“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Dr Suess is an alliterative, rhyming, tongue twisting author who has written many books that have stood the test of time. His books are fun to read and of course The Lorax has an underlying meaning.
I love reading The Lorax. It is not only a fun, imaginative read but it leaves the reader with hope and inspiration that they can do something – even something so small can make a difference.
Dr Suess explores the concepts of consumerism, greed and vanity. He also explores disregard for the natural world when pursuing money and power.
The Lorax begins it’s tale in a dark and gloomy world where there seems to be little hope, love and joy. The Once ler tells us his tale of his own destruction of not only himself but of the beautiful environment that once was. We learn about the destrcution Truffala trees, bar-ba-loots, swomee swans and humming fish and the creation of the Thneed which “Everyone, everyone, everyone needs! ”
So how can we share this book with our children?
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Informative texts
- How can we inform people about pollution and it’s consequences?
- List the pollution made and the destruction it caused (in the Lorax) . Using a Venn diagram draw similarities to real life situations. (draw on newspaper articles)
- Students write an informative text using factual information from Non-fiction books , newspaper articles and internet resources.
- Encourage creativity and imagination in the informative text – linking examples from the Lorax.
Curriculum links
Draw connections between personal experiences and the worlds of texts, and share responses with others (ACELT1596)
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts demonstrating increasing control over text structures and language features and selecting print,and multimodal elements appropriate to the audience and purpose (ACELY1682)
SHARED READING IDEAS
Before you read
– What is a Lorax?
-What is this story about?
AS you read
- Discuss the animals & the names they have been given.
- Have fun with alliteration & rhyme. Making up your own alliterative sentences & continuing with a rhyme.
- Ask the child how they feel about what the Once-ler is doing.
- Would you buy a Thneed?
When you finish
- What might happen now?
- How can you help to make sure your world doesn’t get as yucky as the world the Lorax once lived?
Go outside, talk about all of the natural things you can see. Talk about how you can help in small ways – get a worm farm, recycle, use less plastic. Draw links to The Lorax, discussing with your child that we don’t want our world to end up like his did and we can all do small things to make a difference!
