Dr. Seuss

I always try to create a few project linking to Read Across America Day.  I begin by reading a Seuss book and then spiral off into a lesson in a few different ways.   I will share a few of those lessons over the next few days and follow up with photos of student works next week as we finish them up.

For Kinders a lesson using 

"One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"

Materials:

2 - 9x12 pieces of paper (1 is taped to a firm surface where it will dry flat)

watercolors in warm and cool colors

black oil crayons

glue sticks

scissors

black construction paper for mounting

Week one - using warm or cool colors we create a patterned background.  Pattern is a big focus for kindergarten so I try to support their curriculum as much as possible.

Week two - I begin by have students follow along with me as we draw a fish.   I use my document camera for projecting on the wall for all students to easily follow along.

Using a black crayon or oil crayon,  here are the steps:

   Draw a large open "C" on the left of your paper
   Connect a large "V" with the point toward the right
   Connect a smaller "v" with the point touching the previous one with the opening facing right
   Close the small "v" with a small "c"
   Where the "v's" meet, add a smile on top and a frown on bottom to widen the space
   Add angles to the top of the fish and the bottom of the fish for fins both dorsal and pectoral
   Place a large oval near the front of the large "C" for an eye
   Place a smaller circle inside of the oval
   Personalize the fish with a smile, eyelashes fins, etc as desired
   Decorate the fish using lines in a variety of ways,  horizontal, vertical, zigzag, wavy, etc.

Students finish up by adding watercolor to their fish.   If their background uses warm colors, the fish is cool colors and vice-a-versa.  They really turn out beautiful, colorful and individual.

Finally, fish are cut out and glued onto the patterned paper from week one.  The finished project is glued onto a black mat before display.

At this point I'd like to mention the website Deep Space Sparkle because I think I initially found the ideals for this lesson on her sight a year or so ago, I don't know if I added my own twist or if this is the way she presented it.

A second grade Seuss lesson features the book 

"My Many Colored Days"

This book is about color and emotions.  I have color "people" that coordinate with the characters of the book.  After the reading, we review the colors and expand on what the colors might represent to the students.  I then share some cute monster teaching aides that I purchased that also reflect emotion through their face expressions.  Each student is then challenged to think of a color/emotion combination to use as they create their own Emotion Monster.   

Materials:

9x12 drawing paper
drawing pencils

sharpie markers

water based markers

construction paper

scissors

glue

Students will first brainstorm monsters on a scrap paper using pencils taking into consideration the facial emotions needed to match their color of choice.  Once final decisions have been made, monsters are drawn on 9 x 12 paper to fill the space using a pencil and then going over with a black sharpie. Color is added with water based markers and then "spritzed" with water to add a textural effect.  Monsters are cut out and attached to a colored paper of choice.  This could be complementary to the color of their monster.  The monsters are glue nearer to the top of the paper to leave room for a rectangle that will explain the emotion they are depicting.   Students will first share their monsters with classmates to determine if their color and expressions portray the emotion they had hoped.  Then a rectangle of white paper is created to show the word, in bubble letters that expresses their monster.  These are colored to match the emotion and glued into place below the monster.   I am using Kira Wiley's song "Colors" to accompany this lesson.  Here are the words: