures with these books; they are familiar with characters and sequence of events. This background knowledge and literal level of understanding makes it easier to determine the central message, a higher-level comprehension skill.

During our Dr. Seuss study, I preselected books which have the strongest themes and central messages. Students had the opportunity to read many books during guided reading group and independent reading time. I used Sharon the Summarizing Squirrel to teach central message and theme (read more about Sharon’s strategy here). We discussed these messages and themes during reading group time and students cited textual evidence that supported these themes. Students used Sharon’s Central Message Anchor Chart to help them summarize each message or theme.
I found Dr. Seuss quote posters in Target’s Dollar Section and purchased 4 as a central message culmination activity. I posted the posters around the room and students took a Quote Walk, silently reading each quote to determine Dr. Seuss’ message. They recorded their central messages and themes in their Reading Response Journals. They colored in the strategy animals used during each reading response entry. Sharon the Summarizing Squirrel helped students summarize each central message and theme while Vern the Visualizing Vulture helped them visualize each quote. Check out the quote posters and students’ central message jourmal responses:

Dr. seuss sign 5.5 central message 4.5 Dr. Seuss sign 3.5 central message 1.5 Dr. seuss sign 4.5 central message 2.5 Dr. Seuss sign 2.5 central message 3.5 Looking for additional Dr. Seuss activities? Download our FREE Cat in the Hat Snack recipe and read our latest blog, Celebrate Dr. Seuss In Style. Happy Read Across America week!

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Celebrate Dr. Seuss & Read Across America

February 27, 2014February 27, 2014By astutehoot

Use this easy, fun Cat in the Hat kabob recipe to wrap-up your Read Across America & Dr. Seuss celebration. You only need 3 ingredients—large marshmallows, red Swedish fish and kabob sticks to make this snack. (Use strawberries and bananas instead for a healthy kabob). This activity includes Common Core State Standards as students are reading functional text and answering text-dependent questions. Download kabob recipe here.

Here are some other easy, engaging Dr. Seuss activities:

1. Goldfish graphing: Read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Give each students a bag of colored goldfish and have them sort and graph colors. Students can also complete probability experiment by forming hypothesis (which color will be pulled most), pulling fish and recording results.

2. Feet Measurement: Read The Foot Book and have students measure their feet. You can also print a variety of feet and have students measure and record. Discuss results.

3. Inexpensive incentives: These Dr. Seuss pencils, erasers, bookmarks and resuable bags are available in the Target dollar section. These are perfect behavior incentives, treasure box items or Read Across America gifts.