1) The document contains a poem, facts, and a prose paragraph about environmental destruction. 2) The poem discusses how global warming is hurting the environment and urges people to take action to address it. 3) The facts show various statistics about deforestation, species extinction, and pollution that are damaging the environment. 4) The prose excerpt discusses how pollution in China is impacting public health and over 500 million people's access to clean water.

1. THE
TREE
UNIT

2. EARLY RESEARCH!
DESTRUCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
The facts are in dark blue.
The poem is in red.
The prose is in green.
The bibliography is black with blue highlight.
FACTS!
The world has already lost 80% of its original forests.
"Environmental Destruction | World Centric." Biodegradable & Compostable
Products | World Centric. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Sept. 2011. <http://
www.worldcentric.org/conscious-living/environmental-destruction>.
This quote shows that there is an enormous problem rising in our world today.
According to this fact, Earth has already lost 80% of its original forests. Original
in this case means forests that are not Man-Made. This is already having a
great impact on our world because the amount of greenhouse gases is
increasing and without any trees left in the world our world would be filled with
only greenhouse gases.
Environment: This quote relates to the Environment because without any trees
our environment would become a really dirty and unsafe environment for
humans to live in because of all the greenhouse gases. This could cause
extinction of human’s and most of the other living things on earth.
At the world's current rates, 5-10% of tropical forest
species will become extinct every decade.
"Environmental Destruction | World Centric." Biodegradable & Compostable
Products | World Centric. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. <http://
www.worldcentric.org/conscious-living/environmental-destruction>.

3. This quote shows the extinction of tropical forest species is not far off in the
future. According to the fact, 5-10% of species will be come extinct each
decade at the world’s current rates but scientists have predicted that this
number will rise at a rapid speed throughout the next 2-3 decades. This show’s
that in almost thirty years most of the tropical forest species would be extinct.
Environment: This quote relates to the environment because animals/plants
that live in the tropical forests are still part of the environment. Without them
some significant changes could happen, because they are one part of many that
keep the environment going.
2000 trees a minute are cut down in the Amazon alone. That
is 7 football fields a minute!
"Environmental Facts." National Bicycle Greenway Mayors' Ride: and Recumbent,
HiWHeel, Trikes. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. <http://www.bikeroute.com/
EnvironmentalFacts.php>.
This quote show’s the speed at which our environment is being destroyed.
2000 trees a minute is not a small thing because at this rate we loose 120,000
trees an hour, 2,880,000 trees a day and 1,051,200,000 trees an year (only in
the Amazon). At this rate we can kiss all the trees in our world goodbye in the
next decade or so. If all the trees are gone, all the humans/plants and other
living things are also going to go extinct because all these things need oxygen
(O2) and without trees there would be only Carbon dioxide (CO2) on Earth.
Environment: This quote relates to the environment because trees are a very big
part of the environment. Basically when you think of environment the first thing
that pop’s up in your mind is trees. If there are no trees left, the environment
would be no better then the environment on the moon which is frankly
“uninhabitable”.
Americans dump 16 tons of sewage into their waters,
every minute.
Leech, Eric. "20 Gut-Wrenching Statistics About the Destruction of the Planet
and those Living Upon It : TreeHugger." TreeHugger. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept.
2011. <http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/20-gut-wrenching-
statistics-about-the-destruction-of-the-environment.php>.

4. This quote shows how much just one part of the world is hurting the
environment. The type of environment we are talking about in this quote is
water. Dumping 16 tongs of sewage into their waters every minute is a
horrendous thing to do, because that means 96 tons per hour, 2304 tons per
day and 838656 tons per year just from the United States. The impact of this
could be huge if looked at a whole world scale. If every country begins to trash
their waters too then all the marine life will die and there will be no clean water
left to look and drink (specially for the poor).
Environment: This quote relates to the environment because it shows how just
one part of the world is destroying a very important part of the environment
which is water.
The Exxon-Valdez oil spill killed according to estimates,
250,000 birds, 2,800 sea otters, 302 harbor seals, 250
bald eagles, 22 whales, and billions of salmon and
herring eggs were killed.
"Oil Spill Statistics – Water Pollution, Death of Marine Life." LawyerShop Family
Law and Personal Injury Attorney Directory – Einstein Industries . N.p., n.d. Web.
5 Sept. 2011. <http://www.lawyershop.com/practice-areas/personal-injury/
oil-spills/statistics>.
This fact shows that Exxon-Valdez oil spill had an enormous impact on the
marine life. According to estimates it killed 250,000 birds, 2,800 sea otters,
302 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, 22 whales and billions of salmon and
herring eggs were killed. With most of the species going extinct already, this
incident increased the num.ber of marine life extinctions rapidly. The death of
the marine life was not the only bad effect of the oil spill but the oil filled water
has been untouchable and undrinkable for a mere 20 years. There are only a
few traces of the oil remaining today but what happened that day, was not a
good day.
Environment and Human Ingenuity: This quote shows the effect of a human
caused accident’s impact on the environment. The Exxon-Valdez was a man-
made ship for transporting oil but because of an accident at sea, it ended up
destroying the marine life.

5. POEM
Global Warming isn’t hard to explain
It leaves Mother Earth crying with excruciating pain.
This hurts our planet in every single way
The changes could leave us all in sorrow and dismay.
We need to stop it now so the temperature doesn’t rise
People, plants, and animals would be in demise.
Changes in temperature due to the depleting ozone layer
We really don’t need it so show us that you care.
Mother Nature can’t do it all so let’s give her a rest.
We all need to try and do what is best.
Our planet earth is precious and can’t be replaced
We need to act now or our home will be erased.
Erylynn (Hawaii, USA)
Students, Ms. Dore's Fifth Grade. "Poems on Global Warming Written by Kids
from Hawaii - Environmental Education by Children of the Earth United."
Children of the Earth United - Environmental Education for Kids, Families and
Teachers. Learn about Animals, Plants, Ecology, Nature, Environmental Issues,
Native Wisdom, Nature Centers, Activities, Books, Earth Day and much more..
N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. http://www.childrenoftheearth.org/Kid%27s
%20Entries/global_warming_Dore_class.htm

6. Global warming is hurting the environment the most out of anything right now
because it is changing the way earth works by changing the temperatures. This
causes shortage/abundance of water, death of animals and plants because of
too much or too much cold. This poem tells us about global warming. It tells us
about why global warming is happening by telling us about the depletion of the
ozone layer. It also tells us about the effects of global warming such as the
changes in the temperature. It tells us about the impact of global warming on
the environment as well as the humans. I really like how such a small child has
written this poem. This shows the one and only positive impact of our
destruction of the environment, which is “raising responsibility”. Adults and
children have now understood that there is a problem and they are willing to
change themselves to help save the environment.
Environment and Human Ingenuity: This poem talks about us as humans and
what we have done to cause global warming and how it is destroying the
environment.
PROSE
“Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer China’s leading cause of death, the
Ministry of Health says. Ambient air pollution alone is blamed for hundreds of thousands
of deaths each year. Nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water.
Chinese cities often seem wrapped in a toxic gray shroud. Only 1 percent of the country’s
560 million city dwellers breathe air considered safe by the European Union. Beijing is
frantically searching for a magic formula, a meteorological deus ex machina, to clear its
skies for the 2008 Olympics.”
KAHN, JOSEPH. "China - Pollution - Environment - New York Times." The New York Times -
Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Sept. 2011. <http://
www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html>.
I chose this prose because it is simple and yet it shows one of the impacts of human’s destruction
of the environment. Anyone who has ever been to china will always complain about the pollution
problem and that is exactly what is shown in the prose above. Only 1% of the countries 560
Million cities are able to breathe safe and clean air. It also shows what is the impact of too much
pollution, which is cancer. It also shows one other problem, which is “500 million people lack
access to safe drinking water.”
Human Ingenuity and Health and Social Education: This prose shows a case in which a human
made object is causing harm to health of many innocent humans. Factories and cars are all man-
made and they are the biggest factors causing pollution today. Pollution can cause hard to breathe
air, cancer and a bad environment.

7. REFLECTIONS!
Drama reflection 1
Today with Andrew, we had lots of fun. First of all it was a new experience since
we had never met him before. We learnt about the different types of movements
in dance/drama. These were fall, suspend and vibratory. We practiced them
many times and then went off into pairs to create a three-movement sequence.
My partner was Sally and I think I worked quite well with Sally. One of the
strengths of today was the group work, I worked well and efficiently with Sally
which resulted in a pretty good routine that Andrew liked very much. The other
thing that we learnt was “Uncomfortable is good”. I found this to be very
different then what I thought was right because I always thought the more
comfortable you are in the situation, the better you will do but Andrew told us
otherwise. We also learned the two main things in communication. The first one
is Listening and the second one is Responding Appropriately. These are the two
techniques that will help you communicate your ideas in your performance. The
feedback that I got today is to try to push through your comfort zone so you
can do more and become a better actor. The other feedback that I got was to be
as enthusiastic as possible whenever you are doing anything. My strengths
today were that I followed everything that Andrew told us to do and I did it
without any Fuss. I also did them to the best of my capability. The only
weakness I had today was that I did not talk very much, did not answer many
questions even though I had a good idea of the answer.
Drama reflection 2-
Today with Andrew we had a lot of fun but it was quite painful for me. Today
we started putting the script together with the movements. I felt quite happy
because I am the first person that moves in the drama. So first of all before the
play starts we all are clustered up in a big bunch on the floor. My head is on
Anna’s leg and my right hand is under Zharfan’s head/body. So the first thing
that I have to do is I have to struggle my right arm up by pushing zharfan’s
head away trying to show that I am a seed growing into a tree. The first time I
did it, Andrew liked it but he told me to try doing it so it looks like my right
hand is the thing that I am being pulled by upwards not my head. He also told

8. zharfan, Anna and qury to try and hold on to me whilst I grow so that it looks
like they want to grow too but he told me to struggle them off and make it look
like I am fighting my way up. It was quite a easy thing to do but the painful part
was when I had to hold in the position for a long time and it wasn’t a easy
position because I am supposed to kneel on one knee and I have to stretch
from my right hand. We did a lot of other scenes today. So after I grow into a
tree, Marley and a bunch of others are kind of like gardeners who are
pretending to plant something and then we all have to stand up and do this
kind of pull and push yourself up and down the stage pretending that someone
is holding your shirt or pushing you on the chest. After that we did a little bit of
a try on a routine when Anna tried to lean back when Marley, Zeckre, Sally and
Julia were holding on to her. I think I had no weakness today either because I
gave it my best or tried to do everything without complaining.
DRAMA REFLECTION WITH ANDREW 3
Today we continued with our drama. We first repeated all that we had practiced
in the first session and also made a few tiny changes but overall it looked quite
good. So we started from the part where Anna is leaning back while Marley,
Zeckre, Sally and Julia are holding her. After that I go up and I have to do this
thing when I am supposed to show the audience that I am collecting the rain
and to do this I made two quick jerky kind of circles with my arms to show fast
and hard rain. My favorite part of today was when everyone was gathered
together and we all did a pose to show “the beast breathing”. After that we kind
of had a 4 step dance moment when we lift our knees and then stick our hands
out and do this funky thing with our head. I got feedback from Andrew when I
tried doing it and he said “you get 20 platinum stars. You are like the leader of
this group. No matter if someone else will do it or not but you will do it and you
do it very well too”. When I heard that I felt pretty good. So apparently one of
the good things that I had done today was the fact that I had tried my best and
done things with enthusiasm. I would like to improve on my co-ordination
though because we have to do this march and that is when we have to use the
opposite arm for the leg that we walk with and I found it kind of difficult so I
am going to practice it at home.
Drama reflection with Andrew 4
Today we had a lot of fun with Andrew as always. Today we continued from the
“beast breathes” scene. I had practiced the marching at home so now I’m pretty
good at it and I also taught zharfan and a bunch of others how to do it now.
Now that I think of it, it was so simple I don’t know how I couldn’t get it at the
first time. Anyways today we concentrated on the FIGHT scene after the march.
So directly after the march, we are supposed to be on our phones texting like

9. we’re super serious businessmen. After that we look up to the audience and
slowly turn our head to the left hand side when the recorder says “…. Forest”
and then we push the person on the left hand side of us and they are supposed
t fall over like we pushed them really hard. Then there is this scene of labor in
which the people that were pushed are working very hard and the rest and
making it harder and harsher for them by the minute. After this scene its my
favorite scene which is the killing the workers scene. I don’t like this scene
because its so vulgar and cruel but I like it because of the different kinds of way
that we kill them. So firstly Andrew came up to me and asked me if I could
make Zeckre stand on my knees and I said “I guess”. So we tried a bunch of
times but just couldn’t get it. Ms. Rankin suggested I try the same thing with
Julia cause she is shorter and the first time we did it we got it. So that was
pretty cool. The other types of killing that happened today was pulling by the
hair and cutting your neck off, a kick in the face and one more that I can’t really
remember. Anyways I think today I did pretty well in class. I listened to what
Andrew and Ms. Rankin said and tried doing everything with enthusiasm. But to
be honest, my thighs hurt a lot today but I guess No pain No gain because that
scene just looks amazing. I guess my weakness today was that I was very quiet.
Even though I was taking part actively I was not at all speaking. I can’t really say
that was because I was concentrating or because I was shy but yeah that I one
of the things that I would like to improve on.
“take the owner ship… It’s not a class performance its you telling a story”
STRENGTHS
Today I think i did not do very well in class. I kept forgetting what i had to do
and I did not do my best. I think i should have tried harder and i think the
reason for today’s bad performance was that i was just having a bad day. So to
sum it up, i really did not do much good today. *Sad face*
WEAKNESSES
Today one of my weaknesses was that I was not doing the things that we were
supposed to do with my full capability. For example in the starting scene when I
am supposed to grow like a seed I am supposed to grow from my right arm so
not with my head or anything. I have done it well in the past but today I was
just loosing balance and falling down so it did not look too good today.
Another weakness that I had today was that I was afraid. I don’t know why, this
never happens before but until like 45 or 50 minutes into the lesson I was very

10. afraid to be daring and do something without waiting for someone else. This
was one of the feedbacks that Andrew gave me “don’t wait for someone else to
do
something. Take the risk and do it yourself” I felt really disappointed at myself
because just 2 weeks ago, Andrew had complimented me on being the leader of
the pack. He said I was never afraid or nor did I ever look and follow my
classmates and today I did the exact opposite. I did change my behavior
towards the end of the class when I did not look at anyone and just did what
was decided.
FEEDBACK
“Take the ownership, don’t think of it like a class performance instead think of
it as you telling a story.”

11. Practicing at
home

12. This was one of the hardest things for me because it is
the starting of the whole drama so i had to make it
good. It was really challenging because Andrew told
me to rise with my hand and not my head and it was
quite hard.

13. This is the
other
sequence that i
struggled with.
The first part
was quite easy
but the
march was the
thing that took
a while to get
used to. The hard
part was
synchronizing my opposite hand with my opposite leg.

14. This was from my point of view the toughest move
ever in the whole drama. I always seemed to do
something different and never the thing that i had
practiced and you can see that in my video here that
sometimes it looks pretty good and sometimes just
plain HORRIBLE.
SCRIPT