Read Across America Celebrations

Each year, our school does something to celebrate Read Across America Day. (If you want more information, click here.) This year, we decided to host a different Dr. Seuss book each day through out the week leading up to his birthday on March 2nd. Each morning, our principal read an excerpt from the book for the following day, and shared how kids could participate in the fun. Here’s how our campus decided to have some fun:

Friday: Before our week-long celebrations started, we highlighted the Dr. Seuss book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and encouraged kids to wear red and blue on Monday.

Monday: We read an excerpt from the book Fox in Socks, and encouraged kids to wear their crazy socks on Tuesday.

Tuesday: We read a small part from the book Wacky Wednesday, and encouraged kids to wear their wackiest clothes (backwards, inside out, etc.) on Wednesday.

Wednesday: We read from the book Green Eggs and Ham, and encouraged kids to wear the color green on Thursday.

Finally on Thursday: We read from the book The Cat in the Hat, and encouraged kids to wear stripes and their favorite hat.

While teachers celebrated Read Across America in their own way in their classrooms, I decided to create some fun stations for the kids to celebrate literacy in the library. Here’s what I did:

Station #1: Explore the Dr. Seuss Website

Let kids explore the books, games, and activities here at http://www.seussville.com/

Station #2: QR Code Reading

Scan the QR codes and listen to a variety of books.
If you search on TpT for different QR code listening centers you can find some on Dr. Seuss books as well as a variety of other stories.
Example of QR Codes available here.

Station #3: Mixed Up Animals

Have kids draw their own crazy animals or use Slide 9 to create their own ”Mixed Up Animal Puzzle”.
Let kids build their own wild self here at: http://www.buildyourwildself.com/

I also created this page for kids to create their own crazy, mixed up zoo animals.

Station #4: ABC’s of Dr. Seuss

Have kids use resources (books, websites, and databases) to see if they can find something about Dr. Seuss to fit in each block from A to Z. (Slide 12)
You can find an example answer key here.

I created this page for kids to record their answers about Dr. Seuss.

Station #5: Door Knob Hanger

Have kids create their own “I’m busy reading” door knob like the one found here.

I created my own doorknob page for kids to decorate.

Station #6: Dr. Seuss Story

Give kids the list of 236 words that Dr. Seuss used to write The Cat in the Hat, and have them try to come up with their own story. (You can find the list here.) This activity goes great with the book Imagine That: How Dr. Seuss Wrote The Cat in the Hat.

Station #7: My Favorite Book Is…

Have a selection of Dr. Seuss books and let kids vote on their favorite.
An example of a “Battle of the Books” can be found here at and the stickers can be found here.
You can also let students record their favorite Dr. Seuss book and tell why they like it using FlipGrid or another video app.

I created a poster page for kids to fill out and hang up around school.

Station #8: Learn to Draw
- Have students practice drawing their favorite Dr. Seuss characters on blank bookmarks.
- An example can be found here at Art4Kids.

If you are interested in using these stations, you can find them here on my website or at my TpT store here. As I come up with new stations, I will update this activity and then all you have to do is re-download it!

I saw some other really cool ideas that I want to try next year. The first one comes from The Tutu Teacher @Thetututeacher. I love how she highlights alternative themes for books, and brings in more diverse books. You can find the posters that she shares here.

I also love the idea of connecting the Read Across America celebration with having kids envision their future college or travels like Butler Avenue School PTO did.

What fun activities did you do with your kids to celebrate Read Across America? I’d love to hear from you!