Dr. Seuss
Ideas for our next PBD
Seussville Website for Students
Lesson Where Students Make a Book Modeled After Green Eggs and Ham
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.
INSTRUCTION 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.
- 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!"
- 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."
- Draw pictures of themselves reading in their favorite places and rhyming places (hall - mall).
- 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 interactive