Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) was an American writer world famous for his rhyming books for children, such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Because his books are often credited with helping children enjoy reading, Read Across America Day is celebrated on his birthday.

You and your class can participate in the activities below or learn more about Read Across America.

Social Media Activities

1. What is your favorite book? Share it with us on Facebook.
2. Write your own poem about reading and share it with us on Facebook.
3. Take the Read Across America Oath and share it with us on Facebook.

Classroom Activities

Reader’s Theater: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Intermediate - Advanced)

Materials:

• At least 1 copy of Chapter 2 adapted for Readers Theater per group. Preferably 1 copy per student.

Instructions:

Divide the class into groups of 7 people. Assign each student a role. Give the students a few minutes to read and practice their parts. Each group should practice reading through the dialogue several times then present their version of the play to the class..

Download an example lesson plan

Additional Classroom Resources

• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Ladder Series
• Chapter 2 PDF
• Chapter 2 Audio Files
• English Teaching Forum Volume 49 Issue 3 Building Fluency through the Repeated Reading Method by Joshua Cohen
• Shaping the Way We Teach English Webinar: An Introduction to Reader’s Theater for EFL Classrooms by Karen de Caballero

Read Across America

Dr. Seuss (1904-1991) was an American writer world famous for his rhyming books for children, such as The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Because his books are often credited with helping children enjoy reading, Read Across America Day is celebrated on his birthday.

March 2nd is Dr. Seuss’ birthday. We celebrate reading - such joy, hooray! What’s the name of this wonder, you say? Why, Read Across America Day! Reading is fun, with so many books. You can meet kings and queens and cooks. Reading engages your students’ minds. Learning is easy, one quickly finds! You could read books about Kathmandu, Or learn about fish or hair or stew! About pocket watches or grandfather clocks, Or how to knit your very own socks! So help your students start right away, And read them a book, right now, today!

In “I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!” Dr. Seuss wrote:

“There are so many things you can learn about but, You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”