Potted Lorax & Truffula Tree: Earth Day Lesson

Show the Once-ler that you understand that you are the someone who cares a whole awful lot and unless you do not try to make a difference, nothing will get better, it will not...by creating this wonderful potted Lorax & Truffula Tree desk top size!

This is a fantastic craft to go along with many Earth Day lessons!  The Lorax is one of if not my favorite children's story.  Many years ago I read it as a prose piece for forensic (competitive acting and speaking competitions).  To this day when I read the book with gusto I get a little choked up at the end.  Oh Dr. Suess, how I adore this book!

Lesson Ideas:

Great for a guided reading or MTSS activity after reading The Lorax and discussing it's meaning

Fantastic art project to use to talk about book illustrations and the work of Dr. Suess

Wonderful for discussing earth day and how we can help our environment

Great project to discuss about being good citizens
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I actually think The Lorax by Dr. Suess could be used as a week long project leading up to Earth day.  There are so many activities you can do along with the book.  I once had my class make recycled paper with marigold seeds in the paper.  Once the paper dried they wrote down one thing they could do to make a difference in the world.  We then went out and planted the paper.  The other sheet (they made two) they gave to someone they cared about telling them what they learned about the environment.  The kids loved it!  I think this lesson along with others can be used to teach about our environment and why it's important for us to be good world citizens and do our part.

Materials Needed:

Sculpey® III

White :S302 001

Black: S302 042

Emerald :S302 323

Chocolate: S302 053

Hot Pink: S302 503

Just Orange: S302 1634

Small garden pot (3")

Tin foil

Sculpey® Tools (Mine came with the Sculpey® Crafty Clay Variety Pack I bought)

Paper Clip

Oven

Optional Materials:

Tooth pick
Needle Tool
Sculpey® Clay Conditioning Machine
Sculpey® Acrylic Roller
Sculpey® Clay Softener

Fill your small pot with tinfoil. 

I was able to use old foil that I rinsed off and dried.  My flower pot was found at a dollar tree years ago and I had long forgot I even owned it until I was rummaging around in the basement.

Decided how far down you want the base of your tree to be.  I wanted it down a little from the lip so it looked like my tree and Lorax were inside the pot.

I rolled out some green clay and placed it over the tin foil in the bottom of my pot.  I then took a broken paper clip and drove it into the clay and tin foil to create and armature for my tree trunk.

I covered the paper clip with more tinfoil (also reused) and then rolled out white clay and covered the trunk leaving just a bit of tin foil sticking out of the tip top.

Take some tinfoil and make a ball for the top of the tree.  Form the ball around your index finger so you have a place to put it onto the tree trunk.  It can be misshaped, as a matter of fact that might help you in the long run.  Once you have the ball formed over your finger move it to the tree trunk and give it a soft squeeze so you hold it on while you work.

From there roll out some hot pink clay (or whatever color you want your trees tuft to be) and cover the entire ball of tinfoil and attach the clay to the clay on the trunk.  Here is a great place to fan our the clay on the edges so you get that cartoon drawing book feel.

Mix your base color of your tuft and add white.  Kneed the colors together then create a long thing coil.  Take that coil and create a spiral on both sides of the tree.  Then take a small tool (preferably pointed) and blend the colors together in a spiral motion. This will blend the two as well as give texture to the tuft of your tree.

Now mix a bit of black to your brown so you can make the low lights in the tree trunk

Take your newly created color and roll out a thin coil.  Wrap it around the tree trunk and blend in with the white of the tree trunk.

Somehow I managed to lose my pictures of making the Lorax, I'm going to have to recheck my camera and if I find them I promise to update this 'able!  I know I had a picture right after baking as well.  Odd!

He was made using orange clay in his basic shape.  Then mixing orange and a little white for his eye brows and mustache.  His mouth was made using pink white and black clay, his eyes white with black clay for pupils.


Take Directly from Sculpey®'s Website:

Bake at 275 °F  (130 °C) for 15 minutes per 1/4 in  (6 mm) thickness.  DO NOT MICROWAVE. Baking should be completed by an adult. DO NOT EXCEED THE ABOVE TEMPERATURE OR RECOMMENDED BAKING TIME.

Once you are finished baking and it has cooled off display it proudly!