Really Good Teachers know how to have fun and Dr. Seuss’ birthday is cause for celebration. Since it coincides with Read Across America Week, it’s the perfect time to kick up your creative heels and do a theme week like no other. Check out some of our favorite ideas below for creating a week long Dr. Seuss classroom extravaganza from teachers all around the country.
Ideas for Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Week
Dr. Seuss Week
Dr. Seuss is popular all over the country, so it wasn’t surprising to find teachers like Lisa, a Preschool Teacher in Fallston, MD and Michelle, a 1st Grade Teacher in Ainsworth, IA, both filled with week long celebration idea.
“Each day of our Dr. Seuss Week, we plan different activities based on Dr. Seuss’ books. For example, we deem Wednesday as Wacky Wednesday to celebrate the book by the same name. Wacky Wednesday is full of surprises. Students arrive at school not knowing what to expect. They find they must enter the building through a little-used entrance, the teachers are all dressed in absurd outfits, the classroom furniture and displays are all rearranged, and, of course, we enjoy a shared reading of Wacky Wednesday. We also plan “Cat in the Hat Monday,” “Butter Battle Book Tuesday,” etc.”
Dr. Seuss Book Scavenger Hunt
Kids love scavenger hunts and Allison, a Primary Teacher, from DeKalb, IL figured out a way to tap into their enthusiasm with this fun week-long event.
“In my class, our Dr. Seuss birthday celebration lasts for an entire week. One of our favorite activities is a week long Dr. Seuss Book Scavenger Hunt. To begin, I prepare a chart checklist featuring many elements I’ve selected from Dr. Seuss books, including objects, characters, settings, rhymes, quotes, etc. I make sure I list some easy elements, some challenging elements, and some almost impossible elements to locate. The students then have the entire week to hunt through the books in an effort to locate the items. Each time a child locates an item, he or she must jot the title of the corresponding book next to that item on the chart. When the children have located all the items they win one night homework-free.”
Dr. Seuss Cafe
One of the most creative Dr. Seuss activities submitted was from Charlene, a 4th Grade Teacher in Washington, PA.
Try creating your very own Dr. Seuss Reading Café. Have students begin by reading their way through several of Dr. Seuss’ books and writing descriptive summaries of each one. Compile the polished summaries into Dr. Seuss Reading Cafe Menus. Students decorate the front of each menu with illustrations of favorite Seuss characters and arrange the book summaries featured inside into “Appetizer,” “Main Course,” and “Dessert” menu categories. The summaries are then glued in place.
On March 2nd, we transform our classroom into a Reading Cafe, complete with red and white checked tablecloths, fresh flowers, and Seuss decorations. Schoolmates and family members enter the cafe and are greeted by student waiters and waitresses who seat them at tables and offer them their summary “menus.” Guests order their favorite Seuss book from the menu. Wait staff record orders on guest checks, then use trays to deliver the books to guests. Waiters and waitresses then read each book aloud. Our Reading Café is soon abuzz with students showing off their read-aloud skills to appreciative guests.
What is your favorite ways to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday? Leave a comment below or on the Really Good Teachers Forums and share your ideas. We’d love to hear from you!
Emily says
I love it! I’ll be trying these ideas in my classroom next year!
Alicia says
I love those little Oh The Places books…That’s my theme this year (middle school)….gotta go look for those.
Kim says
I am making a Dr. Suess file and getting ready for next year. Wish I would have prepared better this year. 🙂
Jenni says
I love the idea of having a Dr. Seuss scavenger hunt! I must remember that for next year!!
Helen says
We spend the week showing the DVD In Search Of Dr. Seuss. We tie it in to civil rights, how to treat others, don’t judge a book by its cover and so many more themes. We also talk about the hidden messages in some of his books. The students really get into it.