Choose the character you will play.
See Julia Butterfly Hill up close in this 8-minute Dateline clip from 1999. The quality is poor, but we recommend it anyway because of the fantastic background info and context it provides.
THOMAS DESOTO
Play,
The Woman Who Lived in a Tree
This inspiring play describes the sequence of events that led a brave activist to save an ancient redwood tree.
By JANA CHRISTY
From the March / April 2018 Issue
Learning Objective: This inspiring play describes the sequence of events that led a brave activist to save an ancient redwood tree.
Characters
Narrators 1, 2, 3, 4 (N1, N2, N3, N4)
Julia, a hiker, age 22
Jason, Julia’s friend
Jori, Julia’s friend
Boy
Girl
Dan
Loggers 1 and 2
Helicopter pilot
Luna, the redwood tree
Reporter
President of the lumber company
Scene 1
1998—A Redwood forest in California
Narrator 1: Julia lies on the ground, looking up.
Narrator 2: Her friends Jason and Jori rush to her side.
Jason: There you are!
Jori: We lost you.
Julia (amazed): Look at these trees. They’re a thousand years old!
Narrator 3: Two children step forward.
Boy (to Julia): You OK?
Julia: I’m fine, just in awe. This tree is as wide as my parents’ garage!
Jori: Come on, Julia. It’s time to go.
Narrator 4: Julia gets up.
Girl: Please don’t leave. Our dad is in that tree.
Jason (confused): What? Why is he up there?
Boy (pointing): Do you see the big blue “X” on Luna’s trunk?
Jori: Luna?
Girl: That’s the tree’s name. It means “moon.”
Julia (smiling up): It looks like she can reach the moon.
Boy: “X” means loggers will cut Luna down tomorrow—
Girl: —to sell her wood, along with all these giant trees.
Julia: No!
Boy: Dad says loggers cut too many trees too fast.
Girl: Without their roots, there will be mudslides.
Boy: Birds and animals will lose their homes.
Girl: So Dad is tree-sitting in Luna.
Boy: Loggers can’t cut down a tree with someone in it.
Girl: But he needs to come home now.
Boy: Can one of you take Dad’s place?
Julia: Maybe I can.
Girl: You climb up with ropes and a harness.
Jason: Julia, this is crazy.
Julia: No. Crazy is cutting this tree down.
YANN GAMBLIN/PARIS MATCH VIA GETTY IMAGES
The Forest Fades
Chopping down many trees in one area is called “clear-cutting.”
Scene 2
On Luna’s treetop platform
Boy (shouting up): Dad! Julia is coming to take your place.
N1: Julia steps onto a small platform attached to branches.
Julia (panting): Wow! I just climbed a 200-foot-tall tree!
Dan: Welcome to the sky, Julia. I’m Dan.
Julia: Hi. I feel dizzy. Wow, you have a tent!
Dan: And a camp stove, food . . .
Julia: What are these two jars for?
Dan: One collects rainwater. The other is for water you make.
Julia (laughs): I was wondering about that.
Dan: There’s also a solar cell phone, notebooks, and pens.
Julia (surprised): For homework?
Dan: Sort of. While you tree-sit, you can write letters and give interviews. Let people know that our forests are in danger.
Julia: I don’t know where to start.
Dan: Don’t worry. There are entire teams of people ready to help.
Julia: Good. Because I think a squirrel climbed into my backpack!
YANN GAMBLIN/PARIS MATCH VIA GETTY IMAGES
Julia stands nearly 200 feet in the air. Her tent was made out of tarps and wood planks.
Scene 3
The next morning
N2: The sound of chain saws fills the air.
Julia (shouts down): Stop! What are you doing?
N3: The loggers turn off their saws.
Logger 1: There’s a girl in the tree!
Logger 2: Hey, come out of there! This tree is coming down.
Julia: Not while I’m in it!
N4: A helicopter flies overhead. Luna’s branches are battered by the wind.
Helicopter pilot: You have to leave by tomorrow!
N1: Julia calls her team.
Julia: Help! Luna is in trouble. So am I!
Logger 1 (shouts): You have to come down someday!
Logger 2: We’ll just wait you out and cut the tree down then.
Logger 1: That’s what we did with the other tree-sitters.
Julia (shouts): But I never give up! Ever!
THOMAS DESOTO
Getting Supplies
Julia would use a rope to pull up a bucket filled with items she needed.
Scene 4
Day 77
N2: Winter storms hit Luna hard for a week.
N3: The team cannot get supplies to Julia. She writes a letter.
Julia (shivering): Dear Mom and Dad, I’m freezing and hungry. I can’t do this anymore.
N4: Suddenly, lightning strikes the ground, just missing Luna.
N1: Julia screams. Powerful winds toss her around.
N2: Julia stiffens, holding tight to Luna.
Julia: I’m going to fall!
N3: Julia imagines she hears Luna’s voice.
Luna: Bend like a tree. Stiff branches are the ones that break.
N4: The words calm Julia. She learns to move with the wind instead of fighting it.
N1: For 16 hours she clings to Luna, not daring to shut her eyes.
N2: When the storm passes, Julia feels changed.
Julia: If that storm didn’t stop me, nothing can. Luna, I promise I will stay until you’re safe.
Scene 5
Day 400
N3: Over a year goes by. Julia stays with Luna.
N4: She writes and talks to reporters all day.
Reporter: Why do you stay barefoot?
Julia (into phone): Tree sap keeps my feet sticky, so I don’t slip while climbing.
Reporter: Why are you doing this?
Julia: For the children. My fight for Luna is my gift for their future.
N1: The president of the lumber company calls Julia.
President (into phone): This is wrong. You are putting our loggers out of work.
Julia: You cut trees so fast, there won’t be any work. Because there won’t be any trees!
N2: He hangs up on Julia.
GILLES MINGASSON/LIAISON/GETTY IMAGES
From Trees to Logs
Julia didn’t want Luna to end up like the wood on this truck, headed to the lumber mill.
Scene 6
Day 738
Telling Her Story
Julia still lives in California. The book above is one of many written about her adventures.
N3: People all over the world learn about Luna and Julia.
N4: These people are inspired to fight to save forests in their own countries.
N1: Julia and Luna become famous.
N2: They can’t be ignored any longer by the logging company.
N3: One day, its president comes to visit Julia.
President (calling out): Julia, what will it take to get you down?
Julia: I want you to promise that Luna and the trees around her will be saved.
N4: He creates a contract that says just this. Julia signs it.
N1: Finally, after two whole years, Julia steps onto solid ground.
N2: Today, Luna sits safely on protected land.
Julia: She’ll be protected for another thousand years at least!
THINK AND WRITE
Imagine you’re Julia after you’ve come down. Write a journal entry listing the main events of your time with Luna. Use details from the play and include at least seven events.
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Can't Miss Teaching Extras
20th Century Context
Plays in the Classroom
These tips from teacher blogger Michelle Divkey for incorporating reader’s theater into your classroom are applicable to any Storyworks Jr. play—try them out yourself and see how they work for you!
Shaken and Determined
An interesting fact: Julia was inspired to take a stand for the environment after she was involved in a near-fatal car accident. Almost losing her life showed her that she had to commit her life to what she truly believed in.
Close Call
The year after Julia came down from Luna, someone tried to cut down the tree. The person (or people) cut through about two-thirds of Luna’s trunk, but, according to Julia, “some really smart scientists, tree experts, and lots of loving friends were able to protect her with metal cables, and filled her cut with a special clay mixture.”
Luna Standing Strong
Show your students this short video that shows Luna as she stands today. The man in the video, Stuart Moskowitz, is Luna’s caretaker, which means he makes sure that Luna is safe and healthy. (Mr. Moskowitz is also a math teacher at a nearby college!)
Butterfly
Wondering where Julia got the name “Butterfly”? When she was six years old, she was on a hike with her family and a butterfly landed on her finger. It stayed there for the whole hike, and Julia was nicknamed “Butterfly” from then on.
More About the Article
Content-Area Connections
Social studies: geography
Science: environment
Social-emotional learning: responsible decision-making
Key Skills
sequencing, cause and effect, inference, character’s motivation, character, summarizing, vocabulary
Step-by-Step Lesson Plan
1. PREPARING TO READ
Set a Purpose for Reading (10 minutes)
- As students look at the play’s opening spread, point out the height of the trees. Ask students to use the illustration to predict what the device hanging from the tree is used for. Point out the “X” on the tree’s trunk and ask students to look for information in the play about what it means.
- Call on a volunteer to read aloud the Think and Read box on page 20.
Introduce Vocabulary (15 minutes)
- While the play does not include definitions of vocabulary words in the text itself, a vocabulary activity previews challenging words and allows students to list other words that are unfamiliar to them. Project or distribute the activity to go over the words. You may also play our Vocabulary Slideshow.
- Challenging words: loggers, redwood, awe, solar, chainsaws, battered
2. FOCUS ON FLUENCY
Bridging Decoding and Comprehension
- Storyworks Jr. plays provide a perfect opportunity for students to build fluency. Model reading with expression and without expression by reading aloud the play’s title and subhead for the class. Ask students to describe the difference between the two readings.
- Remind students that fluent readers stop for periods, question marks, and exclamation points; they pause for commas; and they read the way they talk to each other.
- Make sure students know that when they understand all the vocabulary in a text, it will help with fluency when they’re reading aloud.
3. CLOSE READING
Reading and Unpacking the Text
- Before reading: Model reading the first column of Scene 1 for the class, demonstrating how to incorporate the stage directions.
- First read: Continue reading the play as a class.
- Second read: Project or distribute the Close-Reading Questions. Discuss them as a class, rereading lines or scenes as necessary.
- Separate students into groups to discuss the Critical-Thinking Question. Then have groups share their answers with the class.
Close-Reading Questions (30 minutes)
- In Scene 1, why is Julia lying on the forest floor? (inference) The redwood trees are so tall that Julia has to lie on the ground and look up to see them entirely.
- In Scene 2, why does Julia climb up to Luna’s treetop platform? (character’s motivation) Julia has volunteered to take the place of Dan, the current tree-sitter, after learning from his kids that he’s needed at home. She will stay in the tree so that it can’t be cut down.
- In Scene 3, what word best describes how Julia reacts when the helicopter pilot and the loggers tell her to get out of the tree? Why? (character) Answers will vary. An example of an acceptable answer: She was brave! She stood up to them even when the wind from the helicopter’s blades shook the tree’s branches and frightened her. Other possible answers: strong, independent.
- In Scene 4, what happens to Julia that makes her decide to stay with Luna until the tree is safe? (sequencing) During the winter, there are bad storms and Julia runs out of supplies because her team can’t reach her. She is cold and hungry. She is almost struck by lightning and thinks the winds are going to blow her out of the tree. But then she imagines Luna’s voice speaking to her and becomes calm. Sixteen hours later, the storm was over. Julia felt more brave than ever. She promised to stay with Luna until it was safe.
- In Scene 6, what happens that saves Luna from ever being cut down? (sequencing) Julia had been tree-sitting for more than two years. She spoke and wrote to reporters and her tree-sitting became famous. People in other countries started their own protests to save their forests. The logging company wasn’t able to ignore Julia any longer and it agreed to save Luna’s forest and never cut down trees in that area.
Critical-Thinking Question (10 minutes)
- Why do you think saving redwood trees was important to Julia? (summarizing) Answers will vary but may include: Julia loved the trees and appreciated that they had lived for such a long time. She got upset when she was told that loggers were going to cut down Luna and other redwood trees and sell the wood. It worried her that if too many trees were cut down, it could lead to mudslides, and that birds and animals would lose their homes if the trees were gone.
4. SKILL BUILDING
Exploring the Character Traits (30 minutes)
- Have students complete the sequencing activity. They should also write a response to the Think and Write question on page 25.
Differentiate and Customize
For Small Groups
Divide your class into six groups and assign each group one scene from the play. Give each group time to rehearse their lines in pairs. Ask partners to read through their assigned roles and then swap roles with their partner. Remind students that their goal is to sound as natural as possible when reading their lines. That includes shouting like they’re at the top of a 200-foot-tall tree!
For Advanced Readers
Ask students to think of one other threat to our environment, and if they think it is necessary to address it and why or why not. Discuss as a class.
For Struggling Readers
Help students come up with one key event from each scene. Use those events to create a timeline together.
For On Level Readers
Imagine you’re Julia after you’ve come down. Write a journal entry listing the main events of your time with Luna. Use details from the play and include at least seven events.
Text-to-Speech