March 2nd is a very important date in classrooms all over the U.S.; not only is it National Read Across America Day, but it’s also widely considered “Dr. Seuss Day,” in honor of the children’s book author and illustrator. What better way to celebrate than with some fun Dr. Seuss crafts? Personally, I think art making is a wonderful way to pay tribute to the writer and artist. There are so many crafts that incorporate aspects of his wacky worlds while including the elements and principles of design and introducing art language to students—which, in turn, helps them grow in their art literacy!
One amazing thing about Dr. Seuss’ work is that it’s the perfect platform to easily introduce artist language to young students. You see, art has its own language—called the “elements and principles of design.” When you talk about art, it’s really just describing what you see in artworks, such as color, shape, form, line, etc. And Dr. Seuss books are loaded with bright colors, shapes, lines, and crazy images to use as a springboard for discussing and introducing art language!
I know that teaching art language can be confusing and maybe even overwhelming, but I promise you, it’s not as hard as you think. In fact, it can be a fun experience for you and your students! Teaching art language is as simple as 1-2-3.
- Read a Dr. Seuss book
- Point out the elements and principles of design (using basic art language)
- Follow up with Dr. Seuss crafts or art activities
When you’re first introducing art language to your students, keep things basic and simple. Start by describing what you see when you’re looking at art or what’s going on as you make it. You don’t necessarily need to use exact terms, but words like “color,” “shape,” “texture,” and “line,” can be a great foundation for getting the conversation going.
Here are some examples of how to bring these ideas—while using Dr. Seuss’ books as inspiration—into your art talk.
- “Do you see these green eggs?”
- “Let’s cut out some shapes with scissors; how about we make a square to put our green eggs inside?”
- “Hey, what about making some cool textures, just like the snow in The Grinch!”
- “Let’s make some curved lines and straight lines with paint like in Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
- “How many different colored lines can we do?”
- “Let me show you how to make a brand new color by mixing these two different paint colors. Look, yellow and blue can mix to make green eggs.”
- “What dot colors do you see in Put Me in the Zoo?”
Where to Start: Turn to the Books for Dr. Seuss Crafts & Art Ideas!
Dr. Seuss is known for his surreal character drawings, humor, and imaginative tales. I’ve created some really awesome art projects and art activities, which I teach the kids at my annual summer art camps, that really honor his works. My students get great joy bringing their own version of the beloved books to life through art expression. Here are some Dr. Seuss crafts you can do with your own students!
Put Me in the Zoo Craft Ideas
While this book wasn’t technically written by Dr. Seuss, he did edit it and it is a part of his Beginner Book Collection (and has the same sense of illustrations). The book is all about a very unique leopard who can do amazing things with his spots. After reading the book to your students, invite kids to draw silly animals and then add beautiful, bright polka dots to their doodles using dot stampers (which are really easy to use, relatively mess-free, and come in so many different colors). As they work, you can talk about color and balance, covering the elements and principles of design. (Playing with dot-making alone can also be a great art activity for early childhood students.)
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish Craft Ideas
Use fish stamps or create your own by cutting out pieces of styrofoam in the shape of a fish and provide students with red and blue paint. Again, you can talk about color and balance with this art activity.
The Lorax Craft Ideas
Give students sponges, foil, plastic wrap, race cars, and other non-traditional painting tools and have them create the truffula trees in the book. The different painting materials will create a ton of unique textures, which you can talk about and ask them to describe.
Green Eggs and Ham Craft Ideas
This book is a great way to start kids off with single color mixing. Give them green paint and let them explore all the different tones, shades, and hues that are a part of that single color.
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Craft Ideas
I have so many art activity ideas for Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, I don’t have room to write them all here! (Luckily, if this is your favorite book, I’ve written a whole blog post with special crafts just for this book. You can read that here.) One project, which I think can be adapted to fit any age range, is the colorful plate mobile. Have students color or paint on both sides of a paper plate (you can take the opportunity to read the book to your students while the first side dries), and once they’re done, cut the plate out into a spiral and attach a ribbon at the top. Elementary students can cut their own plates, but you will likely need to do the cutting for early childhood students.
Dr. Seuss Crafts for Any Book
No matter what book you choose for your inspiration, Dr. Seuss’ books are so whimsical and creative. You can see how creative your students can be with a “community mural.” Lay a large piece of paper (such as butcher paper, or even a paper table cloth) on top of a table, and have kids paint, draw, or stamp designs that they think belong in a Dr. Seuss book.
One Step Further: Download My Kids’ Art Language Cheat Sheet
Dr. Seuss had a way with words, and your students can too—at least when it comes to describing their artwork. I’ve created an art language cheat sheet as a FREE resource to help you start using art vocabulary with your kids and in the classroom. You might not realize it, but you’re probably already using some of the Elements and Principles of Design vocabulary words (such as “color,” “line,” and “texture”) already!
Download my Art Language Cheat Sheet for a list of Montessori early childhood and elementary art language terms. I’ve included definitions for each term as well, so you’ll feel more confident using them, knowing you’re using them correctly. I’d even encourage your students to write Dr. Seuss-inspired poems or compositions to describe their artworks, using some of these terms!
To download the Art Language cheat sheet, click here.
A Short Cut Just for You
If you’d like to learn more about all the benefits art offers to children, read my book, Defining Visual Arts. It provides art literacy standards, giving you a guide to what you should be teaching your students. The book also includes more tips for using artistic language, as well as the best art mediums and art projects for kids.
It’s truly a solid foundation to help you teach art in your classroom (in a way that’s stress-free for you, and exciting and fun for your students!). To purchase Defining Visual Arts, click here.
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