Earth Song – Michael Jackson – Notes Activity types : Discussion, gap fill, vocabulary. Time: one hour. Note: Earth Song is Michael Jackson’s biggest selling single in the UK, entering the charts at Number One in December 1995. It is a ballad * with elements of blues*, gospel* and opera* . In the song Jackson focuses attention on world problems, and subsequently received recognition from various animal and environmental organizations. *ballad : simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story *blues : a type of slow and sad music that developed from the songs of black slaves in the southern US *gospel : a type of Christian music that was developed by African Americans *opera : dramatic composition with music, in which the words are sung 1. Ask students if they are interested in protecting the world we live in. Brainstorm a list of the main environmental problems. Teach the following words through examples: endangered animals deforestation pollution wildlife extinction climate changes and global warming domestic and toxic waste 2. Discuss the principal world problems inflicted by man. Elicit the following words: war violence homelessness famine destruction disease 3. Write the following words on the board, and check students understand the vocabulary. Tell them they are going to listen to a song, and ask them to tick the words in the order they appear in the song. If they appear more than once, count just the first time. world whales planet’s stars shore heavens nature land Earth rain elephants sunrise fields seas forest animals 4. Show the video (this can be seen on the Downloadable Worksheets page of www.tuneintoenglish.com). Ask students to guess the geographic regions shown. Note that these locations are detailed at the end of the video, so be sure to pause it before feedback! The video centers around the destruction and rebirth of the Earth, and was filmed on four continents, each suffering because of man. The first location is the Amazon Rainforest , featuring natives of the region. The second scene is a war zone in Croatia , with residents of the area. The third location is Tanzania, showing scenes of illegal poaching and hunting. The final location is Warwick , New York, where a forest fire was simulated in a corn field. 5. Give each student a copy of the worksheet and ask them to fill in the gaps based on their answers to the previous activity and context. 6. Play the song again and ask students to underline all the words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and phrases depicting the unhappy condition created by man. 7. Class discussion: After listening to the song and watching the video, discuss the following: • What animals can you see in the video? • What are the main problems afflicting nature and the world? • What are the main problems afflicting man? • After watching the video do you think there is a solution according to Michael Jackson? And according to you? This worksheet is to be used for educational purposes only Activity © Tune into English 2010 – www.tuneintoenglish.com Worksheet written by Prof. Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE) Earth Song – Michael Jackson What about _______________ What about nature’s worth What about ____________ (ooo, ooo) What about all the things It's our ___________ womb That you said we were to gain... (What about us) What about killing _____________ What about _______________ Is there a time (What about it) What about all the things Turned kingdoms to dust That you said was yours and mine... (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice What about _______________ All the blood we've shed before (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice Have we lost their trust This crying _______ this weeping ________ ? (What about us) What about crying ______________ Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about us) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh Ravaging the ___________ (What about us) What have we done to the ____________ What about ____________ trails Look what we've done (ooo, ooo) What about all the peace Burnt despite our pleas That you pledge your only son... (What about us) What about flowering ____________ What about the holy ____________ Is there a time (What about it) What about all the dreams Torn apart by creed That you said was yours and mine... (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice What about the common man All the children dead from war (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice Can't we set him free This crying _______ this weeping ________ ? (What about us) What about children dying Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about us) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh Can't you hear them cry (What about us) I used to dream Where did we go wrong I used to glance beyond the _____________ (ooo, ooo) Now I don't know where we are Someone tell me why Although I know we've drifted far (What about us) What about baby boys Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about it) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh What about the days Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about us) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh What about all their joy (What about us) Hey, what about yesterday What about the man (What about us) (What about us) What about the _____________ What about the crying man (What about us) (What about us) The ____________ are falling down What about Abraham (What about us) (What was us) I can't even breathe What about death again (What about us) (ooo, ooo) What about apathy Do we give a damn (What about us) I need you Aaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaah (What about us) This worksheet is to be used for educational purposes only Activity © Tune into English 2010 – www.tuneintoenglish.com Worksheet written by Prof. Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE) Earth Song – Michael Jackson – Complete What about sunrise What about nature's worth What about rain (ooo, ooo) What about all the things It's our planet's womb That you said we were to gain... (What about us) What about killing fields What about animals Is there a time (What about it) What about all the things Turned kingdoms to dust That you said was yours and mine... (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice What about elephants All the blood we've shed before (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice Have we lost their trust This crying Earth this weeping shore ? (What about us) What about crying whales Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about us) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh Ravaging the seas (What about us) What have we done to the world What about forest trails Look what we've done (ooo, ooo) What about all the peace Burnt despite our pleas That you pledge your only son... (What about us) What about flowering fields What about the holy land Is there a time (What about it) What about all the dreams Torn apart by creed That you said was yours and mine... (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice What about the common man All the children dead from war (What about us) Did you ever stop to notice Can't we set him free This crying Earth this weeping shore (What about us) What about children dying Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about us) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh Can't you hear them cry (What about us) I used to dream Where did we go wrong I used to glance beyond the stars (ooo, ooo) Now I don't know where we are Someone tell me why Although I know we've drifted far (What about us) What about baby boys Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about it) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh What about the days Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh (What about us) Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh What about all their joy (What about us) Hey, what about yesterday What about the man (What about us) (What about us) What about the seas What about the crying man (What about us) (What about us) The heavens are falling down What about Abraham (What about us) (What was us) I can't even breathe What about death again (What about us) (ooo, ooo) What about apathy Do we give a damn (What about us) I need you Aaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaah (What about us) This worksheet is to be used for educational purposes only Activity © Tune into English 2010 – www.tuneintoenglish.com Worksheet written by Prof. Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE) .