Subject: Critical Thinking
1. Topic-
Dr. Seuss and Politics
 
2. Content-
Dr. Seuss is well known for his entertaining children's books however, when one takes time to re-read those beloved childhood tales more complex themes and ideas begin to appear. The best examples of these hidden messages can be found in some of his most iconic works such as The Lorax which discusses the importance of environmental conservation, The Sneetches, which discusses the importance of multiculturalism and denounces racism, The butter Battle Book, which tells the tale of an epic arms, as well as many, many others. In this paper we will discuss some of Dr. Seuss's most celebrated works and the Political themes behind them.
In this Unit students will learn how to decipher context clues and connect themes and ideas in the material they read to the world round them.
 
3. Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
1. Students should be able to draw connections between literature and the world around them

2. Students should be able to consider context and abstract ideas

3. Students should learn to not only think about the meaning and motive behind a text, they should instead learn how to understand why a text is written a certain way and how it help the author portray this meaning/image (Deep reading)
 
4. Objectives-

1. Students should be able to draw connections between themes found within Dr. Seuss' works and the significant historical factors that influenced them

2. Students should be able to identify political themes found within Seuss' works
 
5. Materials and Aids-
Books:

"The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss

"The Butter Battle Book"by Dr. Seuss

"The Sneetches and Other Stories" by Dr. Seuss

"Yertle the The turtle and other stories" by Dr. Seuss

Av/Tech.:

Projector

Access to Seussville.com

Computer access for individual students
 
6. Procedures/Methods-

A. Introduction-

Students will be given a short lecture on Theodore "Dr.Seuss" Seuss Giselle, historically significant events that occurred during his life time, specifically during the publishing of his most well known works
 

B. Development-

1. Students will be asked to think of their favorite Dr. Seuss book as a kid, and explain in a small class discussion why it was their favorite and if/ what they learned from the books. If students did not have a favorite book then they are asked if they can find anything educational about the books and why or why not.
2. Students will do an scavenger hunt in which they look for information on Giselle's political cartoons.
3. In preparation for following assignments students will work in a group and perform a research assignment on modern historical events
 

This Lesson Plan is available at (www.teacherjet.com)