2. The Anchor Text: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• The reason that I have chosen this text as my anchor is
because it lights the match of interest in the environment.
• The lexile level is relatively low: 560L (which makes
comprehension a reachable goal for all of my scholars even
the lowest of them.)
• Due to the books accessibility, I am able to have scholars
make connections to higher level dystopian texts that are
environmentally themed (such as Suzanne Weyn’s Empty.)
3. Statement of Inquiry
• What can you do, starting now to
prevent our planet from falling
into the same fate as The Lorax’s
land?
• How can you reduce your impact
on the environment?
4. The Lorax Analysis
* Most Students have seen the
movie but haven’t read the
book. (Compare & Contrast)
• Students are able to use
fiction and make real world
connections to other texts.
• The relocation of animals
due to human impact and
industrial revolution will be
discussed often during the
text set.
Grade Band
Level
Meaning &
Purpose
Cultural
Knowledge
1-8 (2-5)
Moderately
Complex
Moderately
Complex
Dystopian
fiction
Corporate
Greed
If pollution
continues to
change our
planet
The
consequence
of human
activity
5. Qualitative & Quantitative Measures
• Text Structure: Slightly Complex - The actions,
setting, and plot are presented from the fictional
future in which the story is being narrated by a 3rd
person narrator, while the tale of the past (past
tense) is told from the Once-ler’s perspective as he
reflects over his life events. The students should be
mindful that much of the story takes place in the
past but that it is being told to the boy in the
future (for him) which is our present time as
readers. The text being written in a non-linear
format will require students to understand present
tense and past tense as well as third and 1st
person.
• Language Features: Slightly Complex - For 8th
grade English language learners, some of the
vocabulary may come across as unfamiliar (the
made-up rhyming words) but for the most pare the
language conventions are simple and the sentence
structure is only slightly complex, using most simple
sentences that are easy to comprehend.
• Lexile Measure: 560L
• Grade Band Level: 1-8th grade (2-5 primarily)
• Word Count: 1,815
• Page Number: 45
Implications for the Classroom:
• The quantitative measure of this text led me to
think that this text is at a level that will be
accessible to all my 8th graders (even the lowest
readers on the 5-7th grade level). Although the
students will be able to read the text fluently and
comprehend what is taking place in the plot, I
know there will be some students who might have
difficulty making the connection(s) between the text
and what is occurring on the environmental front
in their own environment.
6. Teks and How to Use Them
• TEKS used
8.10D Synthesize and make logical
connections between ideas within a text
and across two or three texts representing
similar or different genres, and support
those findings with textual evidence.
8.6 Fig 19 E Summarize, paraphrase, and
synthesize texts in ways that maintain
meaning and logical order within a text
and across texts.
Students will write a summary of what
took place in the Lorax and from there
evaluate the main ideas and key details of
the text as the whole.
Some of the supporting texts :
• “29 Penguins poem” by Ms. Ross
• “Causes of Climate Change” EPA
article.
• “Empty” by Suzanne Weyn (Dystopian
Novel)
• “Heroes of the Environment: True
Stories of People Who Are Helping to
Protect Our Planet” by Harriet Rohmer
(Biography)
• The Lorax (2012, Universal Studios
film)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
eeCBI_EEu0
7. The Lorax Project
• The Lorax project is an initiative created by Dr. Seuss and Random House
book company. The project is designed to raise awareness about
environmental issues and ignite students of all ages to be environmentally
conscious and friendly.
• "The Lorax," he once explained, "came out of me being angry. In The
Lorax I was out to attack what I think are evil things and let the chips fall
where they might.“- Dr. Seuss (Lebduska, L. 1994)
#StayWoke #StayGreen
8. Call to Action
The Lorax ends with a call to action, in which
the reader should respond to the problem the
Once-ler caused with a real life solution.
9. Why Should
You Care about
this book?
“Unless someone like you cares
a whole awful lot. It’s not
going to get better. It’s not.” –
The Lorax
10. Text Dependent
Question
Text Dependent Question #2
Which character do you think
environmentalists would relate
to the most? Which character
would environmentalist be
opposed to? (choose from the
option below and explain why
you chose that answer in 2-3
sentences.
a. The Lorax
b. the barbaloots
c. the Once-ler
11. Empty: by Suzanne
Weyn
• A dystopian fiction novel that
shows what the world could
be like if we used up all of the
fossil fuels.
• Students will be able to see an
even more realistic view of
how their lives would be
different if there was no gas,
oil, heat, or driving.
• Think about what happened
in The Lorax when the Once-
ler had cut down the last
Truffula Tree. How does that
compare to the limitations of
the Empty text?
12. Heroes of the Environment: True
Stories of People Who Are
Helping to Protect Our
Planet: by Harriet Rohmer
(Rationale Below)
*I chose this text because it tells
the stories of 12 teens who are
doing something to benefit and
protect the environment.
• My scholars will enjoy the visual
images in this text and it is
accessible to them at 760L.
• *The actions the teens in the
book make can inspire my kids
to make an action plan of their
own.
13. Issue Overview:
Keystone XL Pipeline
(Newsela/1080L)
Rationale for inclusion:
• The subject of the KXL oil pipeline is
both timely and appropriate for the
theme of the unit and the article
effectively shows how to summarize
information.
• Students will be able to define
greenhouse gasses and comprehend
the potential effects pipeline could
have on the people living near it.
• Quote: “Obama said Keystone XL
wouldn’t lower gasoline prices or
improve U.S. energy security. It also
would have undercut American
global leadership on climate change,
he said.” (The Argument section)
14. “It's getting harder for
polar bears to act naturally,
even in nature” (Newsela,
1050L, 826 words)
The article talks about two polar
bears in the Pittsburg Zoo who
exhibit strange behaviors due to
living in captivity.
This text is appropriate because
the article also touches on the
reason these polar bears cannot
live in the wild any longer-
global warming.
There natural habitat is melting
due to human activity such as
burning fossil fuels like coal/oil.
15. Universal Studios “The
Lorax” (2012 Film)
I want to supplement the
articles and the anchor text
itself with footage from the
most recent Lorax film.
I would have students fill out a
Venn Diagram to note the
similarities/differences between
the movie version and the
actual Lorax text.
I will then asks students if
those differences that they
found, change the theme of
the story.
16. “29 Penguins”
poem by Ms. Ross
This 3 stanza ABAB narrative poem
tells the tragic story of 29 penguins
who end up dying because the ice
that they live on in Antarctica
eventually melts away due to global
warming.
The poem contains a substantial
amount of figurative language that
students have to decode to make
inferences. (TEK 8.4)
I paired this poem with the article
about the penguins in the same
lesson to further make connections
about the polar ice caps melting.
17. Works Cited
1. Seuss, D. (1999). The Lorax. New York: Random House Children’s Books.
2. Weyn, S. (2010). Empty. New York: Scholastic Press.
3. Siebert, C., Rohmer, H., & McLaughlin, J. (2009). Heroes of the
environment: True stories of people who are helping to protect our
planet. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
4. Renaud, C. (2012) The Lorax. Universal Studios.
5. Lebduska, L. "Rethinking Human Need: Seuss's The Lorax." Children's
Literature Association Quarterly 19.4 (1994): 170-176. Project
MUSE. Web. 13 Feb, 2017.
