"There's a Wocket in My Pocket" Seuss-Inspired Class Book

“There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” Seuss-Inspired Class Book

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Making class books is a favorite kindergarten activity of mine. Here is a free Dr. Seuss “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” themed class book template you can make with your class.

This activity is all about enjoying the rhymes of Dr. Seuss and recreating our own as a class.

Let me share our interactive writing lesson that led up to this rhyming writing activity and then I’ll share the free download with you. [Jump to activity]

How to rhyme – whole group interactive writing lesson

Originally I created this lesson plan and class book when I taught half-day kindergarten.

We didn’t quite move as fast-paced as we did once we went to a full-day program so you may need to adjust the pacing to match your class.

Anchor chart

We created a step-by-step “how to rhyme” anchor chart as a class.

Since we were really good at rhyming words aloud thanks to these helpful hand motions to rhyme words, we were ready to use what we know about rhyming and apply it to writing words that rhyme.

Ultimately – I want to draw attention to why the rime looks the same and therefore sounds the same and connect it as a strategy to improve their writing.

We broke down how we created rhyming words out loud and got the ideas down on paper.

Teach How to Write Rhyming Words - Interactive Writing Lesson Plan with Dr. Seuss Class Book

We wrote one step of the directions each day on our interactive chart and then spent some time doing a mini word work lesson.

Daily mini-lesson

For the mini-lesson, we’d write a CVC word on the whiteboard.

We would change out the beginning sound and look at how the ending chunk remained the same. You know, this is just like teaching word families.

But do you want to know the coolest thing that came from doing this chart together and four days worth of the same mini-lesson over and over?

On Friday, when we snagged a few precious minutes of choice time (play time) because we finished our entire daily agenda early – half of my class whipped out whiteboards, markers and they were taking their own names, classmates’ names, siblings’ names and changing them into rhyming words.

Boom.

And of course, they were giggling profusely over each other’s silly rhyming creations.

I was reminded of the intrinsic value of allowing students to feel like they’ve discovered things on their own.

Even if it was beautifully orchestrated {wink}

Ginch Teacher Meme - When my plans are going well and my students don't even know they're learning

If I can make them think it was their idea to use their names then I can’t stop them from noticing larger chunks at the ends of words… and making the connection that most likely the pair of words rhyme!

That will be huge for their reading and writing. Seriously.

Now – let’s move onto rhyming and teaching it with a little themed fun.

How to make a Dr. Suess-inspired class book

The plan is to use a simple rhyming words template to create a class book that feels very much like “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket.” Only this book features your students and your classroom.

There's a Wocket in My Pocket Seuss-Inspired Class Book

So, let’s make a “There’s a Flassgroom in my Classroom” book. Here’s how…

Step 1: Read the book

But first, let’s add a little interest to get them hooked.

Read the (affiliate) book, “There’s a Wocket in My Pocket” by Dr. Seuss. Here is a preview of the book in case you haven’t read it yet.

Step 2: Become wockets, vugs and ghairs

You’ve just the book with your class.

Now hook ’em with a question like, “What if we turned ourselves into crazy creatures and went all over the classroom and made our own book?”

They will be so ready to jump in.

But – you can’t just take photos of your students. Well, of course, you could, but if you want to go Seuss-inspired then you need to let them first create.

Here’s what you can do:

Give each child a headband strap or sentence strip and write their name in on the inside.
Put random scraps and stacks of construction paper in the middle of the tables.
Scrounge around for what you can find to let them create: paper, pipe cleaners, scissors, markers, tissue paper squares, leftover die cuts – add those to the piles.

Let them turn themselves into a Seuss-like creature. No rules – just demonstrations.

There's a Wocket in My Pocket Seuss-Inspired Class Book - Take pictures of students

Like you could show them:

how to accordion-fold a paper strip to make it wavy
how to fold a paper over to get more than one cut of an object while only cutting once

Let them create their own headband to transform themselves into a character for your class book.

Step 3: Write a classroom location

Now it’s time to bring the creativity and the writing together. Get your camera ready and have your printed copy of this class book.

Wocket in My Pocket Seuss-Inspired Class Book

Give one page to each child (reading it aloud to them) and have them start thinking about where they could go to match the preposition on their page.

Will they go under, on, next to, etc.?

They have to pick a location in the classroom that matches their location word on the page.
They write that location word (rug, pillows, table, etc.) in both the first and the second box of their page. Phonetically spelled words are the way to go.
They write their name on the back of the paper.

There's a Wocket in My Pocket Seuss-Inspired Class Book Template

Step 4: Make a rhyme

Here’s where you bring in your anchor chart!

They use what they learned from the anchor chart – they erase the first letter of their word in the first box.
Then they change the first letter (replace it with a consonant) to make a wacky sounding word.

In order to have their picture taken, they have to read their rhyming pair – turning in their page like a ticket.

There's a Wocket in My Pocket Seuss-Inspired Class Book Rhyming Activity

Take a photo of the student with their headband on in the location to match what they wrote on their page.

Step 5: Print the photos and finish the book

Print each photo as a 4×6. Black and white, grayscale, regular printer photos – it doesn’t matter for this project.

There's a Wocket in My Pocket Seuss-Inspired Class Book for Kindergarten

The next day (or whenever you get the photos printed) – students glue their photos onto the bottom of their pages and you put them all together to make your class book.

Read your book together and share in the fun giggles. Put it in your library center so kids can re-read it by themselves.