"This Plus That" Addition and Dr. Seuss FREEBIE!

My school celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday today through a school-wide event we called "Wacky Wednesday."  Oh what fun it was!  Each class had a guest reader, many from the community.  Our reader was our school principal - also known as "The Cat in the Hat!"

He read my kiddos And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Dr. Seuss' first published book.

After the story was over, my students used this mentor text as an example in order to create their own classroom book, which we titled And to Think That We Saw It on Wisconsin Street since our school is located on Wisconsin Street.

(By the way...I would be happy to post this book cover on TPT.  However, it is specific to the street my school is located on.  I can certainly give you the Word document to edit, if there is any interest.)

The students completed this writing activity by first writing the high-frequency words "I see a..."  Next, the students had to think of and write a rhyming phrase in order to complete their sentence.  For example, one student wrote "I see a fish in a dish" and another studnet wrote "I see a dog on a log."  Finally, the students illustrated their pages.  I combined the pages in order to create a classroom book, which I have displayed in our hallway.

If you would like a copy of this writing template FREEBIE, go to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store by clicking HERE!

One of the awesome Kindergarten teachers I work with had her kiddos make these "-at" family word "Cat in the Hat" hats last year and then I saw the idea again on Pinterest.  Click HERE to go to that pin!

My Kinders loved their hats, but they especially LOVED when we painted whiskers and a red nose on our faces (though you cannot tell from this picture...sad).

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My students recently wrapped up their "Addition" unit in Math class.  I was so excited when the book This Plus That: Life's Little Equations by Amy Krouse Rosenthal arrived at my doorstep.  I love using this book to teach the idea of adding and joining groups!!  I originally saw the idea for this lesson on Pinterest.  Want to check it out?  Click HERE!  The idea came from Literacy and Laughter.

My students brainstormed and shared their own "this plus that" addition sentences and we wrote them on chart paper.

Then, my kiddos went back to their desks to work on writing and illustrating their own "this plus that" addition sentences.  Here are a few especially interesting ones!

cat + dog = fight

you + me = us

boys + girls = kids

chocolate + milk = chocolate milk

The baby in my belly prompted me to write this one:  Oreos + milk = yummy snack

I highly recommend posting your district targets or standards whenever you hang something in the hallway or your classroom.  It is easy for us teachers to see the academic connection in these fun activities, but it may not be so easy to figure out for visitors in your school.

That is it for now!  As always, thanks for stopping by!