"What Happened When We All Stopped"

Videos

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12English Language Arts

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by TED-Ed

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What it is

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 take action and 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.

Prerequisites

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

Differentiation & Implementation

English language arts classes can annotate the poem, noting the rhyme scheme, meter, figurative language, and literary devices.
Younger students can draw before and after pictures to show what changed from the beginning of the poem to the end.
Writing classes can write personal reflections about a natural place that feels peaceful. Students can 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.

From the scientist review

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.

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At a glance

Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: English Language Arts
Other types: Activity - Classroom
Language: English
Location: Earth
Provider: TED-Ed
Authors: TED-Ed
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2 + 6 more

Connecticut Climate Education Hub

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2Interpret 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.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.6.6Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.2Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.3Evaluate a speaker's point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.4Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

Connecticut Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

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.

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What it is

Teaching tips

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