Focus Story
The Cat in the Hat
(and a few other Dr. Seuss favorites)

I like to use these lessons around Dr. Seuss' birthday which is March 2 and, if possible, spread the activities out over more than a week.  Students love the rhyme and imaginative creatures that Dr. Seuss shares in his stories!

The Cat in the Hat

Prior Knowledge: Discuss with students activities that they like to participate in on a rainy day. What types of feelings do they sometimes have on a rainy day?

Introduce the Story: Introduce title, author and illustrator; Read aloud for enjoyment

Comprehension: Discuss the feelings expressed by the characters in the story. Do they seem to like the Cat in the Hat's tricks? Ask students to describe how they would have felt.  Discuss what things the Cat in the Hat did in the house that might have made their mom upset.  Brainstorm ideas for what the characters in the story should have done when the Cat in the Hat entered their home without permission and how the children could have made the Cat in the Hat leave. (This is a good opportunity to discuss safety rules for when you are home alone.) Ask students if they think the boy and girl told their mother about the Cat in the Hat and to explain their answer.

Extensions:

Language Arts:

Word Family Focus 'at'
'at' Word Family Picture Cards (from Webbing into Literacy)
'at' Word Family Riddles (from Webbing Into Literacy)

Fine Motor:

Cat in the Hats
Each student will need the following pieces to make a Cat in the Hat...

3 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches black (to cut whiskers)
1 inch by 1 inch black (to cut a circle nose)
4 1/2 inches by 6 inches black (to trace/ cut the head)
4 inches by 5 inches white (to trace and cut the face)
hat (copied on white paper so they can color 3 strips red and cut it out)

Printable Hat
Printable Head and Face (to make traceable patterns)


Cat in the Hat Wearable Hats Each student will need the following to make a Cat in the Hat Wearable Hat....

1 sentence strip (for the headband)
2 pieces of 3 inches by 12 inches red (for the brims)
2 pieces of 9 inches by 12 inches red (for the main portion of the hat- Students can either trace a pattern and cut or they can round the top two corners.)
4 pieces of 9 inches by 2 inches white (for the stripes- Students glue these on and then trim the excess hanging from the edges.)

Once students have cut and glued the construction paper portions of their hats, they will need an adult to size and staple their headband, to staple the top,  and to staple the bottom of their hat to the headband in two places.

 

Cat in the Hat Edible Hats
Each student will need...

1 Ritz cracker
3 Red Lifesavers (gummy ones would work best)
small amount of white frosting or cream cheese

Students assemble their edible cat's hats by placing the Ritz cracker on the bottom, spreading the white frosting, placing one red lifesaver, spreading more frosting, etc. (alternating the frosting and lifesavers).  Students end up with a miniature Cat in the Hat hat!

 

'Cats in Hats' Companion Rhyme:

Introduce the rhyme: Begin by teaching the rhyme orally as a fingerplay.  Then, introduce the word chart and have students join in the reading by echo reading.

1 cat on a sunny day put on his hat and went out to play
2 cats when the sky was blue put on their hats and went to the zoo
3 cats on a rainy day put on their hats, but had to stay
4 cats when the snow came down put on their hats and went to town
5 cats on a windy day put on their hats and blew away

Extensions:

Language Arts:
Reread and pause for rhyming words.  See how many other words students can say that rhyme with words from the poem (day, blue, down).

Math:
Make into small booklets for students to write in the numbers and draw the correct weather picture. Students will need to write the numeral that corresponds to each set of cats and hats.

Printable Booklet (first 3 pages)
Printable Booklet (Cover and last pages)

The Cat in the Hat Comes Back

• Before reading, review with students what happened the last time the Cat in the Hat came to visit. Do they think that the children will let him in their house a second time?
• During and after reading, ask students to give the characters in the story advice for how to clean up the messes that the Cat in the Hat makes. What do they think the characters should do?  What do students think of Little Cats A, B, C, etc.?  Will they be able to help?  Also, discuss how the Cat in the Hat should have behaved when in someone else's home.

Dr. Seuss's ABC's

• On a repeated reading, let students find things in each picture that begin with the letter mentioned or ask students to think of other items that begin with the same letter.
• Use the Uppercase and Lowercase Letters (printable cats with upper case and lowercase letters on their hats) to help reinforce letter recognition and ABC order.  Students can...
• match uppercase to lowercase letters.
• work in teams and have a race to see which team can place their letters in ABC order the fastest.
• each have a letter and arrange themselves in ABC order.
• Use the Dr. Seuss' ABC (printable sheet) for students to...
• practice handwriting and copy each uppercase letter beside each printed uppercase letter.
• write each lowercase letter next to the corresponding uppercase letter.
• search through newspapers, magazines, and other printed materials to find, cut, and glue the corresponding letter in each box.

The Foot Book

• As you read the story, bring students attention on the many opposites throughout the book. Pause at times to let students fill in the blank with the correct opposite word.
• Let students make patterns from various types of shoe pictures.  (exp. boot, boot, high heel)
• Make a predictable chart with students about what their feet can do. "My feet can...."
• Have students sit in a circle and stretch one leg to show one of their shoes. Students must listen carefully and pay attention to detail as you orally describe a shoe and have students guess which shoe is being described.  
• Have students find matching pictures of shoes and color them the same color.
• Read other books about feet, such as What Neat Feet! by Hana Machotka or All Kinds of Feet by Ron and Nancy Goor.

Yertle the Turtle

• Before reading, ask students to sit or lay with their heads close to the floor and to describe what they see. Then, have them sit up, again describing things that they see. Do they notice anything different now that they are higher? Repeat, with students standing.  How much more can they see now?  What would happen if they were even taller? Ask students to brainstorm ways that they could be higher up.
• During reading-  Ask students to think of ways the King could see more.    How do they think the other turtles that make up his throne feel?  What could some problems be as the King gathers more and more turtles? Do students think that what the King is doing is right? How would they describe the Yertle the King?
• Let students make turtles from two small paper plates. Then let students see how many turtles they can stack on one another before falling!
• Learn about real turtles!

Green Eggs and Ham

• Before reading, talk with students about foods that they like and dislike.
• While reading the story, discuss how the character that keeps refusing to taste the green eggs and ham feels. Why did he finally give in and try the green eggs and ham? What did he find out?
• After reading the story, ask students to make predictions as to whether  green scrambled eggs taste the same as yellow scrambled eggs.
• Let students assist in making green eggs and ham (see directions below) or have an adult cook the eggs while the story is being read  (click here for a quicker, whole group recipe). If you would like your students to be involved in the entire green eggs and ham cooking process, set up recipe direction cards at a few tables. Students form an assembly line and rotate through each station, following the direction cards.  (About three-four adult volunteers would be very beneficial for this cooking project!)
  
  Students will do the following....
  1) Crack one egg into their Styrofoam bowl.
  2) Add 1 Tablespoon of milk.
  3) Use a plastic spoon to stir/beat their egg until bubbly.
  4) Measure 1 Tablespoon of precut ham into their bowl.
  5) Have an adult measure 1/4 teaspoon of green food coloring into their bowl.
  6) Use their plastic spoon to stir.
  7) Pour their liquid egg mixture into an unheated skillet or large bowl.
  
  (Another cooking option would be to divide the class in half with two adults supervising.  One half would crack eggs and the other half would cut ham into small pieces.)
  
• Let students taste their green eggs and ham. Then make a 'Yum or Yuk' graph to show how many students liked/disliked the green eggs and ham.

Rhyming Activities: Lots of rhyming activities go on this week as well- including rhyming bingo, matching rhyming pictures, rhyming riddles, etc.

Favorite Dr. Seuss Books:

Special Readers - Invite parents to come in and read their favorite Dr. Seuss books!

Graph - After reading a variety of Dr. Seuss' books, let students choose which one was their favorite!  Make a graph and see which Dr. Seuss book was liked the most by the class.

Have students use Kid Writing to write about their favorite Dr. Seuss character and use torn paper to make the character!

Focus Story: The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Companion Rhyme: 'Cats in Hats'
Companion Stories: all by Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel / Theo Le Sieg)
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
Dr. Seuss's ABC
Green Eggs and Ham
The Foot Book
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Other Stories that we read during this week:
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut
Hop on Pop

Dr. Seuss On the Loose - ideas for a Family Night (Inside Hubbard's Cupboard!)
Cat in the Hat Mini Unit - from Teaching is a Work of the Heart
Dr. Seuss's ABC -a week long study from Webbing Into Literacy
Cat in the Hat Hats - an alternate way to make the hats (from the Kansas Public Library)
Seuss Graphics
Dr. Seuss -daily activities from Mrs. Fischer's Kinderthemes
Cat in the Hat Connect the Dots -printable
Cat in the Hat Maze -printable
Seussville Gift Tags - gift tags with Seuss characters
Dr. Seuss Who's Who - printable worksheet to match descriptions of characters to pictures of characters
Printable Picture of Green Eggs and Ham
Green Eggs and Ham Tic Tac Toe- printable board and pieces
Doorknob Hanger - printable with Cat in the Hat and the Grinch
Read Across America-  the official NEA Read Across America website
Seussville -online games
Dr. Seuss National Memorial - biography, etc.

Across the Curriculum with Favorite Authors: Dr. Seuss by John and Patty Carratello, Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1992. ISBN 1-55734-450-7