Arrakis’s unforgiving, barren landscape is an active force in shaping its inhabitants. How does Arrakis’s harsh environment shape its human and non-human inhabitants?

How does living on Arrakis change Paul?

How does the environment impact Fremen customs and their ways of life?

How does the life cycle of the sandworms highlight the interdependence of life forms and the environment?

Teaching Suggestion: This question helps students understand the impact of The Environment and Ecology on the events and characters in the novel. To start the discussion, you may want students to identify the different features of the environment on Arrakis. You can follow this prompt by connecting it to the earlier discussion on the different types of human-environment interaction.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with learning differences may benefit from a graphic organizer to help them find details about the different inhabitants of the planet. For example, in a two-column chart, they could list Paul, the Fremen, the sandworms, and the muad’dib on the left and find textual details about each to add to the right.