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The Impact
  1. Strand PHIL.II Philanthropy and Civil Society
    1. Standard PCS 05. Philanthropy and Government
      1. Benchmark MS.3 Identify the relationship between individual rights and community responsibilities.
  2. Strand PHIL.III Philanthropy and the Individual
    1. Standard PI 01. Reasons for Individual Philanthropy
      1. Benchmark MS.11 Identify a corporation's responsibilities to its community.

Working with current statistics, youth articulate the repercussions of rainforest destruction and how this destruction may personally affect them if deforestation continues at its present pace.

Duration: 
PrintOne Forty-Five Minute Session
Objectives: 

The learner will:

  • interpret statistics regarding deforestation.
  • complete a rainforest fact sheet.
  • explain how The Lorax pertains to real-life situations.
  • discuss the role of a responsible citizen when it comes to the destruction of the rainforests and how individual rights conflict with community responsibilities.
Materials: 

A copy of the book The Lorax by Dr. Seuss​

Bibliography: 
Instructions: 
Print

  1. Anticipatory Set:

    Imagine a big corporation cleared the land down the street from you and built a factory. The factory created a great deal of smog and noise 24 hours a day while workers and deliveries added lots of extra traffic noise. And then, as the factory became more successful, the clearing and building expanded, to come closer to you. The neighborhood lost its community garden and the ball field is now a parking lot…and now they are telling your parents that you will have to move out as they are planning to expand again. What reactions would you have? Which of your constitutional rights (Democratic Principles) would be violated? Where would you turn for help? This is currently happening to the indigenous people of the Rainforest.

  2. While you are reading aloud the story of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss, youth must pay close attention so they will be able to list the main events in the order in which they happened in the story (which might not be the order the events are told in).

  3. After reading, discuss the moral of the story, and reconstruct the order of events. What does "unless" mean to us today?

  4. While displaying your screen, search online for facts about the rainforest that show how remarkable it is and its value to the whole earth. Discuss and encourage questions and exploration. Then look at graphs and analyze how much deforestation is happening each year. Look for years of high deforestation and low deforestation. Find out why the rainforests are cut down. What is the land used for and what are the trees used for? Is it worth the damage this causes?

    Who benefits?

    Who is hurt?

    What is our responsibility?

  5. Ask the group to come up with words or small phrases that capture some of the concerns for deforestation. Have them write out these words on small pieces of paper using creative fonts. They may be placed in a collage format with photos of rainforest deforestation. This may be made virtually or on poster board. Display for others to learn about the damage to the earth and why.

Assessment: 

The successful completion of the assigned work sheets, the extent of their involvement in the group discussions and activities, and their satisfactory completion of the graph and poster captions form the basis of learner assessment for this lesson.