The Lorax Writing Prompts

The Lorax is my favorite Dr. Seuss book. It’s a great addition to discussions about conservation and Earth Day. Pollution and loss of habitat are a big concern for many species on our planet. The Lorax’s message introduces these concept to kids way that they can understand. I’ve created The Lorax Writing Prompts as a springboard for facilitating a discussion on the topics in The Lorax. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links in this post.

The Lorax Writing Prompts

After reading The Lorax with your students, have them choose one of these 5 writing prompts to write about.

Download the Lorax Writing Prompts for your own personal or classroom use only.

In addition to (or instead of) writing the answers, students could draw pictures. The first three writing prompts lend themselves well to this task. Draw the landscapes when the Once-ler first arrived and when the Lorax was lifted away.

Note the differences in color. At the beginning of the Once-ler’s story, the landscape was bright and cheerful – full of trees and animals. After the Lorax left, the scene is drab and filled with pollution.

In the second writing prompt, I ask if you would buy a Thneed. You could have your students draw a picture of what people could use Thneeds for. Ask them to describe what option they like best.

The third writing prompt is the one Aiden (age 8) gravitated towards.

“The Once-ler invented a Super-Axe-Hacker to chop down Truffula Trees. (It can take down four Truffula Trees at a time.) Describe something you would invent. What would it look like? What would it do?”

Aiden decided he would invent a robot. The robot has a data port that accepts a disc. The robot tells you what information is on the disc.

The final two Lorax writing prompts focus on the environmental message. My favorite quote from the book is featured in the fourth prompt.

The fourth prompt reads, “‘UNLESS someone like you cares an awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.’ You have the power to change the world. What is something you will do?”

I feel like this is an important exercise for young people to try. What is it they stand for? What do they believe in. Everyone has the ability to make a difference. What will you do? Will you use your influence to change the world for the better? Conservation isn’t always about big legislation and large policies that help keep our Earth livable. It’s also about the small choices each of us makes every day. Speak up and choose to do something meaningful.

The Once-ler seems to regret his past choices. The final Lorax writing prompt asks students what lesson the Once-ler learned. Would he do things differently if he could? You could also take it a step further and ask your students what they would do. Would they cut down the Truffula Trees? Here is also an opportunity to talk about sustainability and the use of resources.

If you use the Lorax writing prompts with your students, I’d love for you to send me a message and let me know how it goes.

Pair this writing activity with my Lorax Cause and Effect Matching Game. It’s a great way to talk about the details of the story.

Storybook Science

The second week of our Storybook Science series features Science for the Future – ideas to inspire saving our planet. Follow along with the rest of our Storybook Science here. Bloggers will be sharing a new science idea inspired by a children’s book throughout the month of March.

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