Teachers can read "The Lorax" with children in the class and encourage them in small groups to re-create the story on a storyboard. The students draw and color pictures of the most important ideas within the book and arrange them in order on a piece of poster board or cardboard. The group brainstorms up to three ideas for alternate endings that could have decreased the amount of pollution that the Onceler deposited into the environment. Students should include descriptions about what would happen regarding the Bar-ba-loots, Swomee Swans and the Humming Fish if there was no pollution.
"The Lorax" fights continuously to eliminate pollution in his environment for the health of the animals and the trees. Teachers can discuss with students the dangers of pollution not only to animals but to humans as well. In addition, classes can help clean up their own environment by going on a nature walk or field trip to a nearby park and picking up litter. Teachers should have students take precautionary measures when collecting trash by wearing protective gloves, and they should instruct children not to pick up anything that may be dangerous or harmful to the child. In some parks or recreation areas, you may need to seek permission from park officials before doing any cleanup work, or you may be able to take part in an already established group cleanup effort in your area.
After reading the book as a class, teachers can encourage each student individually to create a poem about the pollution that the Onceler has dumped into the Lorax's environment. The poem should be in a rhyming verse similar to the writing style of Dr. Seuss and should include references to a specific type of pollution such as air, water or land, as well as how it has directly affected the animals in the story.
In an upper elementary class, teachers can introduce the concept of research after reading and discussing "The Lorax." As a lesson reinforcement activity, students can work in pairs to write a one-page research report studying a specific type of animal affected by human pollution. The report may include endangered or extinct animals directly or indirectly resulting from pollution. The assignment should be formatted with an introduction, a body and a conclusion as well as one book and one Internet resource for information.