The Lorax: take a closer look at air pollution
Materials: Lorax movie, tape, 5 jar lids, cardboard, magnifying glass, markers
Engage:
1. Watch The Lorax. Suggest students take notes on issues which arrive throughout
the movie. (water, and air pollution)
2. Discuss what pollution means and examples in the movie. How does pollution affect
the environment, what types of pollution are present today and how will it look in
the future.
3. Begin formulating possible solutions connecting them to action plans. Have the
students star thinking about ecological issues and how they can raise awareness to
populations.
Explore: Procedure
1. Label lids 1-5, then trace around lids on cardboard and label to match lids.
2. Take lids and cardboard outside, removing 1 lid from the cardboard each day.
3. At the end of the fifth day take away the last lid, if the air is dirty there will be more
specks of dirt on the lower numbers; use the magnifying glasses to count the specks.
4. Discuss the results “is our air clean or dirty?”
IE7.4 Analyze how ecosystems change in response to natural and human influences, and propose actions
to reduce the impact of human behaviour on a specific ecosystem.
c. Predict what a specific ecosystem (e.g., clear-cut forest, abandoned sports field, abandoned farm
yard, abandoned rail line, ditch, driveway, or sidewalk) will look like in the future (e.g., 5, 10, and 25
years) based on characteristics of the area and long-term changes observed in similar ecosystems.
d. Identify and refine questions and problems related to the effects of natural or human influences on a
particular ecosystem.