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Five to seven 20-minute sessions
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| Overview |
 The purpose of this lesson is to help students see places where they can read and enjoy books: on a trip to Grandma's, at the pool, at the doctor's office.
As they create a book modeled on the rhythm and rhyme of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, they discover all the special places they can read. The resulting book of pictures and rhyming text can be made into a PowerPoint® or HyperStudio® slide show, or even be a part of your school's Web page.
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| From Theory to Practice |
Encouraging and nurturing a love of reading in children can come in many forms—we read to them from the time they are babies; we help them see themselves as readers; we surround them with wonderful literature like that by Dr. Seuss.
In Reading Magic, Mem Fox tells the story of her daughter at age four who came home after two weeks of school and announced she could read. She got The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss and proceeded to read it! She had been read to since infancy, she loved the words of this favorite story, and she saw herself as a reader. She was a reader who chose to read! (p. 1). Fox goes on to say: "We need to look for books that tell a good story and play with language. . . . The really good ones won't let us leave without them" (p. 133).
Our goal as teachers is to do just that—to hook our students on great books that won't let the kids leave without them. Then we teach them that a book is a friend that you can take with you everywhere you go. In this lesson we celebrate and share the idea that reading can be done anytime and anywhere.
Fox, Mem. 2001. Reading Magic. San Diego: Harcourt.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- see themselves as readers in a variety of environments.
- take and/or collect pictures of themselves reading in a variety of places.
- develop their use of rhythm and rhyme to write a book modeled on Green Eggs and Ham.
- help plan the PowerPoint or HyperStudio slide show.
- share their book and slide show with others.
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| Instructional Plan |
Resources
- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
- Chart paper to record brainstorming of ideas of places to read
- Paper for creating a bound book
- ReadWriteThink Stapleless Book Interactive for individual books of each student's favorite places to read
- Camera and film or digital camera for students to "catch" each other reading in a variety of places
- Props for pictures, if desired
- Access to PowerPoint or HyperStudio to make a slide show
Instructions and Activities
- Read Green Eggs and Ham several times during Shared Reading until the students can join you in reading the story. They will need a good feel for the rhythm and rhyme of this book.
- Focus on the rhyming words in Green Eggs and Ham, identifying them and generating a list of rhyming words suggested by the students.
- Set up your computer center to include some of the fun activities in the Seuss Web sites listed below.
- As a class or in small groups, brainstorm a list of places where people can choose to read, and especially places where your students like to read. Using chart paper, record the ideas generated.
- Introduce to students the idea that they could create a book about the places where we can read—a book to share with other classes and/or their parents. Tell them they can model the book on the rhythm and rhyme of Green Eggs and Ham. Start out with examples of your own, such as:
I can read in the hall.
I can read at the mall.
I can read on Daddy's lap.
I can read after my nap.
- Encourage your students to return to their list of places to read and to think of ways to make rhyming pairs like those in your examples.
- Help students decide how they want to illustrate their book. For example, they might want to choose one of the following options:
- Draw pictures of themselves reading in their favorite places and rhyming places (hall - mall).
- They or the teacher take pictures of students reading in their favorite places and rhyming places.
- Involve parents in taking pictures of their children reading in their favorite places and rhyming places.
- Stage the places and have your students help design their sets. Decide what props they will need to dramatize the places they like to read. Then take the pictures. Examples I have used include
- using a big sun in the background, a beach towel, sunglasses, and a beach ball as props for a child reading for: "I can read at the pool."
- having a child sit at the reading table in our room reading his favorite book for: "I can read right at school."
- having a child sit in the house center pretending to eat plastic food at the picnic table while reading his favorite book for: "I can read while I eat."
- having a child read while standing and leaning against the wall by a bus sign for: "I can read on my feet."
- using the puppet theater as a storefront with a cash register, a sign announcing the name of the store and the cost of items (good examples of environmental print—children read more than just books!), a grocery cart, toy food, and shoppers for: "I can read at the store." (See also this ReadWriteThink lesson on environmental print.)
- having a child surrounded by books for: "I can read more and more!"
- After the pictures are developed, combine the pictures and text, add covers and title page, and bind into a big book that is sure to be a favorite in your classroom library. You might want to share it with other classes and with parents.
- You may choose to use digital pictures for ease in scanning into a HyperStudio slide show or PowerPoint presentation of the book. Our high school aide created our HyperStudio slide show for us. Other options might be having your media specialist help, a parent or older students, or doing it yourself. This would be great to have on display at an open house or at conferences. We plan to add ours to our school's Web page. Even though kindergarten children may be too young and inexperienced to create the slide show, they can be "consultants" during its creation.
- Students may want to create their own individual books about their personal favorite places to read by using the Stapleless Book format.
Extension
My kindergarten class also made displays called "My Family Reads!" Families were given several options for this project and invited to participate. They could
- share each family member's favorite place to read.
- share each family member's favorite reading materials. (This helps students see that some people like magazines best, some cookbooks, others newspapers, journals, or technical manuals, while still others like comic books, fiction, or poetry.)
- share each family member's favorite authors.
This was a wonderful exhibit that we displayed at our school's project fair. Students learned that reading isn't just for kids; it is a lifelong pleasure!
Web Resources
- Stapleless Book Interactive
http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/stapleless/index.html
- This site will allow students to create their own individual six-page books.
- Dr. Seuss Activities
http://abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/month_to_month/c_march/dr_seuss/
- This site provides lots of fun activities with Dr. Seuss.
- Seussville
http://www.seussville.com/
- Visit this site for fun with Dr. Seuss characters, and see, especially the "Sam I Am Says" game after reading Green Eggs and Ham.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
Students will reflect on what they have learned about places they can choose to read. Follow-up might include
- recording their observations and listing places they intend to use as new reading spots.
- creating a chart of "Our Favorite Reading Spots" and having students add to the list as they discover and try out new reading places during the year.
- having children report on places they see people reading, or even specific places they "catch" classmates reading.
You can use this
survey to see if students are indeed more aware of all the places they can read. |
4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
8 - Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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