Famous People

Dr. Seuss
Pre-Reading
A. Warm-Up Questions

1. Who is the person in the picture?

Dr. Seuss

2. Have you ever heard of The Cat in the Hat?

Yes, on YouTube

3. Which children’s books did you enjoy when

you were younger?

The paper boat

B. Vocabulary Preview

Match the words on the left with the correct meanings on the right.

H 1. illustrator (noun) a) to stay

E 2. publish (verb) b) relating to the government

c) the natural world (land, water, plants, animals, etc.)

J 3. translate (verb)
d) lessons about how to behave well
B 4. political (adjective)
e) to make a book available to the public
I 5. cartoon (noun)
f) in a formal or public way
G 6. consumerism (noun)
g) the idea that people should buy things
C 7. environment (noun) h) someone who draws pictures
for books, magazines, etc.
D 8. morals (noun)
i) a humorous or exaggerated drawing
A 9. remain (verb)
in a magazine, newspaper, etc.
F 10. officially (adverb) j) to change words from one language to another
Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. (LOW INT / VERSION 1.0) 1
 Dr. Seuss
Famous People

Reading
ABOUT DR. SEUSS

1. Dr. Seuss was a writer and illustrator who was born in Springfield,
Massachusetts, in 1904. His real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel.

2. Although he originally wanted to be a professor, he became famous

for his children’s books like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
During his lifetime, he published over 60 books, which have been
translated into 20 languages!

3. During World War II, Dr. Seuss took a break from writing children’s
books in order to create political cartoons.

4. Dr. Seuss was against consumerism and cared about the

environment. All of his children’s books were intended to teach kids to have good morals.

5. Although Dr. Seuss died in 1991, his books and illustrations remain
very popular with both children and adults. In fact, his birthday
(March 2) was officially named National Read Across America Day.

Writing
MY KNOWLEDGE

Copy one sentence from the reading that goes under each category. More than one answer is possible.

1. Nationality
. Dr. Seuss was a writer and illustrator who was
born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904.

2. Books
He became famous for his children’s books like
The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. During his lifetime,
he published over 60 books, which have been translated into
20 languages!

3. Ideas
Dr. Seuss was against consumerism and cared about the
environment. All of his children’s books were intended to
teach kids to have good morals. “A
person’s a person,
4. Birthday
his birthday(March 2) was officially named National Read Across
no matter how small.”
America Day. —Dr. Seuss

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. (LOW INT / VERSION 1.0)
2
 Dr. Seuss
Famous People

Comprehension
A. True, False, or Not Mentioned?

Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside the
sentences. If it is false, write F and correct the information in your
notebook. If it is not mentioned, write NM.

T 1. Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1904.

F 2. His books have been translated into 60 languages.

T 3. Green Eggs and Ham was his most famous book.

F 4. His political cartoons were anti-war.

T 5. His children’s books contained messages about how to behave.

T 6. He created National Read Across America Day.

B. Forming Questions

Work with a partner. Here are the answers. What are the questions?

1. ¿From what year to what year did Dr. Seuss last

living in Springfield, Massachusetts?

Dr. Seuss lived from 1904 to 1991.

2. ¿What was the carrer that Dr. Seuss wanted to

Study before becoming a writer?

.
Dr. Seuss wanted to be a professor.

3. ¿What did Dr. Seuss believe during WWII?

Dr. Seuss made political cartoons during World War II.

4. ¿Who enjoys the book that Dr. Seuss published ?

Both children and adults enjoy Dr. Seuss’s books

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. (LOW INT / VERSION 1.0) 3
 Dr. Seuss
Famous People

Vocabulary Review
A. Complete the Sentences

Circle the correct word to complete each sentence.

1. Michelle has good . She 3. The governor wrote an 5. I had four apples, but I got
would never steal from anyone. apology to the journalist hungry, so now only two
to avoid a scandal.
a) morals a) publish
b) environment a) political b) translate
c) consumerism b) illustrated c) remain
c) translated
2. My girlfriend and I have talked 6. My friend Yi helped me
about marriage, and now we 4. I wrote the words to the story, the poem from Mandarin
are engaged. and Patricia was the to English.

a) politically a) cartoon a) consume

b) morally b) illustrator b) translate
c) officially c) moral c) publish

B. Choose the Closest Meaning

Choose the word with the closest meaning to each word.

1. illustrator 4. publish 7. consumerism

a) sculptor a) read a) philosophy

b) writer b) print b) religion
c) artist c) fix c) shopping

2. officially 5. environment 8. cartoon

a) formally a) nature a) comic

b) informally b) farming b) opera
c) happily c) leisure c) novel

3. political 6. translate 9. remain

a) education a) buy a) go
b) business b) rewrite b) leave
c) government c) sell c) stay

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. (LOW INT / VERSION 1.0) 4
 Dr. Seuss
Famous People

Listening
A. Gap Fill

Listen to a recording of this reading.

Fill in the blanks. Listen again and check your answers.

 https://blog.esllibrary.com/2019/01/09/podcast-seuss-low-int/

1. Dr. Seuss was a writer and ilustrator who

was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1904. His real name
was Theodor Seuss Geisel.

2. Although he originally wanted to be a professor, he became famous

for his children’s books like The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham.
During his lifetime, he public over 60 books, which
have been translate into 20 languages!

3. During World War II, Dr. Seuss took a break from writing
children’s books in order to create political cartoon

4. Dr. Seuss was against consumerism and cared

about the environment . All of his children’s
books were intended to teach kids to have good morals

5. Although Dr. Seuss died in 1991, his books and illustrations

remain very popular with both children and adults.
In fact, his birthday (March 2) was officially
named National Read Across America Day.

B. Extra Practice

Do you want more listening practice? After you fill in the

blanks in Part A, listen to the recording a few more times.
Underline all of the past tense verbs.

Copyright 2019, Red River Press Inc. For use by ESL Library members only. (LOW INT / VERSION 1.0) 5