This week, Year 5 have been learning all about deforestation impacts on the Amazon Rainforest. To do this, we’ve used an advert by Greenpeace UK called ‘There’s An Orangutan In My Bedroom. There is also a book for this story by James Sellick. Here’s a link to the video if you wish to watch it at home together:
there’s a rang tan in my bedroom – YouTube
In this advert, we find a confused yet inquisitive orangutan in a girl’s bedroom. It seems to be messing up her living space and becomes very annoyed seeing a chocolate bar and some shampoo containing palm oil. After initial anger, the girl becomes invested in why the orangutan is in her room. She learns that the orangutan has nowhere else to go as there are humans in the Amazon, destroying it’s home. The girl feels sympathetic and motivated to then help the orangutan with this issue. Finally, she calls for anyone watching to join the fight against deforestation and for us to be wary and mindful of the items we’re buying for our homes.
The learning from Year 5 around this issue has been fantastic. For example, we began by thinking about how the girl’s emotions change through the video and why this may be (shown below).
Then, we decided to do some acting of our own. The children split into groups and had some time to plan out their recreation of the advert. They then performed to the rest of the class, and all acts were absolutely brilliant! After lots of positive and constructive feedback, we created some reflective statements to use when performing.
When performing, it is vital to look up at the audience.
When performing, it is vital to share speaking parts equally.
When performing, it is vital to project your voice and use actions.
We were so proud of our performances, so we decided to take it one step further – to perform to the whole school in Friday’s collective worship! Year 5 were absolutely fantastic and had clearly taken their feedback on board. Here are some pictures of the performance!
Help at home:
Watch the video at home together. Is there anything you could do to support the prevention of deforestation? Next time you go to the supermarket, are there options that don’t contain palm oil? Maybe a healthier alternative over a chocolate bar, too?
Perhaps you could explore James Sellick’s book on this issue – There’s a Rang-Tan in my bedroom.