Dr. Seuss Teaches You to Write: Flexible Schedule
In this 9 week flexible course, your student will read/listen to 9 Dr. Seuss books to learn storytelling elements from one of the greatest children's writers of all time. #creative
Janelle Fila
Average rating:
4.6
Number of reviews:(903)
Star Educator
What's included
Homework
1-2 hours per week. Students are assigned a weekly writing assignment and daily puzzles, crafts, handouts, worksheets, questions, jokes or riddles.Assessment
The more assignments that students post and the more creative writing that they share helps me to understand their knowledge and comprehension of the topics we are discussing.Class Experience
US Grade 1 - 3
This class does not meet live. Each week, a prerecorded video introduces students to nine story elements: place and time, setting/description, main character, villain, secondary characters, rhyme, tongue twisters, repetition, and exaggerated tales. In a second video, I read a specific Dr. Seuss book that highlights the weekly theme. Finally, a third video reminds the student of the week's current theme and how it relates specifically to the Dr. Seuss book the students and I just read. Weekly Breakdown: Sunday: students will have access to the new videos and a corresponding one page worksheet that reminds them of some of the topics discussed (it will also have room for notes and picture drawing). Each week, I assign a short writing assignment focused around that week's theme that also has a corresponding worksheet with writing ideas, prompts, and occasionally fill-in-the-blank type story templates. I encourage the students to share their stories in the classroom (so other students may view, comment, and interact as well). During our tongue twister week, I even ask the students to record themselves so we can hear the tongue twisters they've created! This is a fun way for the students to show off their creative talents. I critique submitted work based on an overall view of that week's theme and give lots of support and encouragement along the way! Monday-Friday: I will post an interactive question, riddle, or activity worksheet into the classroom. The questions or activities will pertain to the week's theme and could be about students' favorite characters, creatures, or story settings. The students can check in each day to make guesses, get clues, post their responses and even post their own questions into the classroom. Saturday: The students will have access to a different Dr. Seuss activity, worksheet, or handout. It will supplement their knowledge of the week's theme and how it pertains to their favorite characters. Students will post their assignments in the classroom to show how well they have comprehended the weekly theme. Other weeks might give a Dr. Seuss inspired craft idea and ask the students to post pictures of any crafts they create! Weekly Theme and Dr. Seuss Book: Week One: Place and time/How The Grinch Stole Christmas Week Two: Setting/The Cat in the Hat Week Three: Main Character/Horton Hatches an Egg Week Four: Villain/The Lorax Week Five: Secondary Characters/One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Week Six: Silly rhymes/There's a Wocket in My Pocket Week Seven: Tongue Twisters/Fox in Socks Week Eight: Exaggeration/And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street Week Nine: Combining all the elements into a story (review)/On Beyond Zebra
Learning Goals
Week One: Place and time tells us the physical location and year/era the story takes place. Most of the Dr. Seuss books are set in fantastical places and whimsical worlds. How would Horton Hears a Who be different if it was set in a zoo in NYC or in a South American jungle? What if Mulberry Street was an actual street in your town?
Week Two: Setting takes the story's "place" to a deeper level. Setting is important because it is a more descriptive look at areas like the Grinch's cave and the house where you might find a wocket in your pocket.
Week Three: The protagonist is the main character. Stories generally only have one main character. This character has a specific want or goal that he/she works on trying to achieve throughout the story.
Week Four: The antagonist is the main villain. A lot of Seuss books have imaginary animals and made up creatures as the villains. We will talk about students' favorite villains and what makes these characters so compelling.
Week Five: Secondary characters are not less important than main characters! In Dr. Seuss books, often the main character has a team of friends to help solve the story's main problem. How do these characters add to the story? How would the story be different without these groups of supporting characters?
Week Six: This week the focus is on silly rhymes. I encourage the students to make up funny (sometimes nonsense) characters like the Nooth Grush on the tooth brush.
Week Seven: Tongue twisters are hard to read but fun to hear! We will explore the world of Fox in Socks and the Tweetle Beetles and see how many of our own wacky, confusing stories we can create.
Week Eight: Whoppers, tall tales, fairy tales, and fables all revolve around exaggeration. This week we will practice writing wildly imaginative stories that turn "minnows into whales."
Week Nine: Dr. Seuss' writing can be funny and full of laughter. This week I will remind the students of everything we've learned so far and focus on putting it all together in a story.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
In 2021, publishers announced they would stop printing some Dr. Seuss books for racially insensitive imagery. One of those books is And to Think that I Saw it on Mulberry Street, which shows the image of an Asian person wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl. When I read this story, I skip over the line "a Chinese man who eats with sticks," but the students will still be exposed to the image. A second book affected is On Beyond Zebra. The students will be exposed to a character called the “Nazzim of Bazzim” which some consider a stereotype of a foreign culture (specifically the Arab/Muslim culture and religion).
Supply List
Students are not required to have any previous experience with Dr. Seuss. They do not need their own physical copy of Dr. Seuss books as I will read the books aloud in a video, although they are welcome to read their own books should they have a copy of the week's story. Students may want access to a printer to print out the handouts and a camera or scanner to upload any handwritten documents.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined June, 2019
4.6
903reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Spalding University
I have a Master's degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults. During grad school, I read a lot of picture books, but no one can compare to the master, Dr. Seuss. There is so much valuable information to be learned from him about storytelling. As a child, I grew up reading about the Sneeches, the Lorax, and Marvin K. Mooney. I believe a lot of my creative abilities come from reading these books as a child. I hope to pass on my love for Dr. Seuss and use students' enthusiasm for his books to teach writing and grammar in a fun and engaging way. Reviews
Live Group Class
$5
weekly or $40 for 9 weeks9 weeks
Completed by 13 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 6-9
