A Short Dr. Seuss Biography (1) A famous children’s writer the world knows as Dr. Seuss, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904. His real name is Theodor Geisel! (2) When Theodor was young, his mother would chant rhymes to her children to help them fall asleep at night. Dr. Seuss, who many called Ted, said his mom was one of the main reasons he loved to write and rhyme. (3) Ted worked different types of jobs for a long time before he finally got a book published. He began writing for a magazine in college. Soon, rather than signing his name as Ted Geisel, he began using the name Seuss. Seuss was Ted’s middle name, and his mother’s last name before she was married. (4) Ted ended up working and writing ads for an oil business for 15 years, and also helped make animated movies to help soldiers learn during World War II. (5) The first book Ted wrote and illustrated was “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.” That book was rejected 27 TIMES before someone finally had it published. (6) Dr. Seuss went on to become one of the most famous children’s writers in the world. He wrote and illustrated 44 books, and is still one of the most loved authors of all time. He died on September 24th, 1991, and will always be remembered. Copyright 2013 Lyrics2Learn, LLC 1. What does paragraph 1 tell us about Dr. Seuss? a. Ted’s middle name is Seuss. b. He was born in 1904. c. His real name is Theodor Geisel. d. Both B and C 2. How many times did Dr. Seuss fail before his first book was published? a. 37 times b. 27 times c. 72 times d. Dr. Seuss never failed! DOK 2 – Multiple Choice 3. This story is mostly about . . . a. the life of Dr. Seuss b. the life of Theodor Geisel c. the life of a famous writer d. all of these 4. Which of these words BEST describes Dr. Seuss’ style of writing. a. It has rhythm, rhyme and humor. b. His writing is old fashioned, strange and full of real information. c. boring, slow, and without style. d. Quack, Bark, Oink 5. What lesson can you learn from paragraph 5? a. Writing a book is easy. b. Dr. Seuss gave up on his dream. c. Never give up! d. All of these are correct! www.Lyrics2Learn.com DOK 2 ‐ Direction Following and Vocabulary Practice Locate the 3 underlined words in the text about Dr. Seuss. At the top of each box, write the 3 vocabulary words on the lines provided. In the space below the word, draw a picture to show its meaning. Use the text for clues! DOK 3 Constructed Response ‐ Ted’s first book was rejected 27 times before he succeeded, but he never gave up. If you were turned down 27 times for something, how would you feel? Would you keep pushing and trying to succeed? Explain your answers in the space below. Copyright 2013 Lyrics2Learn, LLC www.Lyrics2Learn.com KEY 1 ‐ D 2 ‐ B 3 ‐ D 4 ‐ A 5 ‐ C Read and Respond: Note: This is meant to teach early readers how to discuss and think on what they have read. This includes drawing, writing or talking about why an answer is wrong, correct, or debatable. For some, a written response may be appropriate. For others, drawing pictures and discussing will be valuable. +0 – The student does not answer any part of the question. +1 – The student writes or talks about part, but not all of the answer. When the question requires support, they do not use support that makes sense. +2 – The questions are answered completely and there is an indirect attempt at supporting evidence to go with the answer/s. +3 – All questions are answered completely, and the supporting evidence is direct and based directly on information from the text. Copyright 2013 Lyrics2Learn, LLC www.Lyrics2Learn.com