Horton Hatches the Egg - Tanya Beers

Tanya Beers

IST571: Children's Literature Lit Kit

Book: Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss

Lesson Plan and Selling Tool:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/19eAbw-_m7qNKX6rp3kNoU6jMrxWLZgcsias9qGK6eL8/edit 

Tanya Beers

IST571- Children’s Literature Share Blog post and Selling Tool (poster)

September 8, 2017

Title: Horton Hatches the Egg

Author: Dr. Seuss

Date of Publication: 1940

Lexile Level: 560L

Age Range: 4 to 8yrs.

Grade level: 1st through 3rd Grade

Horton Hatches the Egg is about an elephant named Horton who is asked by a mama 
bird to sit on top of her egg in her birds nest while she flies off and takes a vacation but 
promises to return soon. Through extreme weather and teasing friends, Horton’s devotion 
to his bird egg never wavers and he is rewarded in the end for his devotion in a heartwarming 
way! This is a delightful story about loyalty to those you love and what family really means. 
This book is written in usual Dr. Seuss rhyming fashion that all children love with a positive 
message that will always be relevant.

Lesson for 2nd graders:

Students will be given a list of “after-reading” discussion questions about the reading. The 
teacher will engage in “before-reading” discussion questions with the students that they will 
answer verbally in a class discussion.

Then the students will listen to Horton Hatches the Egg be read to them. Lastly, the teacher 
will read the “after-reading” discussion questions aloud to the students after the reading and 
they will, individually, write their answers down on their question worksheets they were given 
at the beginning of the activity.

Discussion Questions for before reading: I will give a brief description of the book I am going to read to the students then ask these  questions of them:
•	Do you know what it means to give your word?  Discuss what loyalty, or faithfulness  means.
•	Have you ever promised to do something? Did you keep that promise? Are some promises  harder to keep than others? Do elephants lay eggs? What kinds of animals do lay eggs? (Reading to Kids)

I will read Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss to the class.

Questions on the Worksheets that were handed out to students at the beginning of class:

•	What would you have done if you were Horton? Would you have stayed on the egg?
•	Why do you think Horton did what he did?
•	Have you ever been in a situation where you knew you were doing the right thing but  others made fun of you?
•	How do you think Horton felt about the little bird?
•	What would you have told Mayzie if you could?
•	Do you think Horton is a brave? How would you describe his attitude or personality?
•	Do you think he was scared when he saw the hunters?
•	How about the bird? Do you think it was very responsible to leave its egg like that?
•	Where else in movies or cartoons have you seen flying elephants?
•	Did the ending surprise you?
•	What would another good title be?
•	Who should keep the baby? Why? What is the name of the baby? What type of animal  would you call it?

(Reading to Kids)

Learning Standard: Standards for the 21st Century Learner:

1 Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge.

1.1.1- Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge in curricular subjects, and 
make the real-world connection for using this process in own life.

1.1.2- Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.

1.1.3- Develop and refine a range of questions to frame the search for new understanding.

2 Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, 
and create new knowledge.

2.1.2- Organize knowledge so that it is useful.

2.1.3- Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to 
curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations.

2.3.1- Connect understanding to the real world.

2.3.3- Use valid information and reasoned conclusions to make ethical decisions.

2.4 Self-Assessment Strategies:

2.4.1- Determine how to act on information (accept, reject, modify).

2.4.3- Recognize new knowledge and understanding.

3 Share knowledge and participate ethically and productively as members of our 
democratic society.

3.1.1- Conclude an inquiry-based research process by sharing new understandings and 
reflecting on the learning.

3.1.3- Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings effectively.

3.1.5- Connect learning to community issues.

3.2.2- Show social responsibility by participating actively with others in learning situations 
and by contributing questions and ideas during group discussions.

Learning Goal:

Students will evaluate real-life issues in a writing assignment with a worksheet of questions 
based on 

the book, Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss, and the class discussion questions.

Learning Objectives:

1. Students will evaluate real-life issues, verbally and mentally, through class discussion and 
   the worksheet questions (Cognitive)
2. Students will write answers to questions that evaluate emotional issues within the reading
   on their worksheets. (Psychomotor and Affective)

Learning Outcome: Students will be able to discuss and mentally evaluate issues within the reading 

through class discussion and their “after-reading” worksheet questions. Students will be able to apply 

some issues within the reading to real life (loyalty to loved ones, the meaning of family).

Works Cited:

American Library Association (ALA). The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) 
Standards for the 21st Century Learner (2007). Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/
ala.org.aasl/files/content/guidelinesandstandards/learningstandards/AASL_Learning_Standards_2007.pdf.

Dr. Seuss. Horton Hatches the Egg. Random House, 1940.

Reading to Kids. Horton Hatches the Egg (2005). Retrieved from

http://readingtokids.org/Books/BookView.php?pag=3&bookID=00000432. *The questions to this 

lesson are borrowed from this site but the lesson itself is mine that I created.

Selling Tool:

Poster of Horton Hatches the Egg that promotes the movie based on the book.

My Brother Sam is Dead - Tanya Beers

Tanya Beers

IST571: Children's Literature Lit Kit

Book: My Brother Sam is Dead by
James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Lesson Plan and Selling Tool:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eW6GLjlgg7hdU7dhgP4yPaAxfr1RZHVJmSMXFSjstg4/edit 

Tanya Beers

IST 571: Children’s Literature

Share Blog Post – Week 11

 

Title: My Brother Sam is Dead

Author: James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Lexile Level: 770L

Grade Level: 7th – 8th grade

Ages: 12 – 14 years

ISBN #: 0439783607

My Brother Sam is Dead takes place during the American Revolutionary War (1775- 1783). 
The main character, Tim Meeker, feels helpless as he watches the war encroach closer to his 
home and family. Tim’s father and mother are Tories, or, people who are supportive of Britain 
during the Revolutionary War and therefore, are against the war and fighting.

Tim’s older brother Sam is stubborn and thinks that the war if worth fighting. He gets into 
many arguments with his father about it and eventually enlists in the Continental Army to 
fight the British.  The verbal and emotional struggle between Sam and their father makes 
Tim feel like he is in the middle and he struggles with which side to take. This book very 
accurately depicts what the Revolutionary War was like and how it affected citizens during 
that time. It also engages readers to think about moral issues, such as, loyalty, bravery in the 
face of fear, and dealing with the emotional toll of death and pain on a large scale.

Lesson for 7th graders:

Students will do a short research assignment where they will research the Revolutionary War 
and using scholarly books and articles. They will then write a 2-page paper about the main 
aspects of the war (how it started, who was involved, how long it lasted, etc.).

Students will read the book My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and 
Christopher Collier. They will try to identify with the main characters of the reading and 
what it must have been like for citizens and families during the Revolutionary War by putting 
themselves in their shoes. Students will write a 1-2 page journal entry depicting themselves, 
in the first person, as either a Revolutionary War soldier or a family member of a soldier. 
If depicting themselves as a soldier, they must explain why they enlisted to fight the British 
and if they are depicting themselves as a family member they must explain how they feel 
about the war and their relative fighting in it.

Learning Standards:

Common Core Writing Standards Grades 6-12 (Grade 7):

7.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective 
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

a. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and 
introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds 
naturally and logically.

b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop 
experiences, events, and/or characters.

c. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence 
and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.

d. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language 
to capture the action and convey experiences and events.

e. Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences 
or events.

7.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style 
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types 
are defined in standards 1–3 above.)

a. Produce text (print or non-print) that explores a variety of cultures and perspectives.

7.11. Create a presentation, art work, or text in response to a literary work with a commentary 
that identifies connections.

a. Make deliberate, personal, cultural, textual, and thematic connections across genres.

b. Create poetry, stories, plays, and other literary forms (e.g. videos, art work).

(New York State Department of Education).

Learning Goal:

Students will use their research conclusions and their creative writing skills to identify 
with citizens during the Revolutionary War and the main characters in the novel  
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier.

Learning Objectives:

1. Through their research and the reading, students will identify with the citizens of 
the Revolutionary War and the main characters of the reading by writing a first person 
account as a journal entry. (Affective and Cognitive)

2. Students will integrate the historical research information with the reading to influence
their creative writing assignment. (Psychomotor)

Learning Outcome:

Students will identify with the main characters of the reading and the citizens of the 
Revolutionary War through research, the assigned reading, and creative writing.

Works Cited:

Collier, James Lincoln and Collier, Christopher. My Brother Sam is Dead. Simon and 
Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1974.

New York State Department of Education. (2011). New York State P-12 Common Core 
Learning Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. Retrieved from https://www.engageny.org/
resource/new-york-state-p-12-common-core-learning-standards-for-english-language-arts-and-literacy.

Selling Tool: Bookmark of My Brother Sam is Dead.

From: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d0/85/9a/d0859a4adde611f71e8c3d90d85ff5a2--learning-objectives-common-core-standards.jpg