Activities for Read Across America

Dr. Seuss Hats
You will need one paper grocery bag for each child along with red and white paint and paintbrushes.
If the bags have writing on the outside you can turn them inside out so this is not visible. Turn the bag upside down and place onto the child’s head. Fold up the edges until the bag fits snugly on the child’s forehead.
Have the children paint the hat with red and white stripes to resemble the hat from the Cat in the Hat. This is also a great opportunity to discuss patterns.

Pass It Around Listening Activity
Give a child a stuffed cat toy. Read aloud “The Cat in the Hat”. When the youngster with the cat hears the words “Cat in the Hat” he must pass the cat to his neighbor. That little cat makes its way around the circle throughout the read aloud!

Green Eggs and Ham
Make green eggs for snack by scrambling eggs and putting a few drops of green food coloring in them before cooking. You can serve them with fried ham slices (if you wish the ham to be green as well, add food coloring to the oil before frying the ham)

Wacky Wednesday
This is a fun way to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd! In the Dr. Seuss book Wacky Wednesday children must find all of the “wacky” or unusual things on each page, as you go through the book the more wacky things you will find. Share this book with your students and then have a Wacky Wednesday in your class: have children come to school with mismatched shoes and socks, mismatched clothes, crazy hair, mix up your class schedule or routine, change things in the classroom and see how many wacky things the children can spot.

Graphing Favorite Books Activity
Make a graph of your students’ favorite Dr. Seuss books. Invite guest readers in to read some of their favorites.