Lorax Plan for Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade
When we come back to school we will be starting with One Book, One
Lynnewood. Our book for this year, as many of you know, is The Lorax.
As a school, we will be making an effort to go green this year. We will start off the school year by reading the book together and doing literature related activities as a spring-board for Going Green! Every month after September we will have activities related to the environment. What follows is a plan for the literature unit for The Lorax.
Day One:
Read The Lorax. If there is time have a short discussion about the book.
Students can draw a picture illustrating their favorite part of the story or favorite character.
Days Two and Three:
The following activities for day two and three can be done at any time. You may choose which activities you wish to do, except for Activity One.
Activity/Idea One:
Each classroom has a representation of the cover of The Lorax on their door, similar to our snowmen before Winter Break. The image of the Lorax has a thought bubble over his head. Your class’ Promise to the Earth will appear in the thought bubble and will be presented at the culminating assembly.
Your promise can be something as simple as using recycled paper for crafts.
Ideas on Creating Your Class’ Promise:
- Brainstorm
- Pick a few favorite ideas
- Talk about what each will do to help the environment
- Have a vote for the one favorite promise or pick the promise that will
do the environment the most good
Things to Consider When Creating your Promise:
- This would be a good time to talk about Dr. Seuss’ message to the
world. Following is a lesson plan.
- Have the students think about how their ideas will help the earth.
- Think about which ideas will help the environment the most.
Activity/Idea 2:
If possible (if you have student helpers in your classroom) you can create a new job or two for a Power Saver (turning off classroom lights when leaving the room) or a Recycler. During this time students will also be doing Lorax related activities in Music, Gym, Art, and Library.
Activity/Idea 3:
Show The Lorax movie. There is a copy available in the library. Activity/Idea 4:
Brainstorm a list of simple Earth-friendly actions that people can do every day, such as picking up litter and using both the front and the back of scrap paper.
Activity/Idea 5:
Water Pollution Experiment to see how quickly pollution spreads in water
(Very Simple):
You will need:
- a glass
- water
- food coloring
Fill the glass with water. Add two or three drops of food coloring to the water. Watch how the food coloring spreads through the water. Pollution spreads through water just like the food coloring.
Let the glass sit for a while. Then, look very carefully. Is any part of the water still clear? What would happen if the food coloring was pollution?
(Taken from Water Pollution by Melanie Ostopowich, Weigl Publishers,
Inc., 2006.) Activity/Idea 6:
Take your students into the computer lab and log on to http://www.seussville.com/lorax. Click on Activities and play either the
Save the Trees game or The Lorax Sticker Game (The beginning patterns are easy. They get much harder as you go.
Activity/Idea 7:
Have your students write a letter to Mother Earth stating what you will do to help preserve her. I have a copy of a template from www.thelorax.com. I will make copies for anyone who wants them or you can make your own.
You could also have your students write The Lorax II, a story of what happens to the last Truffula seed.
Activity/Idea 8:
Have your students complete some puzzles including the maze from www.thelorax.com (I have a template for this one, too) or from The
Everything Kids’ Environment Book. These are on sale at Five Below for
$2.50 or I will make copies of the activities.
Activity/Idea 9:
I have an activity from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/resources/activities/lorax.phtml. It relates to sustainable development, or using resources in a way that the environment is still preserved. This might be good if you wish to get more in depth with your class. Definitely for fifth grade or an ambitious fourth grade.
Day Four:
On Day Four there will be a short all-school assembly. All classes will introduce their Promise to the Earth. We will also sing an environmental song to be taught in music class. This assembly will be a kick-off for the rest of the events planned for September, such as the playground clean-up and the yard sale.
Related Books and Internet Resources for Upper Grades:
A list of books and internet resources can be found at http://www.seussville.com/lorax/classroom_resources.php. We have some in the library. If you see one we don’t have, I will try to either order it or get it from the public library for you.
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=1244