Students at Blue Point Elementary spent the week diving into books and activities as part of Read Across America. Read Across America Day has been observed since 1998 and coincides with the birthday of children’s author Dr. Seuss. At Blue Point Elementary, the celebration was expanded into a weeklong event filled with literacy-themed activities and lessons about the beloved author.
Students in grades K-2 began with a read-aloud of “The Cat in the Hat” before heading into Dr. Seuss-themed STEM centers. Inspired by “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,”, students used Legos to create their own red and blue fish. Other stations challenged students to build a plate of green eggs and ham using white and green Lego bricks or recreate the Cat in the Hat’s iconic red and white hat. Students also designed a “nest” large enough for Horton and his egg using blocks and other materials and even tried their hand at building a trap to catch Thing 1 and Thing 2.
Older students in grades 3-5 took part in a “book tasting,” where they explored a variety of genres and discovered new titles they might enjoy reading. Tables were set up with books from different genres, including realistic fiction, mystery, science fiction and fantasy.
Students sampled each book by reading the first few pages, examining the cover and reading the back blurb to get a “taste” of the story. As they rotated through the stations, they rated each book on a tasting sheet and wrote about which ones they enjoyed most. By the end of the activity, students selected the top three books they were most interested in reading and checking out from the library.
The week’s activities encouraged students to explore new stories, think creatively and most importantly, develop a deeper love of reading!
