Big Yellow Taxi
Joni Mitchell
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=ZgMEPk6fvpg
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=YTC6m-a3U9w
Hey farmer farmer
Put away that d.d.t. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
 Rhythm – Using un-tuned percussion to show each beat in
the bar, emphasising the third beat.
 Melody – Using tuned percussion to look at the notes that
are used in the chorus, at first just playing a few of the notes for
a longer length of time then eventually playing the tune.
 Singing! – Allow the children to sing the song through just for
fun with no other instruments or anything else to think about.
I Don’t Care About Spots on My Apples Just Leave Me
the Birds and the Bees PLEASE!
• Why Is This Frog Worried?
• Because Something's Gone Wrong on the Pond
• On a field trip to a pond one day in 1995, Minnesota middle-school
students discovered something really weird: one-legged frogs, stumpylegged frogs, frogs with extra legs.
• What caused this? Scientists suspect these are the results of
different chemicals that make their way into water systems
after farmers put pesticide s and fertilisers on their field.
• They are very worried as this does not just cause deformities
but also many species of amphibians and fish in out ponds
and rivers are dying out as their environment has been
affected so severely. This will impact on the majority of
animals, insects, birds and plants within that ecosystem.
• Interesting lessons on food chains and webs, pond dipping as
well as studies of pond life and life cycles of animals could
follow from this discussion.
Environmental Studies (Upper School)
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”
Physically losing natural areas to construction
Group Challenge
• Children are given a newspaper article which states that the local
council are considering an application from a building contractor
to sell vast area of grassland and gardens around the school to
allow houses and shops to be built.
• Children are split into groups and using various methods of
research (internet, books, surveys etc.) are asked to investigate
the proposal and to compose an effective argument to the council
stating their case, backing it up with appropriate evidence.
• Children will present their argument in the most effective way
possible, for example: letter, report, short film, presentation etc.
and they will put forward their presentation to the “councilors”
(fellow pupils, parents, SMT or preferably the local councilors if
available) and will be given feedback.
Sustainable Development
Pollution and transport
Cross Curricular Links & Activities
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Transport in the local environment
One of the nine elements of Eco School
Conduct a transport survey – impact of way we travel
Car sharing/walking bus/walk/cycle to school
Traffic/noise survey
Cross-curricular link to health implication (asthma)
Links to traffic in New York – Yellow Taxi/different
vehicles
Big Yellow Taxi
Drama links
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Taxi Driver
A day in the life of...
Hot seating with different people e.g. farmer, taxi driver etc.
Teacher in role of an elderly person who has seen the environment go
from beautiful & green to grey shops and pollution etc.
Geography Links
• Linking the song title to different places you may find yellow taxis.
• Comparing these locations to Scotland (The population of New York being
larger than the whole of Scotland etc)
• Similarities and differences – looking at a map to see where it is, its
climate, scenery etc.
Cross-curricular links: Art
“They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.”
Ask the children to think about this phrase: what do they
imagine paradise to look like? What about afterwards – what has
changed about the scene in their minds?
Two-part drawing: first drawing shows “paradise” and second
drawing shows what might happen after the environment is
interfered with in some way.