i I ‘ Rustyi How come Mother Nature is always a lady? How come there’s never a Father I i i ’ Cindy Us! Just us? Charles No superhero’s going to come down and save us Anna I guess no alien’s really going to come down either at least not unless you believe the Father Nature? Briant Wait we’ve got it all ' backwards Instead of looking for a good guy let’s look for a bad guy The good guy needs someone or something to fight got Skeleton Luke’s Darth got Mr Grecni You got a bad guy? Brians Some hairy mutant animal made from a toxic waste dump Heathen Or a giant garbage monster that eats ozone and tropical rain forests and ’s endangered species Mr Green Well class we’ve got some great ideas Good guys like superheroes Mother Nature and aliens who rescue us from bad guys like the garbage monster and the toxic waste creature Let’s discuss these ideas Narratori As the class talks toads are waking up from their winter’s hibernation in the bottom of ponds They trill in long songs attracting mates to their pond After they lay eggs they leave the pond to go back into the forest to eat insects - for another summer Woodchucks come out of their dens dig new entrances and start munching on new spring plants The mourning cloak butterfly awakens from its winter sleep stretches it wings warms up and begins the flight for a new year A yellowjacket queen starts looking for a new site to build this year’s nest Spring is in full bloom The discussion in Mr Green’s classroom is in full bloom too Charles Everyone I got it! Annai Hope it’s not contagious Chariest Very funny I’m serious We’re talking about whether to make the main character a superhero or an alien right? Jamaali Right Mother Nature’s out ’cause she’s been done before Briani But so have aliens and superheroes right? Charlesi Right! So we don’t need aliens or superheroes I if jj" vu rtr t ii National Enquirer Lioneh Right but it’s just a play it! Charles Sure but it’s our play Let’s be the stars ourselves Julia So who saves the earth? Charles We do Ramona How do a bunch of kids save the world? Latoya Same way a bunch of adults save the world We write to the President Rusty We recycle We clean up the neighborhood around the school We write a play that makes our parents cry really hard and get really into the environment along with us Jamaal And the play ends with a song about the environment that really Les saw I charges people up Miserables and that’s how that play ended Richardi Or we’re doing a rock video of a concert to save the environment We can play rock stars like Madonna and Sting and Charles Let’s just be us I’ll just be Charles and the play is about what Mr Green’s class decides to do as a group Heather I think it’s a great idea Certainly makes the ' - costumes easier to make Cindy So what if the play is about us making a play and we decide the play is about us improving the environment through what we ourselves uo? Brian That’s great! And that way we all have parts to play Mr Green Let’s divide into groups and continue to work on the plot Narrator There’s a knock on the door Mr Green Come in! Oh Mrs Sippy! Come on in They’re all writing their play for the Earth Day assembly Mrs Sippy I can’t wait to see what this story is about You all did such a great job for our First Day of Spring party What’s the story line? ft i Mr Green Should I spoil the secret? Mrs Sippy No I guess I can wait and be surprised But I just wanted to be sure that whoever is reading this out loud right now in another classroom likes it enough to want finish it Mr Green I think they can tell that it will be ending in just a few lines They’ll finish I l - Lioneh Guess that’s because Mother Nature is married to He-man- - - Nature? Rustyi So who says we can’t do l 1 Charles Us Father Time i Latoya So who’s the main character? tttftrtittttmttrm Mrs Sippy Well I hope 60 See you at the assembly Mr Green Bye Mrs Sippy Oh class what do we want the central message of the story to say? Rusty That’s easy Mr G Mr Green So tell me! Everybody Earth Day is every day! Narrator As they write the play plants outside the classroom window are turning sunlight into sugar Beetles lay eggs in the bark of trees for woodpeckers to find Buds are bursting on trees sending out bright green shoots The Earth continues rotating while students everywhere wonder about ways they too can celebrate Earth Day I l i EARTH DAY 1991 mmmmuti FAST FACE Save water I the j Turn off faucet while you brush your teeth Earth Rap Mr Green’s students wrote a rap for the end of their performance Choose up lines and rap out loud This week is Earth Day April 22 And on that day you’ll know what to do Plant a tree clean a park or ride a bike Do something you think that the planet will like Build a bouse for the birds throw litter away Then make Earth Day every day I’m gonna make Earth Day every day I’m gonna make Earth Day every day Help keep the air clean and the water pure We ’ll each do our part you can be sure Let’s thank the ml for growing seeds And growing all the food we need Let 'a thank the sunlight energy That flows through you and flows through me Let's all chip in and do our part This Earth Day is just the start Because after Earth Day I will say I'm gonna make Earth Day every day rm gonna make Earth Day every day I’m gonna make Earth Day every day Pll recycle paper and glass in trash And turn my aluminum cans to cash I’ll care for trees along my street And keep the sidewalks clean and neat I’U conserve the water in my sink So everyone on Earth has enough to drink When I leave a room I'll hit the light Saving energy keeps the sun shining bright Celebrating Earth Day is just one way ’Cause Tm gonna make Earth Day every day Trn gonna make Earth Day every day Tm gonna make Earth Day every day rm gonna make Earth Day every day Will you make Earth Day every day? 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