Get Ready to Celebrate Read Across America Day!
from NCTE INBOX 2-12-08

Take part in the largest reading event in the United States on Monday, March 3! Gather books and readers for NEA's Read Across America Day, celebrated on or around the birthday of Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. For background on the event and additional information, visit the ReadWriteThink Calendar Entry, and use the following activities to explore reading and celebrate Dr. Seuss with students:

• Reading Everywhere with Dr. Seuss (E)
  As they create a book modeled on the rhythm and rhyme of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, students discover all the special places they can read, in this ReadWriteThink lesson plan. To suggest families try a similar activity at home, tap the Reading Hunt instructions from the ReadWriteThink Summer Activities site.
  
  
• "What Picture Books Do You Recommend for Use in the English Language Arts Classroom?" (M) from English Journal includes an activity based on Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches that asks students to analyze the story and connect it to history, current events, and their own lives. The article includes additional ideas using books by other authors as well.
  
  
• Id, Ego, and Superego in Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat (S-C)
  Read Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat to your secondary or college students to introduce psychoanalytical criticism. The simple examples in the book can then be applied to more sophisticated works that students read.
  
  
• From Dr. Seuss to Jonathan Swift: Exploring the History behind the Satire (S-C)
  Explore the historical allusions behind Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle Book as prelude to a discussion of the history behind a passage from Gulliver’s Travels.
  
  
• "Relationships with Literature" (TE) from English Education describes how preservice teachers reflect on their personal connections to the texts they have read, one student connecting to Dr. Seuss's Great Day for Up. Invite preservice teachers to explore similar issues by reflecting on their own relationships to literature and the importance of encouraging students to build personal connections through events such as Read Across America.
  
  

NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this INBOX is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 2-12-08.

Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, TE=Teacher Education, G=General).

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