With the invocation of the socalled nuclear option, senate democrats moved to limit the power of the filibuster and. What drives the yooks and zooks in the butter battle book to outdo, oneup, and top each other. What could have been done to diffuse the situation. The butter battle book and the cold war literature circle. Students use the classic childrens book, the butter battle by dr. Explaining the very serious differences between the zooks and the yooks, a grandpa tells his grandchild the unspeakable truth.
The butter battle book deals with some scary stuff. Seventh grade lesson the butter battle book betterlesson. Its all about being bigger, better, and newer than the adversary. While reading the butter battle book, take note of the number of times the conflict escalates. The book ends with both the yooks and the zooks developing a bomb called the bigboy boomero, which parallels the us and the ussrs development of nuclear weapons and reaching parity. Seusss the butter battle book to illustrate the use of satire in a very accessible way. Seuss that, while it might appeal to young readers, makes a profound and unmistakable political statement. The battle of the books swifts satire in mockheroic. This story thus lends itself to a discussion with children about the concept of war itself, the moral issues related to war and the outcomes of retaliatory acts. Seuss is a stinging satire on nationalism, full of the famous authors trademark artwork and whimsical rhymes. That is what the yooks and the zooks think in the the butter battle book by dr. Mar 18, 2015 butter battle book lesson plan used for diversity but also would be great for cold war unit stay safe and healthy.
Alliteration examples butter battle book, dr seuss books. It portrays this event as a parody by using two different armies fighting over the way to butter your bread. His stories are childrens classics that are fun to read and also tackle some real life issues. The butter battle book reactions to lesson and video part 2.
Butter battle book state college area school district. Seuss aka theodor geisel clearly makes a statement that is much larger than what might appear to be the. Seuss and undoubtedly his darkest written during and intended to reflect directly on the cold war, it tells the story of an arms race between the yooks and the zooks, whose villages are divided by a wall all because they cant agree on which side of their bread to butter, leading up to what is all but stated to be a mutually assured. Jul 28, 2015 students use the classic childrens book, the butter battle by dr. Seuss is an important figure in the lives of children everywhere. The butter battle book is an allegory for the nuclear arms race and the state of mutually. Exaggeration an example of exaggeration in the book is. The butter battle book discussion guide scholastic.
Exploring the history behind the satire readwritethink. What are the parodies in the butter battle book story. The butter battle book and the cold war literature circle the cold war was cold primarily because of the threat of nuclear weapons. The butter battle book is a rhyming story written by dr. It was published by random house on january 12, 1984. Mar 08, 2009 ill leave you to make the rhymes but bring in a third culture say the mooks who show both the yooks and the zooks that there is a better way to eat bread with the butter side down on top of more bread butter side up in the form of a sandwich both sides will be so happy that they destroy all their weapons and live happily ever after eating bread butter side up and down. Theres no way around itthe serious topic of the butter battle book means at least a somewhat serious tone.
In this lesson we summarized and analyzed the story, the butter battle book. And this high school senior is unashamed to say that dr. The butter battle book the lesson part 1 teaching today. It can also be seen as a satirical work, with its depiction of a deadly war based. Begin your class study of jonathan swifts gullivers travels by reading dr. In this lesson, learn about their disagreement and what can happen. Were talking weapons of mass destruction here, and unless youre south park, youre p. In the butter battle book, the factions form over a trivial issue and escalate to the point of nearly destroying each other. The butter battle book analysis by phd students from stanford, harvard, berkeley. The butter ball battle book, satire, and the cold war by. Free the butter battle book study unit worksheets for teachers to print. Seuss the butter battle book and the cold war essay. The butter battle book is about two groups of people. The butter battle book after listening to the story, students discuss conflicts in their own lives and draw people finding ways to resolve conflict in socially positive ways.
Engaged in a longrunning battle, the yooks and the zooks develop more and more sophisticated weaponry as they attempt to outdo each other. The butter battle book in his masterfully written book, the butter battle book, dr. Think of examples of factions religious, political, local, sportsrelated, etc. The butter battle book author vesves illustrator dr. They are introduced to the concept of satire and identify the main satirical theme of the book. Jul 15, 2016 the butter battle book questions lesson plan template and teaching resources. Mar 14, 2011 the clip below is a small part of the discussion of the parallels between the cold war and the butter battle book. Remember a conflict is an argument or clash between two sides that.
Special techniques they were all bravely marching, with banners aflutter, down a hole. Ece english 1011 direct quote in reference to the bigboy boomeroo a gadget thats newer than new it is filled with mysterious moolackamoo and can blow all those zooks clear to salamagoo historical research people. The soviet union launched its first nuclear weapon in 1949, an event that started an arms race between the united states and the soviet union. The yooks and the zooks have an ageold disagreement over which way to eat their bread, butter side up or down, and as a result, they eventually start a war over it. Seusss classic cautionary tale, introduces readers to the important lesson of respecting differences. Sure, it was published during the reagan era while cold war tensions were still high, but the young yook faces the same questions that we do today in a world where nuclear weapons are a reality.
Seuss in the butter battle book the childrens author takes on the cold war. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Reading, discussing, and researching this picture book paves the way for a deeper understanding of gullivers travels. Seusss the butter battle book is a satirical allegorydepicting a deadly war based on a senseless conflict over breakfast food. The battle of the books is a simple mockheroic account of a battle among the books resting in the kings library at st. Seuss books but i had never heard of the butter battle book until that day in creative writing class. Mar 14, 2011 the students explained what the cold war terms were, interpreted the butter battle book to draw parallels between the book and the cold war, and finally applied what they knew about the cold war to make the parallels to the book. Yooks eat their bread with the butter on top zooks with the butter on the bottom. The butter battle book five discussion questions and a writing task. Comprehension by chapter, vocabulary challenges, creative reading response activities and projects, tests, and much more. The wall falls you and three others will write an ending to dr. During the cold war unit when i am teaching the arms race, i introduce the students to the dr. The butter battle book students explore themes of the book and learn about different types of propaganda. Dec 20, 2008 the battle of the books 1704, a prose satire by jonathan swift written in 1697 when he was residing with sir w.
Seusss the butter battle book as an accessible introduction to satire. Through satirical humor, he explores the ridiculousness and futility of war. If you were to write the ending to the butter battle book. New york times notable book of the year cla children book by dr. Each lives on one side of a large stone wall that divides their territory. Finally, after continued escalation in the actions of both sides grandpa and. Students read the butter battle book to illustrate the use of satire in a very accessible way. The butter battle book helps us process these frightening events, and with a cliffhanger ending, forces us to think for ourselves. Seuss book, the butter battle book which is an allegory for the arms race. After reading, have a discussion about what precipitated the conflict between the zooks and the yooks. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The butter battle book teaching children philosophy. The butter battle book is about a feud of to villages on which side you should have your butter on your bread.
The butter battle book questions teaching resources. Study 19 terms the butter battle book flashcards quizlet. Seuss injects humor into this serious tale of conflict, offering a great opportunity for a student discussion on valuing diversity. Seusss classic cautionary tale, introduces readers to the important lesson of respecting d. New york times notable book of the year classic seuss at.
The butter battle book is an allegory for the nuclear arms race and the state of mutually assured destruction mad that occurred during the cold war. Have students brainstorm constructive ways to solve the conflict, and write their responses on chart paper. The butter battle book discusses the arms race between the united states vs. The butter battle book can now be found in every library in the country.
Why your kids should care nobody likes to be told what to doespecially kids. Seuss satirical lesson on nuclear armament and the. The yooks and zooks share a love of buttered bread, but animosity brews between the two groups because they prefer to enjoy the tasty treat differently. The butter battle book this lesson plan focuses on conflict in the plot. Overall the lesson successfully met the objectives and engaged the students in the learning process. Seuss satirical lesson on nuclear armament and the absurdity. It could be a book, a movie or something someone told you.
Free the butter battle book worksheets and literature unit. In the butter battle book, there is a conflict between the yooks and the zooks over how to butter bread. Oct 08, 2008 the butter battle book condemned the cold war arms race, and at one point was removed from childrens sections of libraries for political reasons. The butter battle book is a pretty clear allegory for the cold war arms race. Find butter battle book lesson plans and teaching resources. Seuss lesson plans and other teaching materials free english. After reading the picture book, students discuss the historical allusions as a class. The butter battle book lesson plans varsity tutors. You can either watch the animated story online on youtube or read the story aloud.
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