4 Fun Lessons That Won’t Bust Your Classroom Budget

By Guest Author Susan Lee, Retired Teacher*

As schools face budget shortfalls and an overall lack of funding, teachers find themselves spending more and more of their own money for lesson materials, cleaning supplies, and more to create a warm and successful learning environment. The good news is there are ways to continue to make learning fun and engaging, even when you are on a budget.

Here are four fun lessons for elementary school teachers, all centered on Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, that won’t bust your classroom budget. I hope they help inspire you to think of even more cost-conscious activities for your classroom.

1. English Lesson

One of the best ways to save money while teaching English lessons is to rely on your school and local libraries for books, or seek out ways to get free books for your classroom. Our lesson requires only one copy of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, so that you don’t have to worry about busting your classroom budget on multiple copies. Divide students into groups and assign one role to each group: summarizers, investigators, questioners, and word highlighters.

Read the book aloud once from beginning to end. Then, allow students time to discuss the book in the context of their roles, as groups. Encourage them to each take notes on their discussion. Then, reread the book so students can gain a better understanding.

Instruct students after the second read to complete their assigned group task: summarizers write a summary, investigators make connections between the book and previous language arts lessons, questioners list important questions relating to the book, and word highlighters attempt to define some of the nonsense words in the story. Allow students to share their final products as a group, to clarify understanding and to help them develop their presentation skills.

Regroup students so that one member from each original group is in the new, mixed groups. Beginning with the summarizer, students take turns sharing their work with their new group. Again, allow for discussion and sharing. Then, bring the entire group back together to report out their findings.

2. Math Lesson

The Lorax involves concepts relating to supply and demand, economics, and money. Conduct a math lesson extending the concepts you are learning with the book to the math concepts that are appropriate for your grade level. Perhaps you could have students design and create their own Thneeds using paper and markers, or whatever materials you have on hand or can purchase from a local discount store. Another option that won’t bust your classroom budget is to ask colleagues to bring in scarves that you could pretend are Thneeds and then return them after you complete your math lesson.

Once you have obtained enough Thneeds, you could then have a Thneed sale with play money. Students could practice making change during the sale. Or, you could have students make graphs and charts comparing characteristics of their Thneeds using fractions and percentages.

3. History Lesson

The concepts of greed and industrialization are big ideas, but you certainly can bring those topics to life for younger students with a bit of creativity and not a lot of money. First, there are free Industrial Revolution videos available online, so that you can introduce children to the historical time period through primary sources without busting your classroom budget.

Begin the lesson by asking children to describe “greed” and how it relates to The Lorax. Discuss the negative effects of greed from the story. Then, discuss factories and introduce students to the concept of the Industrial Revolution. Again, keep the discussion at an age-appropriate level and continue making connections to The Lorax. Ask how factory life would have affected children to gauge students’ understanding and then introduce the video, photos, etc. that you find online. Show the video and ask students to share their reactions with a partner, or if you have older elementary students, ask them to write a reflection. End with a class discussion sharing students’ observations and questions.

4. Science Lesson

Obviously, conservation and pollution are two main science connections to The Lorax. One science lesson that presents a great way to teach kids about pollution comes from Discovery Education, but we would skip watching the video they recommend (since it’s not free) and begin by discussing the pollution in The Lorax. Then, tell students they will be participating in a pollution activity to see the effects of pollution. Hint: To keep costs low, you could replace the spiral pasta in the lesson with stones found outside and do the activity in a gymnasium or play area that already has markings to use for grouping students.

These lessons are sure to spark the creativity of your students, but if you’re up for some extra fun, you might consider Dr. Seuss-ifying your classroom, or even yourself. For example, you might put up some Dr. Seuss window decals or pass out stickers to students as rewards. Or you could make your own costume to dress up as the Lorax, a great way to draw students into your lessons even more.

Quick internet searches and a bit of creativity and resourcefulness can go a long way in designing lessons that won’t bust your classroom budget. Don’t be afraid to ask colleagues, local businesses, and friends and family for materials and supplies, especially during year-end sales, going-out-of-business sales, and spring clean-out time.

*Susan Lee may be a former teacher, but she is a lifetime educator. As a mother to three college-age children, she knows how difficult paying for college can be. And that’s why she finds her work with OutsideScholarships.org so rewarding. As a writer and researcher, she loves being able to connect students in need with the scholarships that help make achieving their dreams possible. In her spare time, she loves camping with her husband and volunteering at a local animal shelter.