An old favorite

Many of my students eventually can break down and read longer words like astonishment or transatlantic. After all, they are phonetically regular and distinctive in appearance. What trips them up are those small words like of, could, from, who. I like to help kids practice those words by using Dr. Seuss books. My favorite is Green Eggs and Ham.

After Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat, which contained 225 words, his publisher Bennett Cerf bet him $50 that he could not write a book with just fifty different words. The author rose to the occasion, not just writing a book that fit the criteria, but managing to write one that has been beloved by children for fifty years. Of the fifty words, forty-nine are single syllables, the only exception being anywhere. Forty-six of the fifty are Germanic words, ones that don't always follow phonetic patterns but are critical to reading. Dr. Seuss switches the order to keep kids (and parents) on their toes: Could you, would you? while the next line may read, would you, could you? Students must pay attention to those little words in this book. And because the words are used over and over again, the student gets plenty of practice with those difficult words. This is also a great example of a book that could be used for phonological awareness, especially for rhyming.

My father, the one in charge of breakfast in our house, occasionally cooked us green eggs and ham. I was never sure whether it was on purpose or due to the copper pan he used. But there are recipes available if you want to cook it for your children. One can also find many extension activities on the web.

Time spent with Dr. Seuss is never wasted time, but it's especially well-spent with struggling readers.