Unless....

We will be studying Dr. Seuss's The Lorax in class this week.  This is one of my very favorite books, ever since it came out in 1971.  I am very excited to share this book with the students in my class.


There are many discussion questions and topics that can arise from a literature study of this book.

We will cover the following points with the students:

1. ADVERTISING

• Students will create ads for a Thneed, the product the Once-ler creates from the Truffula Trees.
• We will learn about truth in advertising. 
•  Compare and contrast want vs. need. 
•  Learn about how to be a judicious consumer and not be swayed by commercials and advertising.

2.  CAUSE AND EFFECT

• We will do experiments that help us see how the actions of a small number of people can effect the whole population. 
• By just adding one drop of food coloring to a glass of water, every molecule of water changes color.
• We will with hold water and light from a plant and observe the effect it has.

3.  FOOD CHAINS

• We will role play different animals in a food chain to see how it works. 
•  We will add and subtract players to see how it effects the population of other animals.

4.  ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

• We will discuss reasons trees may need to be cut down.
• We will brainstorm ways to cut down trees and still be responsible.
• We will list ways students can be invironmentally responsible in their own lives.

5.  BALANCE VS. GREED

• Students will create power points showing what greed can do and how to bring balance back to their choice of situation.

6.  UNLESS...

• We will plant a tree at school and promise to take care of it.
• We will discuss leaving a legacy.
• We will look at ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

It promises to be an interesting, busy week full of discovery and environmental awareness.  I can't wait.


I have been reading opinion pieces about how "political" this book and this movie are.  Some parents and politicians are making this about extremism.  I think this book and movie are more about teaching children to be environmentally responsible.  That is common sense, don't we want future generations to have a healthy planet?  It is my opinion that turning everything into fodder for politicians, such as The Lorax, The Girl Scouts, and scientific evidence of evolution and climate change, is unfair to children.  Unless voters take the initiative to remove these types of politicians from office, free speech will be the next thing to go.  No one will be allowed privacy or the right to make an informed choice for themselves and for their children.  So whereas the children will learn environmental responsibility from this book and our lessons, I hope the adults will learn something too.  I hope that the greed of the Once-ler and it's consequences remind people that greed is not good.