Green Eggs and Ham

In a story about prejudging, Sam I Am tries to get his friend to eat green eggs and ham. Ask students to predict what a drink will taste like before they try it. You will need water, sugar, salt, lemon juice, orange juice, food coloring, plastic cups, straws, paper, and pencils. Mix one batch of each drink: clear (water and sugar), green (orange juice and blue coloring), red (salty water and red), blue (lemon juice, blue, and water), and orange (water and orange). Give students a straw, a paper with "Before" and "After" columns, and a pencil. Have kids write down what they think each drink will taste like under "Before." Next, they can taste each drink and note it in the "After" column. Discuss the results. On what did they base their assumptions?

There's a Wocket in My Pocket 

This silly little book is filled with great Seussian rhymes such as, "Did you ever have the feeling there's a zamp in the lamp?" Following Dr. Seuss's lead, students can create their own rhyming questions. To begin, pair kids up with each other or with adult guests. One person asks, for example, "Did you ever have the feeling there's a kail in your _____?" The other person thinks of a rhyming word, such as "mail," to fill in the blank. The pair can switch roles to see how many rhymes they can make. Pairs can keep a list of their rhymes and share these with the rest of the class.

On Beyond Zebra 

Young Conrad Cornelius O'Donald O'Dell learns from his friend that the alphabet continues after the letter Z! There are many more zany letters, such as wum, yuzz, and thnad. Have students design and name their own letters, and then create words that begin with that letter. Ask them to imagine a creature or object that would fit this word. Keep art supplies on hand so that children may illustrate their words and write a sentence or two about their drawings. The letters can then be compiled into a class dictionary, which can provide a great resource for future creative writing.

Happy Birthday to You! 

In this fun book, the Birthday Honk Honker leads readers on an amazing trip through Katroo, where they really make birthdays special. Have kids make and decorate birthday-cake hats to wear for the day!

1) You will need scissors, tag board, tape, yellow and orange pipe cleaners, yellow construction paper, glue, and markers. Cut out a cake top, 8" diameter, with pencil-point holes punched through for the candles; the side of the cake from a sheet 26" x 4"; and 4 tabs, 2" x 1/2", bent into L's.

2) Join the top and side of the cake together by taping the tabs to the inside of the hat.

3) Cut the pipe cleaners into 3" pieces and twist the colors together. Cut flame tips from construction paper, and glue or tape them to the pipe cleaners to make candles. Push candles through the cake top and bend the ends to hold them in place.

4) To adjust the hat size, cut two slits on the cake "band," overlap, and tape. Then, decorate!

Annabel Wildrick is an education writer based in Gloucester, Mass.