Kids all over the nation

let their imaginations run loose

every March the second

to celebrate Dr. Seuss.

 

An author so clever,

he leaves teachers glowing,

teaching critical skills

without kids even knowing.

 

You see rhyme is important

as kids learn to read.

Young minds need to hear rhymes

to someday succeed.

 

Dr. Seuss shows kids how

our language is fun.

Playing with words

really gets the job done.

 

So parents, take a hint

from the pages of Seuss

and play games with words.

You can be silly as a goose!

 

Think of all the words that rhyme with kite,

animals that start with the same sound as lion,

change the first sound in your name,

you’ll laugh so hard you’ll be cryin’.

 

Teachers use a big word

to describe all this fun:

phonological awareness

is what all this silliness gets done.

 

A building block for reading

and academic success,

these skills are necessary

and fun to foster, no less!

 

So grab One Fish Two Fish

or The Cat in the Hat,

cuddle up and giggle

now who wouldn’t love that?

 

Friday, March 1, 2013 is the Read Across America Day – hosted annually by the National Education Association (NEA) in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. Raising A Reader MA will be supporting the Read Across America activities and Dr. Seuss birthday party celebrations in as many of its nearly 500 partner sites as possible.

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 Megan Gregory is a doctoral student in Literacy and Language at Boston University’s  School of Education with a focus on young students reading informational text. She currently works as a reading specialist in the Scituate Public Schools and has also taught first and second grade. To contact Megan to learn more about her work email [email protected].