A fifth grade unit based on the the biography
Oh, the Places He Went, a story about Dr. Seuss,
Written by Maryann N. Weidt
Illustrations by Kerry Meguire

Developed by Peter J. Froehlingsdorf
5th grade teacher at Ordean Middle School,
301 N. 40th Ave E. Duluth, MN, 55804
218.525.1913

Rationale:

Students should be aware of the many styles of literature around them, realizing that not all literature is written in a fiction format. By reading the biography Oh, the Places He Went, written by Maryann N. Weidt, and by researching the life of Dr. Seuss, students will further broaden their literature choices, while developing an appreciation for Dr. Seuss and the places they will go!

Overview:

Through the study of Dr. Seuss students will have the opportunity to see the world as Dr. Seuss saw things, "through the wrong end of a telescope." This unit will include examples of Dr. Seuss's writings as well as what has been done to keep the Seuss imagination alive. Students will learn about Maryann Weidt, Audrey Seuss, Random House Publishing, Balboa Park, and the San Diego Zoo and many others who want to make us aware of Dr. Seuss's awesome accomplishments. Over the course of five weeks students or cooperative learning groups will participate in interrelated hands-on activities, short research projects, games , writing activities, and reading.

Objectives

...Students will read the biography Oh, The Places He Went by Maryann N. Weidt.

...Students will write a daily record of their Seuss inspired ideas in a journal.

...Students will communicate about Dr. Seuss with other students.

...Students will create an original character based on a Dr. Seuss animal.

...Students will write a "Seuss" story to share with other classmates.

...Students will research Dr. Seuss using the Internet.

...Students will display their knowledge of Dr. Seuss's life and writings by passing a test at 70% or above.

Time Requirements:

A minimum of five weeks with 40 minute periods each day is needed to complete the activities listed below. More or less time may be needed depending on teaching styles and to what depth the instructor chooses to research Dr. Seuss.

Anticipatory Set:

Before telling students they will be starting a unit of study on the life and works of Dr. Seuss, read Oh, the Places You'll Go! Have the students brainstorm as to what this book is about and why you chose to read it. Next, have the children write a short essay about all they know about Dr. Seuss and the books he wrote. Be sure to give them some prompts and tell them to include videos, T.V. shows, books, etc... Collect these and save them for a wrap-up at the end of the unit. Pass out a copy of Oh, the Places He Went to each student.

Daily Lesson Activity Ideas:

The following is a list of some of the activities and lessons that can be done to go along with Oh, the Places He Went written by Maryann N. Weidt.

Bulletin Boards:

Start a bulletin board time line of the events in the life of Dr. Seuss. Connect each event with string. Allow the students to decorate the board with memorabilia that relates to Seuss. Have the students add events daily according to "Oh, the Places...". Use these events as assessment at the end of the unit.

Reading Activities:

Along with with text readings, assign other related readings such as, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, or stories written by Seuss or about Dr. Seuss.

Have students read in pairs, silently, in reading groups, read aloud, and teacher read alongs to enhance all styles of developing reading fluency.

Use tape recordings of Seuss stories to familiarize students with rhythm and meter of Seuss's work.

Writing Activities:

Have students create Seuss journals or portfolios to go along with their daily readings of "Oh, the Places..." Encourage students to find pictures, magazine articles, newspaper articles, drawings or any other Seuss stuff to add to their journals for interest. Use this as an assessment for a grade at the end of this unit.

Have the students write stories or poetry in the style of "Seuss." Note: This can be difficult, but I found the more we read of Seuss the better we got at writing like him. Low level students should be encouraged to use "Seuss" writing techniques like repeated words or made up words to give success to all writers. I found it was helpful to use a metronome to teach rhythm and meter. Use this as an assessment grade at the end of the unit.

Create a list of vocabulary taken from "Oh, the Places..." perhaps allowing the students to choose their own words. Use these words as assessment tools at the end of the unit.

Pull words from articles, stories, and assigned reading as spelling words for each of the weeks spent on "Seuss."

Write stories for the characters created by the students from Dr. Seuss books.

Creative Arts Extensions:

Have the students create creatures from the stories written by Dr. Seuss. Encourage students to use a variety of mediums such as paper mache', water colors, markers, crayons, and charcoal.

Create illustrations for student created stories in the fashion that Kerry Maguire the illustrator of Oh, the Places He Went , did.

Create short skits based on stories written by Dr. Seuss. Have the children act out the stories in front of other classes, or go to the younger grades in your building and present their work.

Social Studies Extensions:

While reading "Oh, the Places He Went" have the students make a map and time line to represent the journeys and life of Seuss. This can be used as assessment for a grade for this unit.

Use the Internet to locate the Seuss web page. Allow enough time for the students to browse the page and add their names to the guest book (if there is one).

Science Extensions:

Dr. Seuss was wonderful at creating mysterious animals for his stories. Have the students use the creatures to study the animal adaptations Seuss had in mind while he created their surroundings. Have the students write about the complications these animals may encounter with the modifications Seuss gave them.

Have the students create a "Seuss Zoo." As they create this zoo make sure they make the necessary accommodations for the animals. Have them look carefully at the size of the cages as compared to the other animals, the conditions of the cages, the placement of certain animals next to other animals, etc... Have them create a visual layout of the zoo as well as write a proposal as to why their zoo would not cause controversy amongst animal activists as most zoos do.

Evaluation:

Use "big" projects as formal evaluation for this unit.

Have the students present a final report on the life and works of Seuss.

Create a formal evaluation from the generated spelling and vocabulary lists from Oh, the Places He Went

Create a rubric using projects, journals, tests, and other teacher created assignments

Personal Note:

I have found "Oh, the Places He Went to be a biography all my fifth grade students have enjoyed, regardless of their reading abilities or knowledge of Dr. Seuss. Maryann N. Weidt has truly captured Seuss with a flare that any school age child or adult can learn from. As you make your way through this story, I challenge you to "go places" as we did!

Bibliography:

Morgan, Judith and Neil. Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. New York: Da Capo P., 1995.

Weidt, Maryann N. Oh, the Places He Went. Minneapolis, MN. Carolrhoda Books, Inc. 1994.