The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

Modern Fantasy
3rd Grade

The Once-ler in this rhyming tale explains how the Lorax (he speaks for the trees) left where he once sat. The Once-ler one day discovered Truffula trees. He knew that the trees were perfect to help him make a Thneed. A Thneed can be used for a shirt, sock, glove, hat, and many other uses. The Once-ler began cutting down all the Truffula trees to make more and more Thneeds. Soon everything that lived in the Truffula trees had to leave because they had no home. The Once-ler cut all of the Truffula trees down and finally the Lorax just had to leave. The book ends with the Once-ler worrying about what he did and he decides to give away the last Truffula tree seed in hopes that the Lorax and his friends would come back.


I will use this book to talk to students about the importance of taking care of our environment. I will use it to explain what happens when we over use our resources. I think that this literature connection will help them better understand the consequences of not using our environmental resources wisely.