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Database Provider

Author

TED-Ed

Grades

6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th

Subjects

English Language Arts, Visual and Performing Arts

Resource Types

  • Videos, 3 minutes, 9 seconds, CC, Subtitles
  • Assessments
  • Interactive Media

Regional Focus

Global

"What Happened When We All Stopped"

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Synopsis
  • This animated poem, read by Jane Goodall, shows what happened when people slowed down during the Covid-19 pandemic and began to notice nature. 
  • Students will learn that people have damaged the environment and that people can work together to rebuild it. 
Teaching Tips

Positives

  • This video will remind students that humans are responsible for taking care of the natural world.
  • The gentle animation style pairs well with Jane Goodall's calming voice.

Additional Prerequisites

  • Students should be familiar with the following terms: tenacious, prevail, rebirth, and renewed.

Differentiation

  • English language arts classes could annotate the poem, noting the rhyme scheme, meter, figurative language, and literary devices.
  • Younger students could draw before and after pictures to show what changed from the beginning of the poem to the end.
  • Writing classes could write personal reflections about a natural place that feels peaceful. Students could incorporate sensory images to help the reader understand what it feels like to be there.
  • Other resources on this topic include this animated video on the importance of biodiversity, this video that takes students to a silent rainforest in Washington, and this interactive map that shows the restoration potential of land in different parts of the world.
Scientist Notes
This poem narrates the importance of adopting collective ideas such as nature-based solutions, clean energy, and other climate solutions to rebuild the planet. This is recommended for teaching.
Standards

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.

  • Science
    • ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
      • MS-ESS3-1. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes.
  • English Language Arts
    • Reading: Literature (K-12)
      • RL.CI.7.2 Determine a theme in a literary text (e.g., stories, plays, or poetry) and explain how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
      • RL.IT.8.3 Analyze how particular elements of a text interact (e.g., how setting shapes the characters or plot, how ideas influence individuals or events, or how characters influence ideas or events) across multiple text types, including across literary and informational texts.
    • Speaking & Listening (K-12)
      • SL.II.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
      • SL.ES.9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any false reasoning or distorted evidence.
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