Dr. Seuss’ birthday is one of my favorite teaching holidays! We have an”Author of the Month” in my kindergarten classroom, so March is the perfect month to dedicate to Dr. Seuss. I love sharing his stories with my students and teaching them about the life of Theodor Geisel.
I created this Author Birthday Bundle that incorporates a Seuss theme into writing, math, centers, and more! It also includes complete bulletin board bundles to create eye-catching displays for Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Why not extend the Dr. Seuss fun throughout the entire month of March and try some of these ideas in your classroom?!
It is important to note that these extension activities are to be used as companion lessons (not as stand alone products) after reading your purchased copies of Dr. Seuss’ stories. If you are just building your Dr. Seuss library, this set is a great value to help you get started!
Here are some fun ways to celebrate the birthday of Theodor Geisel with your kindergarten or first grade students…
1. Introduce Research Reporting with a Theodor Geisel Author Study
This packet includes all you need to teach students about the life of Theodor Geisel. All the research is done for you! With this set, you get a complete author study, fun facts sheet, K-W-L Chart, a graphic organizer, worksheet, craft, teacher tips, bulletin board header letters, AND your choice of differentiated flip books! This makes for an awesome March bulletin board to honor Dr. Seuss! We usually do this author study prior to diving into his wonderful books.
2. Create a Retelling of Your Favorite Stories
After reading your purchased copies of Dr. Seuss stories, have your students choose a favorite to create a retelling. Print and assemble to flip books and pair with the rhyming hats shown in the next idea!
This is the perfect opportunity to teach your students how to retell events using the sequence terms “first, next, then, and last.” You can have all of your students work on the same story, or mix and match. This is also a great option for early finishers or gifted students who would like to create more than one retelling.
3. Work on Rhyming with Word Family Hats
Dr. Seuss loved to rhyme, and your kids will too with this fun activity. I usually do this activity after reading The Cat in the Hat or The Cat Comes Back! These full page hats come in color and black and white. They can be used as worksheets, laminated for centers, or used as a craft when paired with the retelling activity above as shown here for a great March bulletin board.
4. Writing Journals
I use these NO PREP journals throughout the entire month as we read different Dr. Seuss books. Twenty prompts are included in a traceable font. Students complete the prompt and use the writer’s checklist to stay on track. These journals work well for whole-group activities, small teacher-led writing groups, or independently depending on your students’ abilities. They also make a nice keepsake!
5. Math With The Cat Activities
Why not extend the fun into math activities as well as literacy? This math bundle comes with two mini-books: one for fact families and another for addition facts. For kindergarten, we usually complete these in small groups or as a whole group. In first grade, students should be able to work on these books independently or at a math center. When finished, I have my kids shade every other line in red. I also like to laminate a set of these pages to keep as a math center for the rest of the year. Once laminated, the pages become an instant Write and Wipe Math Center that is perfect for addition and fact family practice!
6. Read and Rhyme Across America
These mini-books are similar to the math fact books. Students practice phonics and rhyming skills by encoding rhyming words. In the base of each hat is a word that the students must come up with rhyming words to write on the different levels of the hat. This comes in two differentiated formats – perfect for K and 1st grade!
7. Teach Persuasive Writing after reading The Lorax, and create an AMAZING Display!
