Seasons Four

I just read a funny article about homeschool curriculum called Spring or Fall.

The article discussed the seasons and then taked about the Suess story about Oobleck, the king who wanted a fifth season. He worked with his court magicians and of course, because of his foolish pride and hubris and his attempt to fool with Mother Nature, disaster ensued. Only in the depths of crisis and remorse does he understand the tragedy and say the magic words: "I'm sorry". Which fixes the situation.

In terms of literacy, this article raises the question about the authenticity of the Suess books which are both great stories about also rhyming with simple vocabulary. And I quote:

Anybody remember the story of the king who wanted a fifth season with something more than sun, leaves, snow, and rain? It was a Dr Suess book with Oobleck, the foolish king wanted something new to fall from the sky. So he had his magicians conjure up oobleck which of course turned out to be a terrible disaster.

Record players for classrooms

I have long wondered where in the history of teaching reading and literacy, the Suess books belong. Are they consider decodable readers with no intrinsic value? Are they “authentic” literature which pulls students towards literacy?

As part of this bing of question asking, I'll ask this question about Todays Learners.  Are they getting the education that they need to succeed. lLets focus for a sec on 4th and 5th grade:

Studying words, if done as part of an overall approach to meaningful education, provides a useful time-proven approach. Avoid trivia, use lists as a way to identify themes and patterns, not for trivia and memorization. Here is an ideas, us ethe  4th grade spelling and vocabulary words lists on SpellingCity.

There are in fact all sorts of lists to help with fourth grade study.

• 4th grade math vocabulary
• 4th grade science vocabulary such as matter, motion, and scientific inquiry
• 4th grade social studies and geography vocabulary