An Easy Horton Hears A Who! Lesson Plan

Happy Dr. Seuss Week! In celebration of this wonderful reading week, I based all my activities on Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss! Let’s get started on this Dr. Seuss-themed lesson plan. 

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Science 

This activity is super simple! Soon your child will be amazed by their super hearing powers, just like Horton! Place something inside an opaque bottle (or plastic eggs), and let your child use their good listening skills, just like Horton, to determine what is inside!  

Some ideas to fill the bottles are: 

– rice 

– beans 

– sand 

– beads 

– marshmallows 

– sprinkles 

– pom poms 

But the list is endless! Afterward, you can open the bottle and check to see if your child is right! 

Math 

Patterns are another math skill that children learn in preschool. The easiest way to learn patterns is to practice finding and making them. Using manipulatives can be very helpful when undergoing this learning process. I have a Canva link to the Clover printables just for you! There are 5 different colors, so your patterns can get as imaginative as Dr. Seuss! 

I recommend starting with a simple ABAB pattern. Afterward, some other patterns your child can practice identifying and making are ABB-ABB, ABC-ABC, and AAB-AAB. 

Art 

I love introducing construction and sculpting to preschool children. Building can help children develop spatial awareness. In addition to strengthening their spatial awareness, children can practice fine motor skills and creative expression with this activity.  

Using the book as a reference, ask your child how the clover might feel. Is it soft and fluffy? Is it bristly or thorny? Once your child identifies the texture of the clover, search your house for leftover materials or fabrics that might feel similar.  

Another good practice is allowing your child to problem-solve when trying to build a clover. How will they connect the top of the clover to the stem? Something I like to say to Evie is, “I am prepared to help you. I need you to try your best first”.  

Music 

The Who’s in Who-ville, had to be very loud to be heard by the other animals. With your child, get out instruments (or make your own), clap, stomp your feet, sing, and be loud so the animals can hear you too!  

Take this opportunity to practice loud and quiet. Ask your child to play softly first and slowly get louder. 

From an experienced preschool teacher, it would be beneficial to have a nonverbal cue for when you need to stop being loud. Before starting this activity, it may be helpful to teach when your hand is open the children can be loud, and when your hand closes it is time to stop. This way, your child is looking at you for visual cues and a noisy activity is still manageable. 

Language 

Now. We cannot celebrate one of my favorite books without discussing the author. Dr. Seuss has a wonderful style and often creates words to make interesting rhymes. If you don’t know what I am talking about, read Fox in Socks. For this activity, I made a rhyming worksheet on Canva. Right now, I’m introducing phonics to my daughter. We are working on letter sounds at the beginning of a word, so it seems natural to talk about the sounds at the end for rhyming. 

Fun fact, Dr. Seuss typically writes in a style called anapestic tetrameter, with 12 syllables per line following an unstressed-unstressed-stressed pattern.  

If your child grasped the concept of rhyming quickly, adding syllables may be the challenge they need in this activity! Can you and your child write a short paragraph like Dr. Seuss? 

Please let me know what you think about this Dr. Seuss-themed lesson plan! Did you and your child enjoy this themed activity? Let me know in the comments! Just a quick reminder, all children develop at their own unique pace. If you are concerned about developmental delays, it is best to seek advice from your child’s doctor. These activities are designed to be done with a parent. Please supervise your child while these activities are being done! 

Looking for more Dr. Seuss Fun? Check out my list of Dr. Seuss lesson plans!