STEMifying Seuss and Seussifying STEM

Dr. Seuss Day  Dr. Seuss Read Across America Day is Friday, March 1,  The day is celebrated to honor Seuss’ birthday, March 2, and to promote reading across the country.

Opportunities for STEM  In the magical world of Dr. Seuss he dreams up the most fantastic gadgets being limited only by his imagination.  Characters in the stories are presented with problems and often need to utilize these contraptions to solve those problems.  This provides the opportunity for your students to step into the story and work together as a team to solve the problem by designing their own fantastic gadget.

The Cat in the Hat  Video reading:  In The Cat in the Hat, the Cat comes to play with the children because they were bored on a rainy day. He unleashes Thing 1 and Thing 2, much to the dismay of the fish, and they make a complete mess of the house. Before they know it, their mother is home and the house is in shambles. They have to get the house clean before their mother sees it!

A Seussian Challenge  Work with your group to design a device, or gadget, that would clean up the house quickly and easily before mom gets home.  You may sketch ideas on paper, but your final design should be drawn on the chart paper.  Your final design should be clearly labeled.  You will present your designs to the class. When you present describe how your device works, the parts, and any special functions which allow it to clean the house quickly and easily.

The Cat in the Hat  This is what Dr. Seuss came up with to help the children solve the problem of cleaning the house.

Your Turn  As a group, select one of the Dr. Seuss books available.  If you need to, read it quickly, then brainstorm with your group one or more activities you could use with your class.  Be prepared to share your ideas with the group.

In Summary  STEM is about students working together to solve problems by utilizing content from different subject areas.  In the primary grades, we can provide the context through storybooks.  The books of Dr. Seuss provide many opportunities for students to really use their imaginations to come up with fantastical creations to solve the characters’ problems.