Day 1:
Students will brainstorm questions and ideas about the Rainforest in
partners and as a whole class to set a purpose for reading. Students will
then participate in either a guided reading or a read aloud of About the
Rain Forest.
***Click Here to View a Detailed Lesson Plan of the Reading Activity***
Day 2:
Students will build background knowledge and review the information
from the previous days’ lesson by completing graphic organizer #1 about
Rainforests. Students will view pictures of the teacher’s trip to the
Amazon, be introduced to various rainforest resources and references
within the classroom, and view the bulletin board.
Day 3:
Students will view Disney’s “Fern Gully” to build background knowledge
about the rainforest while also strengthening their English listening
skills.
Day 4 and 5:
Pairs of students will be assigned animals in which to briefly research and
present. Students will complete the web quest at the following address:
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/edis771/webquest2000/student/scollee
nmuldoon/home.htm, to further their knowledge on their assigned animal.
The presentation will consist of a mini-poster stating the animal, a
picture, an interesting fact, and its function in the rainforest.
Day 6:
The students will begin to interact with The Great Kapok Tree. The
teacher will begin reading the fictional text as a read aloud.
Day 7:
I.
Lesson Plan – Rainforest Unit
A. Day seven
B. 7th grade
C. ESOL classroom with students of varying English language
proficiencies
II.
Objectives
A. Student objectives
i. Students will be able to locate the world’s rainforests on a map.
ii. Students will be able to read and interpret a map.
iii. Students will be able to demonstrate comprehension through the
completion of a story map.
iv. Students will be able to write a logical, alternative ending to a
text.
B. Maryland State Voluntary Curriculum
i. Understand, acquire, and use new vocabulary (1.D.3.).
ii. Use strategies to make meaning from text (1.E.3.).
iii. Use strategies to demonstrate understanding of the text (1.E.4.).
iv. Select, organize, and develop ideas appropriate to topic,
audience, and purpose (4.A.1.b.).
C. ESOL Standards
i. Goal 1, Standard 2: Students will interact in, through, and with
spoken and written English for personal expression and
enjoyment.
ii. Goal 1, Standard 3: Students will use learning strategies to
extend their communicative competence.
iii. Goal 2, Standard 1: Students will use English to interact in the
classroom.
III.
Materials
A. Student journals
B. Story Map #2
C. The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry (copies for the students, if
possible)
D. Rubric – The Great Kapok Tree ending
E. Bilingual dictionaries
F. Venn diagram
IV.
Initiation
A. Journal Entry: Students will respond to the topic: “Reflect on the
internet research activity and web quest that were completed
yesterday. What did you learn? What went well? What would you
recommend?”
B. Story Map #2: Students will review the previous day’s reading by
actively contributing and filling in the following sections: title and
author, main characters, setting, and supporting characters, on their
story maps as a class.
V.
Related Learning Activities
A. Reading: Students will listen and participate as the teacher reads the
second half of the book (up until the last page), asks comprehension
questions, and initiates discussions.
B. Writing: Students will organize their ideas of an alternate ending on
the story map #2 and then will write their ending in paragraph form.
C. Share: Students will share their endings with their peers as a read
aloud.
D. Reading: Students will listen and follow along as the teacher reads the
final page of the text.
VI.
Conclusion
A. Compare/Contrast: Students will use a Venn diagram to compare and
contrast their ending with the actual ending.
B. Wrap–up: Students will take part in a brief verbal discussion and a
preview of the following day’s lesson.
VII.
Evaluation
A. Students’ journals will be assessed according to effort, at the discretion
of the teacher.
B. Students’ creative writing will be assessed according to the rubric for
creating a logical, alternative ending.
VIII. Modifications
A. Beginning LEP students will be encouraged to write the journal
entries in their native language.
B. Beginning LEP students may write the ending in their native
language.
Day 8 and 9:
Students will participate in a shared reading of The Yanomami: Deep in
the Amazon. After a brief discussion students will use the wireless
computer station with internet access to research specific rainforest
information and to investigate various websites. Students will organize
the information using a graphic organizer.
Day 10:
I.
Lesson Plan – Rainforest Unit
a. Day ten
b. 7th grade
c. ESOL classroom with students of varying English language
proficiencies
II.
Objectives
a. Student objectives
i. Students will be able to evaluate internet sites for accessibility.
ii. Students will be able to research related topics on the internet.
iii. Students will be able to utilize information from the internet to
create an informative poster stating rainforest facts.
iv. Students will be able to write a business letter in correct format
b. Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum – Reading/English Language
Arts
i. Select, organize, and develop ideas appropriate to topic,
audience, and purpose (4.A.1.b.).
ii. Compose oral, written, and visual presentation that express
personal ideas, inform, and persuade (4.A.2.).
iii. Compose texts using the revising and editing strategies of
effective writers and speakers (4.A.3.).
iv. Apply standard English punctuation and capitalization in
written language (5.C.2.).
c. ESOL Standards
i. Goal 1, Standard 2: Students will interact in, through, and with
spoken and written English for personal expression and
enjoyment.
ii. Goal 2, Standard 1: Students will use English to interact in the
classroom.
iii. Goal 2, Standard 2: Students will use English to obtain, process,
construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and
written form.
iv. Goal 3, Standard 1: Students will use the appropriate language
variety, register, and genre according to audience, purpose, and
setting.
v. Goal 3, Standard 3: Students will use appropriate learning
strategies to extend their sociolinguistic and sociocultural
competence.
III.
Materials
a. Student journals
b. Bilingual dictionaries
c. Thesauruses
d. Business letter template (1 for each student and 1 transparency)
e. Business letter cloze activity (1 for each student and 1 transparency)
f. Notes and graphic organizer from previous days’ classes
IV.
Initiation
a. Journal entry: Students will respond to the topic: “My journey through
the rainforest… What would you see? What would you hear? What
would you do?”
b. Cloze activity: Students will fill in the blanks to complete a letter
written in business letter format that will act as a reference to them
during the lesson.
V.
Related Learning Activities
a. Business letter: Using the template and the cloze activity as a model,
and bilingual dictionaries and thesauruses if necessary, students will
refer to their notes to begin writing a business letter to the business of
their choosing.
b. Self-Edit: Using the rubric as a guide, and previous editing strategies,
students will revise and self-edit the business letter focusing on
capitalization and punctuation.
VI.
Conclusion
a. Share: Students will read their letters to a partner for suggestions and
ideas.
b. Wrap–up: Students will take part in a brief verbal discussion and a
preview of the following day’s lesson.
VII.
Evaluation
a. Students’ journals will be assessed according to effort, at the discretion
of the teacher.
b. Students will be assessed according to the rubric for utilizing the
writing process to compose a letter in the correct business letter
format.
VIII. Modifications
a. Beginning LEP students may be paired with more advanced LEP
students to complete the business letter.
b. Beginning LEP students may write the letter in their native language
to either be translated in the future, or mailed to a business of that
nationality.
Day11:
After completing the editing process, students will use lap-top computers
to word process their letters. Students will then correctly address an
envelope to a business of their choice to be mailed.
Day 12:
As a culmination project, students will create a poster of rainforest facts
and figures to raise awareness around the school.