Created by Ms. Brayer
The Real Dr. Seuss
You have probably heard of Dr. Seuss. Have you heard of
Theodor Seuss Geisel? Ted Geisel used the name Dr. Seuss
when he wrote The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham .
Ted Geisel did not start out as a children’s author. At first, he
wrote for adults. He also drew cartoons. On a trip in 1937, Ted
Geisel wrote his first book as Dr. Seuss. He used the name
Seuss because it was his middle name. He used the title of Dr.
because his father wanted him to be a doctor.
In 1954, Ted’s boss read an article about problems children
were having learning to read. The article said that children’s
books were boring. Ted’s boss gave him a challenge. Could he
write a book children would enjoy using only 250 words? Nine
months later, Ted gave his boss The Cat in the Hat . The book
used only 220 words. It was an instant success.
In 1960, Ted was given another challenge. Could he write a
children’s book using only 50 words? Yes, Green Eggs and Ham
was the happy result.
When Ted Geisel died in 1991, he had written more than 44
books. More than 200 million copies had found their way into
homes and hearts around the world.
Created by Ms. Brayer
Created by Ms. Brayer
Created by Ms. Brayer
Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Put a star
beside any important information,
underline any words you don’t know, and
put a ? next to anything that confuses you.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Identify the
main idea and supporting details in the
passage. What do you notice about the
supporting details?
Wednesday: Reread the passage. What did
you learn about Dr. Seuss? What surprised
you most? What questions do you still
have?
Thursday: Answer the questions about the
text. Provide text evidence when necessary.
U2W1
Created by Ms. Brayer
MONDAY:
Use annotations discussed in class on the text.
Write out any questions you have below:
TUESDAY:
I Noticed:
WEDNESDAY
Created by Ms. Brayer
Moving Time
It was time for Ayasha’s family to close up their summer camp. All
summer they had lived in the woods in their little round hut. It had
a bent wood frame and was lined with bark from birch trees.
Ayasha had played outside most days. She had fished and swum
and made toys from leaves and pebbles and sticks.
Now she and the others would move back to their winter cabin in
the town beside the river. The winter cabin was a rectangular
building made from flat planks of wood just like the Europeans
used. Ayasha’s people were Ojibwe. They moved each season to
a new home. The Europeans stayed in town all year. She did not
know why they did that—it seemed so boring—but that was what
they did.
Ayasha helped pack up her family’s belongings. She was sad the
summer was over. Soon all the wonderful colors would be gone,
and all she would see was white, grey, brown, and black. How
awful! Winter was so cold. It was like a mean trader, she thought,
who would not give free candy even to a child. She wished there
were a way she could make summer last forever.
Created by Ms. Brayer
Created by Ms. Brayer
Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Put a star
beside any important information,
underline any words you don’t know, and
put a ? next to anything that confuses you.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Create a
double bubble or a top hat organizer to
compare and contrast these two topics.
Wednesday: Reread the passage. Would
you prefer the summer or winter cabin?
Use the text to support your opinion.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the
text. Provide text evidence when necessary.
U2W2
Created by Ms. Brayer
MONDAY:
Use annotations discussed in class on the text.
Write out any questions you have below:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY
Created by Ms. Brayer
Simon’s Pets
My friend Simon is lucky. He has a saltwater fish tank with many
kinds of fish. The salt water means that Simon can keep tropical
fish, the colorful fish that live in the oceans.
Simon’s three favorite fish are Annie, Red, and Polly. Annie is a
clown fish. She is orange with white wavy stripes on each side.
Annie is shy and likes to hide near the “live rocks” at the bottom
of the tank. Simon says that the live rocks are like living filters
that keep the water clean.
Red is a flame angel fish. He is bright red with black bands on
each side. Whenever Simon comes near the tank, Red comes to
the side because he thinks he will get something to eat.
I like Polly the most. She is orange with bright green squiggly
lines all over her. Simon says that he can have only one of these
fish in the tank at a time. Simon doesn’t know why, but that’s
what his fish book says.
Simon and I like to spend time watching the fish and reading
about how to take care of them. It’s my favorite hobby too.
Created by Ms. Brayer
Created by Ms. Brayer
Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Write down answers to the
following: a connection you can make to
the text, a question you have, and an
inference you can make about the main
character.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Based off the
information in the text, what conclusions
can you draw about Simon and the
narrator?
Wednesday: Reread the passage. What are
some questions someone should ask
themselves before getting a pet?
Thursday: Answer the questions about the
text. Provide text evidence when necessary.
U2W3
Created by Ms. Brayer
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY
Created by Ms. Brayer
Eduardo’s Seashells
Eduardo is a “sheller.” That’s the name for a person who picks
up seashells. He lives in Florida, so there are many beaches
where he can look for shells that have washed up on the shore.
All he needs is a pail and some shoes to protect his feet. He
also reads books about shells so that he can learn their names.
Eduardo has many ideas about how to display his shells. He
puts some shells around a picture frame. With his mother’s help,
he makes holes in some shells and puts them on a string. His
mother thinks the shells look like jewels, and she likes to wear
them around her neck. Eduardo gives some shells to his friends.
They use them to make their fish tanks look more natural.
Eduardo’s favorite idea for the shells is to fasten them to pieces
of wood he finds on the beach. He hangs these pieces on the
wall in his room. He likes to lie on his bed and look at them.
Eduardo knows that there are many more ideas for using shells,
but he already has a good start.
Created by Ms. Brayer
Created by Ms. Brayer
Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Write down
answers to the following: a connection you
can make to the text, a question you have,
and an inference you can make about the
main character
Tuesday: Reread the passage. What is the
author’s purpose for writing this passage?
Use evidence for the passage to support
your thinking.
Wednesday: Reread the passage. What
conclusions can you draw about Eduardo?
Use the test to support your answer.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the
text. Provide text evidence when necessary.
U2W4
Created by Ms. Brayer
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY
Created by Ms. Brayer
It’s for the Birds
Sometimes I just do not understand Julie. She loves to watch
birds! She has four bird feeders in her yard, and the birds are
always flapping around making a lot of clatter. Then Julie and
her friends stand around watching and listening to the birds.
They won’t move or talk because the birds will fly away.
Julie even bought a machine that makes bird sounds. Now it
seems as if I hear bird noises coming from inside her house too.
Sometimes her friends from the bird club come to her house to
plan new birdwatching trips or to look at pictures of birds from
earlier trips. Last year, the club went to a beach in Texas to
watch birds for three days. When I asked Julie if she went
swimming while she was at the beach, she said that she didn’t
have time. I just don’t understand how she could be at a beach
and not go swimming.
Last spring Julie made houses for the birds. I saw the eggs and
the baby birds after they hatched. Now there are even more
birds!
There are many things I don’t understand, but I hope someday
to have a hobby like Julie’s.
Created by Ms. Brayer
Created by Ms. Brayer
Weekly Reading Homework
Monday: Read the passage. Put a star
beside any important information,
underline any words you don’t know, and
put a ? next to anything that confuses you.
Tuesday: Reread the passage. Identify the
main idea and supporting details in the
passage. What do you notice about the
supporting details?
Wednesday: Reread the passage. Identify
the type of text structure used in this
passage (compare/ contrast, problem/
solution, sequence, description, cause and
effect). Explain how you know.
Thursday: Answer the questions about the
text. Provide text evidence when necessary.
U2W5
Created by Ms. Brayer
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY
Created by Ms. Brayer