Running Head: SHORT STORY MODULE

Short Story Module The Lorax by Dr. Seuss Audrey Goss TESL 550 Spring II Professor Thomas June 17, 2012

Goss 1 Pre-reading The Lorax, written by Dr. Seuss was first published in 1971. The story tells the tale of a boy living in a polluted city, but he searches for answers as to why the world is the way it is. He embarks on this journey by visiting a character named the Once-ler. The Once-ler tells the boy the story of how the world used to be happy and full of Truffula trees. Through the story, the boy finds out that the Once-ler cut down Truffula trees in order to make his invention, which he called a Thneed, a product everyone thought they needed. While cutting down trees, the Once-ler encountered the Lorax. The Lorax was the voice and defender of the trees. The Lorax warned the Once-ler of the consequences of cutting down all the trees, but his warning was ignored. In all his greed, the Once-ler cut down all the Truffulas and could no longer create Thneeds. After the closure of the Thneed factory the Once-ler was left by himself in his home with a message left by the Lorax, engraved in stone is the word Unless. After hearing the story about the past, the boy received the last Truffula seed and was given the responsibility to bring back the Truffula trees. The Lorax is considered to be a fable that warns about the dangers of greed, especially corporate greed, on the environment. In some activities, this short story module will encourage students to think about the environment. Any student, no matter where they are from, can relate to the environmental issues. The status of the environment affects everyone, everywhere. This module is designed for ESL students who are in 3rd-4th grade. However, the module could also be modified for older and younger students. Pre-reading activities allow students to predict and activate their background knowledge so they are able to make connections to new information. In addition, pre-reading is a chance for teachers to introduce new vocabulary in order to prepare students before the words are encountered. Pre-reading is needed to provide some background information to help students approach the text successfully and avoid misunderstandings or more over, frustrating breakdowns in comprehension (Gajdusek, p. 234). Activities: Warm-Up/Anticipation Activity: The teacher will provide students with a survey in which they agree or disagree with statements. (Appendix A). After giving students time to complete the story, the teacher will have students share their answers with a partner. The teacher should then get a general idea of what students think about the environment, pollution, and effects of pollution. After, the teacher will read the statements from the warm-up activity and have students raise their hands if they circled yes. If specific students are called on, the teacher should reinforce that it was opinion and there is no right answer, but ask if students could explain their choices. Background The teacher will talk about the environment, what it is, and why its important to humans. The teacher will also talk about pollution and where it comes from and its effect on the environment and humans. Vocabulary

Goss 2 The teacher will go over the vocabulary for the text. Sentences, to provide context, will be written on the board with the vocabulary words underlined. Students will receive a worksheet (Appendix B) with the vocabulary words and space for the definition and a sentence or picture. The worksheet will also include an example sentence from the story. The teacher should let students know that the underlined words are the vocabulary words for the upcoming story. They should listen to the sentences to help come up with a class definition for the word. The teacher will read the first sentence and model how to use context clues in order to figure out the meaning of the word. The teacher will then model how to use the discovered definition and put it onto the worksheet. When working together as a class, the teacher should use leading questions to help direct students to the correct definitions. As an additional pre-reading activity, the class will take a picture walk through the book, The Lorax. The class will look through the pages and make predictions about what they think will happen in the story. When making predictions, the students will pair share and decide on one prediction they would like to share with the class. While listening to student responses, the teacher will write down their prediction on chart paper so they may be revisited later. Factual In-Class Work During the pre-reading activities, the class previewed the story through a picture walk. The next step is to read the story, keeping in mind their predictions. According to Gajdusek, students should read the story twice: the first time allows for students to gain an over all sense of the story and the second time to look for answers to problems and questions prepared for them in anticipation of the factual and analytic work that is to follow (p. 238). This will take place in the form of a picture walk, teacher read aloud, and group re-reading. After re-reading the story, students will continue to work in groups and fill out a story structure worksheet (Appendix C), which includes characters, setting, plot, and sequence of events from the story. Students will also work together to discuss and complete comprehension questions (Appendix D). Working together as a group allows students to compare their answers and negotiate meaning. It also gives opportunities for students to speak and ask questions in a non-threatening environment. Lastly, students will take note of the different forms of ending punctuation, then fill out a corresponding worksheet. Activities: Reading The students and teacher will read the story together. The teacher will stop and ask questions to make sure that students understand the story. Re-Read After reading the story as a class, students will work in groups and re-read the story aloud to each other. Grammar

Goss 3 After re-reading in groups, students will take note of the different ways in which to punctuate the end of the sentence. Students will write down the different punctuation symbols on a piece of paper. After everyone has had the chance to write down the punctuation, the class will gather for a whole group discussion. Together the class will discuss the different punctuation and the significance and uses of the specific punctuation. Punctuation marks used in the book are periods, exclamation, and question marks. To practice the use of these punctuation marks, the teacher will write sentences on the board that are questions, show excitement, and are statements. As a class, practice punctuating the sentences. The use of these punctuation marks will be required in the extending activities. Story Elements Students will continue to work in groups to fill out the story structure worksheet. In this activity students will write down information about the main characters and the various settings. Students will also discuss and write down the important events from the story in sequential order. Main Characters The students should take note of the different characters in the story as well as their traits. Setting Students should take note about the different settings and times that the story is taking place. The story begins in the present, but the story about the Thneeds takes place in the past. The end of the story returns to the present. Important Events Students will write down important events from the story that relate to the main idea. The teacher should make sure that the events are relevant to the main idea of the story. Comprehension The next activity asks students work on comprehension questions. The comprehension questions include information from the text as well as questions that require students to think and respond. Analysis After completing the previous activities, students now know the facts that have occurred in the story. According the Gajdusek (1988), its time that students begin to ask why and to develop their own attitudes toward the characters, values, and situations in the story, in short, to move beyond information to involvement and experience (p. 245). Students will sequence the story and think about where in the story the problem and solution occur. Students will also think about the whys of the story by completing a cause and effect chart. The cause and effect chart allows students to think about the events and why they happened. In order to help students to connect to the story, students will then respond to journal prompts. Also according to Gajdusek (1988), responding to prompts through journal writing, is an excellent way to encourage individual exploration of the text (p. 245). Students will then journal about what they thought about the story and how they think the story relates to them.

Goss 4 Activities: Sequence Students work individually to sequence the story on construction paper. Students will fold a piece of white construction paper into eighths. In each square, students will draw a picture and write a sentence in order. Students will then point out the parts of the story in which the problems and solutions occur. Cause and Effect The teacher will model how to fill out the cause and effect chart (Appendix E). The teacher will pick something that happened and look for the reason why it happens in the text. After modeling and answering any student questions, the class will brainstorm some happenings in the story that could be used on the cause and effect chart. Then students will work in groups in order to complete the cause and effect chart. Journal Students will be given time to journal. Journaling should be done individually. The journal process will provide students with time to reflect on the pre-reading and factual in-class work activities. Students will be given the follow prompt: What did you think about the story? How do you think the story relates to you and your everyday life? After each of these activities, the teacher should make sure to have students share the answers. The teacher should also make corrections, or ask guiding questions, so that students have the correct information. Extending Activity Students have participated in pre-reading, factual in-class, and analysis activities. In order to extend these activities and synthesize the information, students will participate in a writing activity. Students will write a book review for The Lorax. The book review allows students to carry interaction with a literary text beyond the text, asking for creative, relevant responses from the readers (Gajdusek, p. 251). Activity: Book Review Students will use what theyve learned so far about characters, setting, lesson, cause and effect, etc., in order to write a book review about The Lorax. The teacher will create a sample book review with the class, based on a text previously read together. Students will be provided with a prompt as well as a rubric (Appendix F). The teacher will review the rubric before and during the writing process. Students will be encouraged to be persuasive, creative, include important details, and the main ideas from the story. The students will also be involved in self-edits, peer edits, teacher edits, and a final draft. This writing process will take several days and may also be assigned for homework.

Goss 5 Writing prompt: We often use book reviews to help us decide whether or not to buy or read a book. Today you will write a book review for The Lorax. In your review, you should include some events from the story, the lesson, different punctuation marks, and vocabulary words. The teacher will then hand out the rubric and go over the different levels.

References
Gajdusek, L. (1988). Toward wider use of literature in ESL: Why and how. TESOL Quarterly, 22 (2), 227-257.

Seuss, D. (1971). The Lorax. New York: Random House.

Goss 6 Appendix A Name: ______________ Pre-Reading Warm-Up Directions: Read the questions below and circle YES if you agree and NO if you disagree. There are no right or wrong answers, this is YOUR opinion.

1. Yes 2. Yes

No No

It is everyones job to protect the environment. Using all the trees, oil, and minerals is okay as long as they can make things people will buy. Ex: Its okay to cut down all the trees as long as everyone buys paper. If humans destroy an animals home, its easy for the animal to find a new home. Pollution can only hurt people Throwing trash on the ground is considered to be polluting the environment.

3. Yes

No

4. Yes 5. Yes

No No

Goss 7 Appendix B

Name:
Directions: Listen for the definition to write it in, then write a sentence or draw a picture with the word.

Vocabulary Word
Protect "Protect it from axes that hack." Business "How my business did grow!"

Definition

Sentence/Picture

Factory "And, in no time at all, in the factory I built, the whole Once-ler Family was working full tilt." Invented "So I quickly invented my Super-Axe-Hacker which whacked off four Truffula Trees at one smacker." Machinery "Your machinery chugs on, day and night without stop making Gluppity-Glupp."

Goss 8 Shipping "I was shipping them forth to the South!"

Smog "No one can sing who has smog in their throat."

Nuisance "I was fixing some pipes when that old nuisance Lorax came back with more gripes."

Goss 9 Appendix C Name: Story Structure Main Idea: Characters- list their names and information about them?

Setting- what are the different places the story took place?

Beginning

Middle

End

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Appendix D Name: The Lorax Comprehension Questions 1. Why didnt the Once-ler listen to the Lorax? Why does the Lorax say, You are crazy with greed. ? How did the Once-lers character change over time?

2. What did the Once-ler make with the Truffula Trees?

3. What was the new tool the Once-ler invented? How did this help his business?

4. Who was harmed as more and more Truffula trees were cut down? How was each harmed? How could things have been different if the Once-ler had listened to the Lorax?

5. Was it a good idea to cut down all the trees? Why or why not?

6. What was the environment like before the company started making Thneeds? What was it like afterwards?

7. The Once-ler says, Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. Its not. What does he mean by this? Can one person make a big difference?

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Appendix E Name: The Lorax Cause and Effect

Cause

Effect

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Appendix F Created on Rubistar.4teachers.org