By reading fables such as The Lorax by Dr. Seuss or The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, students can examine the importance of conserving natural resources.
This is one of 96 activities that can be found in PLT’s PreK-8 Environmental Education Activity Guide. To get the activity, attend a training either in person or online and receive PLT’s PreK-8 Guide. Below are some supporting resources for this activity.
Expand your students’ learning and imaginations. Help students meet their reading goals, while building upon concepts learned in this activity, with the following children’s book recommendations:
Try a simple variation of this activity to engage children in the outdoors at home. Download this fun and easy-to-do family activity.
The following tools and resources may be used to enhance the activity.
Story Maps are simple web apps that combine interactive maps, multimedia content, and user experiences to tell stories about the world. This introductory story maps workshop explains what story maps are, and why and how you can teach with them. Find and use existing Story Maps in your teaching and learn how to design and create your own story maps to teach content. Then, engage your students in creating their own story maps as part of their investigations.
These three 2-minute videos highlight elements of an urban forest, how they’re managed, and the community benefits. More than 80% of all Americans live in urban areas and urban forests bring important benefits to those communities. Developed by forestinfo.org and the North Carolina Forest Service, these Forest Fact Breaks are a great way to help learn more about the following topics: Urban Forests, Urban Forest Benefits, and Urban Forest Wood Usage.
To highlight the importance of paper in our lives, Domtar (a producer of pulp and paper products) created a Paper Because campaign featuring ads and a series of short videos to dispel some common myths about the environmental impact of paper and the use of paper in today’s digital age. “There are times when no substitute for paper will suffice; it is how great ideas begin, how the world learns, how important news gets shared and how people meaningfully connect with each other,” according to John D. Williams, Domtar President and CEO.
Keep America Beautiful is a nonprofit that provides waste education materials, events, and programs.
Check out these student-written examples of sequels to The Lorax tale. Try writing and illustrating your own version!
These stories will not only help students learn about trees, but more importantly, appreciate their significance and value. These books can help start a conversation about our relationship with nature, conservation, and life cycles.
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