Dr. Seuss is Everywhere!

Noticed anything funny about your Google searches lately? It seems Dr. Suess characters are everywhere - for good reason. March 2nd marked the beginning of Read Across America week - which kicks off with Theodore Geisel's birthday (aka Dr. Seuss). He would have been 105 today.
There are events going on at bookstores across the country (unfortunately not in Alaska) hosting events to celebrating reading and children's literature.

Just because we have no bookstores in our state hosting RAA events does not mean we cannot partake in the fun activities that celebrate reading and Dr. Seuss. For starters, you can visit the Seussville Playground for Dr. Seuss click and play games. Students who are familiar with the Seuss characters can enjoy games like The Grinch Grow Your Heart game, Sneetchball, Sam I Am Says, Fox in Sox Matching game, and others.

One of the highlights on the Seussville site is the Seussville Story Maker, with characters from Horton Hears a Who. Students can choose Seuss-like settings, characters, theme music, scenes for their plot, and very quickly create a fun Seuss-ish digital story.

For more Dr. Seuss integration/celebration, check out the lesson ideas on ReadWriteThink (the site hosted by NCTE and IRA).

A great, comprehensive American History resource

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History for Teachers and Students is a sort of prepackaged US History curriculum that is free online. It has some great resources, lesson plans, and interactives for teaching US History. You can get online quizzes, primary source documents, and TWENTY (yes twenty) very quality comprehensive units of study complete with visual aids and links to additional resources. They've done much of the leg work for you!
One very neat feature is their series of podcasts called Historians on Record, which has famous authors speaking on their favorite US History topics.

Many of the activities and resources on this site not only inform, they also help students find ways to create their own projects for learning.