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Getting
Started
A joyous ode to personal fulfillment and a wonderfully wise graduation
speech from the one-and-only Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You'll Go!
addresses life's ups and downs, encourages readers to find success within,
and explores the power of choices and decision-making.
Read
Across Ages
This Seuss favorite can be used to teach children of all ages about life's
challenges and occasional pitfalls, and goals and aspirations. Begin by
conducting a class read-aloud. Older students could pair up with younger
students, or high school and middle school students could read to elementary
students. This is also an excellent opportunity for local community members
to read to children and discuss career choices.
Choices/Making
Decisions
Older Students - Dr. Seuss talks about the perils of "a most
useless place—The Waiting Place." Ask students what they think
he means by this statement. Why is it important to make proactive decisions
instead of waiting for something to happen? Have students share examples
of times in their lives when they made a decision and a time when they
might have avoided making one. Ask them to discuss the consequences of
both.
Younger Students - Show examples of the many times in the book where Dr. Seuss talks about choices. Explain how we make decisions all day long. Brainstorm with the class a variety of scenarios where they would have to make a decision. For example, ask students if they would ever talk to a stranger. Why, or why not? Discuss how decisions can have repercussions.
Challenges
For All Students - Dr. Seuss makes reference to "Life's Great
Balancing Act" when writing about life's challenges. Ask students
to write a journal entry about a time in their life that presented them
with a great challenge. Why was it so challenging and how did they overcome
the obstacle? You may want to hold a discussion about role models, such
as news personalities, celebrities, or historical figures, who have been
faced with challenges and found a way to rise to the occasion.
Careers
For All Students - Ask community members to come to class and share
the particulars of their profession. Have students rotate from room to
room to learn about a variety of professions. Ask students to further
research those careers in which they have the most interest.
Cumulative
Activity
Host a Career Day, where younger students come to school dressed as what
they want to be when they grow up. Older students can present one or two
possible professions they may want to explore after graduation. Have them
share their reasons for choosing that path and the steps involved in achieving
their goal.
Oh,
the Places You'll Go!
For All Students - Ask students to select
a special place they would like to visit, such as a museum, a national
landmark, a capital city, or a country. Have students research their selected
place by using library resources and the Internet, including location,
climate, culture, history, etc. Students can write either a report or
a press release announcing interesting facts about their selected place.
On a world map, measure the mileage to and from each location and use
push-pins to denote all the places they'll go!
Copyright
© 2001 Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.