Dr. Seuss Curriculum

			Dr. Seuss

LESSONS FROM DR. SEUSS
A Church School curriculum for the Kindergarten
By Ellen Schmidt and Diana Pavao
As amended by teachers Pat Limburg, Becky Marston
Robin Wickett and Nancy Adastasio-Hass
At the Unitarian Universalist Church of Racine, WI

INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS
The books needed for this curriculum are:
Yertle the Turtle
I Can Lick Thirty Tigers Today
Horton Hatches the Egg
Sneetches
Horton Hears a Who
The Lorax

This curriculum was taught by Becky Marston during the winter quarter of the 1985-86 church school year. Her comments were these:

The children loved the stories. The “moral” was not obvious to them. The discussion period should last only 5 to 10 minutes, no more.

The children’s favorite part of the class was the art project. Materials for these cost about $20. They also did very well on the poem.

Since the kindergarteners do not regularly attend the church school worship service, the class session began with their own worship service (except on half-family Sundays) during which they sang a ‘theme song”. A suggested song for use during the Dr. Seuss quarter is “I’ve Got a Light” (“Do, Lord” with Tony Larsen’s words).

Playing classical music softly while the children were working on the art project was very claming for them. Since the children now attend the regular children’s worship service at the end of class, “I’ve Got a Light” was not used.

The children are in the classroom for 55 minutes – snack and clean-up take about 10 minutes, leaving 45 minutes for the lesson. Some of the lessons might not take the full time, so the teachers should have other activities in mind if they are needed. For example, outline drawings of various Dr. Seuss characters can be kept with the curriculum and can be colored by the children.

The stories can be used in any order. Nancy Anastasio-Hass said she felt that using all 12 stories was too much of one format for the children – perhaps at most 8 stories should be used. Some of these stories have been made into videos. Check the viseo catalogue from the public library.

TEACHERS SHOULD MAKE COMMENTS IN THIS NOTEBOOK – add to the bottom of the lesson comments from your experience regarding what worked well, what didn’t, what you added, etc. This is a great blessing for the people who will teach this curriculum after you.

1. Yertle the Turtle
2. Gertrude McFuzz (in Yertle)
3. The Sneetches
4. Horton Hatches the Egg
5. Horton Hears a Who
6. The Lorax
7. I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today
8.The Big Brag (in Yertle)
9. King Looie Katz (in Tigers)
10. What Was I Scared of? (in Sneetches)
11. The Glunk That Got Thunk (in Tigers)
12. The Zax (in Sneetches)INTRODUCTORY SESSION

Introductions: Have the children tell their names and something about themselves, e.g. what school they go to, what they like best about summer, etc.

Have the children each color a Cat-in-the-Hat drawing, write their names on the bottom, and hang the around the room. This gives the children ownership of the room as well as indentifying the theme of the classes to come. (Have other drawing materials available for children who finish coloring the Cat-in-the-Hat quickly.)

Preparation:
Provide materials to make turtles – colored paper or poster board for head, legs and tail, and margarine tubs for the shells. The paper can be taped to the tubs.

Everyone is important. Don’t do things for just one person and let others get used or hurt. Be kind and listen to others.

Did you ever know anyone who wanted all the toys for himself or herself and wouldn’t share? How did you feel about that person?
Do you know anyone who thinks he or she has to be the boss all the time? Does that person listen to you? Is he or she nice?
Can you think of a time when you tried to tell someone about an idea you had and that person didn’t listen?

Story:
Discussion:
What happens if you keep ignoring people and don’t listen to what they are saying? You “crash” and nobody wants to play with you anymore. Everybody is important.

Activity:
Make turtles. Use margarine or some such for the shells and glue on head, legs and tail made of construction paper or colored poster board.
If time permits, the children can act out the story with their turtles. They can take turns being the turtle on the bottom so each gets the idea of what that feels like.

Preparation:
Poster board, tape and glue, construction paper in a variety of colors, perhaps some glitter and spangles.

Lesson:
You are the way you are because that’s how you should be. Be careful what you wish for – you may et it. Too many things can be a problem (if you have to care of them all) and you don’t need everything another person has.

Introductory questions:
Did you ever want something that turned out to be a lot of trouble once you got it?
Did you ever get greedy and eat too much candy?

Story:
Discussion:
How could things have been better for Gertrude if she hadn’t been so greedy?
Was Gertrude really prettier with all those feathers?
Does being prettier than others make you better that them?

Activity:
Make Gertrudes using poster board and construction paper feathers. Perhaps a detachable long tail can be made to show that she’s much easier to play with when she has just the little tail.
Another option is for the teacher to make a big Gertrude to hang on the wall and the children make the feathers for her long tail.

Introductory questions:
Have you ever wished you could be just like somebody else?
Did you ever think someone else was better than you because of curly hair, blue eyes, etc., and think that you would be happier if you could change just that one thing about you?

Story:
Discussion:
What made Star-/belly Sneetches better than Plain-Belly Sneetches?
Imagine a situation in which people think people with curly hair are better that those with straight hair. Would you really be different if you got a perm? (p 13)
Is trying to look like other people a geed way to get along with them and make them like you?
What is a good way to be a friend?
What do you like about your friends?

Activity:
Write a poem together and print it on a great big sheet of paper. When it is completed, the children can draw illustrations around the edges.
A good way to write a poem is to ask the children to think of a sentence on the topic (friends). Then the teacher chooses one and the children think of words which rhyme with the last word in the sentence. The second line is then generated from the last. The poem will be in AABBCC form.

Preparation:
Provide materials to make elephant birds in plastic (those that are available for candy at Easter) of in eggs made of two layers of construction paper with little doors in the top layer.

Lesson:
Do the job right. Plan and stick with it. You will be proud of yourself! Especially if it’s a job you didn’t think you could do.

Story:
Discussion:
What did Horton do to get ready to do the job of sitting on the egg?
What made the job hard for him to do?
What do you think of Mayzie?
Did you ever have friends try to talk you out of doing your job – like try to keep playing when it is time to pick up?
What was Horton’s reward for trying to di a good job?
What reward do you get when you do a good job?
Remember, feeling good about doing the right thing is a reward!
Tell about a big, hard job that you have done.

Activity:
Make little elephant birds to fit in small plastic eggs. Kids can color paper creatures drawn by the teacher, and glue on the wings. The elephant birds can be attached to the eggs by means of small strips of accordion-folded paper, and then they will pop out of the eggs.

Preparation:
Bring parachute or large blanket for game. Or provide toothpicks, string or thread, and 3” diameter circles of Kleenex or tissue paper to make clovers.

Lesson:
Every voice counts. We need the little people. Even people who are different have rights. Cooperation gets things done.

Introductory questions:
Did you ever have someone give you a hard time just because you were smaller than that person?
Did you ever have to help someone who is smaller than you?
Have you ever accomplished something big because you cooperated with someone else?

Story:
Discussion:
How do you think Horton felt when…?
Do you think it was important for Horton to do what he did?
What did cooperation do for Whoville?

Activity:
If space and noise tolerance permit, this is a good time for cooperative games with a parachute or blanket – spinning wheel, tent, mushroom. These games don’t work if even one child doesn’t do his/her part. Or games like “In and Out the window”, etc. in which some of the children must be the “props” for the other children.
Or make flowers by inserting a toothpick into the center of several kleenex or tissue paper circle, squeeze the circles from the center so that all the edges come together at the top, and tie the circles securely to the toothpick at the base. A bit of glue will help it stay, a speck can be added to each with a felt-tip pen.

Preparation:
Provide materials to make truffula trees. Thick yellow pipe stem cleaners, straws, or thin dowels would be good for the trunks; polyester fiberfill or cotton balls can be used for the tufts (they can be colored with markers or pastel chalks). These could be stuck into a base of plastilene to make a ‘forest’.

Lesson:
The interdependent web of life. We all are responsible for the caring of the environment.

Introductory questions:
Did you ever go to play in a park?
What would happen if someone came into the park and cut down all the trees?
Or left trash from their picnics just sitting on the tables?

Story:
Discussion:
What happened to the Brown Bar-ba-loots after the Once-lers cut down the truffula trees? To the Humming-fish? The Swomee-Swans? One thing leads to another.
Why did the Lorax leave a pile of rocks with the word “UNLESS”?
What can be done?
What do you do to help take care of the world we live in?
Litter and recycling are topics the children are familiar with – clean water and clean air may be others.

Preparation:
Get a jigsaw puzzle with about 50 large pieces. Two puzzles might be needed if there are two teachers and a large group.

Lesson:
Know your limits. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Adjust expectations and goals to something reachable.

Introductory questions:
Have you ever had a really big job to do and you felt like you just couldn’t do it?
Have you ever told someone you would do something and then found out you couldn’t do it?
Have you ever made a promise you couldn’t keep?

Story:
Discussion:
Do you really think he really knew how many tigers 30 tigers make?
What did he do when he realized 30 was too many?
Does your room or playroom ever get so messy it seems you could never get if all picked up? What do you do then? How could you make it seem like not such a big job? (Make several small jobs out of it by picking up one category of items (say blocks) first, then another category, etc. Or perhaps you can sing or liaten to a story while you work.

Activity:
Have the class work the puzzle together with an emphasis on sorting, making the job easier by first finding the edge pieces, then sorting colors, etc.

Preparation:
Provide drawing materials.
Provide tiny yarn balls or cotton balls, glue, paper to make worms, and felt and yarn to make faces and antennae.

Lesson:
Don’t brag. Unnecessary competition is useless. You don’t have to be better that others – you’re special just because you’re you. The perils of exaggeration – people won’t believe you.

Introductory questions:
Did you ever have someone try to convnce you he or she could do something without being able to show you? (My dad can beat up your dad; my bike is better than yours because it cost more; etc.)
How do you know that someone can do a particular thing (like ride a bike or read)?

Story:
Discussion:
What did the bear say he could do? The rabbit?
How does one animal know that the other has done what he said he did?
Can we check on it?
Why does the worm say the rabbit and the bear are fools?
What are you good at? Can you show us? Can we check it?
Why did the bear and the rabbit get into this silly competition anyway?
They forgot that everybody is okay!

Activity:
Draw a picture of something you are good at or something you like about yourself that makes you special.
Make a worm by gluing yarn balls on to a strip of paper.

Lesson:
Should you always do what other kids tell you to do?
Do you have to do something because “everybody’s doing it”?

Introductory questions:
Do you know any people who always want other people to do everything for them?
What kinds of things do they ask others to do that they really ought to be doing for themselves?
What do you think of people like this?
Would you like to be this kind of person?

Story:
Discussion:
When is it okay to follow the crowd and when isn’t it?
Discuss teamwork – cooperation when there is a good reason.
Everybody is important on a team.

Activity:
If the weather is suitable for going outside, you might try:
Parachute games using a blanket or sheet – make mushroom, tent, spinning wheel, etc.
Games requiring two kids to work together, such as wheelbarrow or 3-legged race.
Indoors: Make a mural on which each child draws one part of the story.

Preparation:
Provide materials to make scary faces – perhaps paper plates and magic markers. Have some string and a hole punch handy if the children turn the faces into masks.

Lesson: Overcoming imaginary fears.
Introductory questions:
What kinds of things scare?
Have you ever been scared of something that wasn’t real, something you didn’t understand? And when you found out more about it and understood it, you weren’t scared anymore?
Have each child tell a story about a time when he/she was afraid of something that they didn’t need to be afraid of.
Focus on imaginary fears – we don’t want the children to get the idea that they should make friends with strangers when they are alone.Story:

Discussion:
Did you ever try to talk yourself into being brave?
Things are scarier when you’re alone – it’s a good idea to get someone to help you confront scary things.

Activity:
Make (draw) a face which looks scary but isn’t because it isn’t real and is controlled by the child. If time permits and the children are interested, each could make up a story about his/her face.

Preparation:
Provide drawing materials. Perhaps also have some decorations on hand, which could be glued to the drawings.

Lesson:
Don’t let your imagination run away with you!
Introductory questions:
Did you ever imagine something you didn’t like? (Like bugs in the bed)
Do you ever call for help from your Mom or Dad when you are thinking about something scary?

Story:
Discussion:
You can use your imagination to think up good things to?
What kinds of things have you imagines or can you imagine?
Did you ever need help with your imaginings?
Who helped you?

Activity:
Draw something you imagine – something scary and something nice. Tell about your drawing.

Preparation:
Provide plastic lids or cardboard circles, aluminum foil, construction paper ‘ribbons’, yarn, materials for making interlocking circles on the foil.

Lesson:
The importance of flexibility, compromise, considering options, being able to change.

Introductory questions:
Did you ever get into a fight with a friend because you wanted to play your way?
Were you ever really stubborn?
What jobs to adults have in which they have to work together? (pilot and control tower; waitress/waiter and cooks, etc.)
How do countries get into trouble when they are stubborn?

Story:
Discussion:
What could they have done instead?
Could they have solved this problem?
Do they look happy? Are they having any fun being stubborn?
Did either of them get what they wanted?
What can be done if two children want the same ball at the same time and they both grab it at the same time?
Role play two children working out such a problem (crayons and paper; one jump rope; one cookie; etc.) and have them tell the group what they did.

Activity:
Play a game which required cooperation, such as hide-and-seek in which a small object is hidden and the children assist the searcher by clapping softly when s/he is far from the object and getting louder when s/he approaches it.
Make a cooperation medal using a plastic lid or round piece of cardboard covered with aluminum foil and attaching a construction paper ribbon. Make two interlocking circles in the center of the medal (two circles of white glue with glitter sprinkled on then will do.)