Title: Project Amazonas
Key Stage/ Year Group: KS2, Y5
Approach: An immersive, cross-curricular one week project
Concepts: Tropical rainforest geography, role of rainforests for regulating climate,
people of the rainforests, biodiversity, deforestation and effects, climate change
Key Words: tropics, strata, rain cycle, global warming, deforestation, species, symbiotic
relationships, extinction
Learning Activities
Activity one

Key Question
o What is a tropical
rainforest?

Learning objectives
o To understand the key
features of a tropical
rainforest
o To use knowledge of the
rainforest strata to create
an artistic scale replicate

Learning outcomes
o Children will be aware of the common structure of a tropical rainforest.
They will be developing an awareness of the type of plants and animals
which inhabit different strata, and beginning to discuss why this is the
case. Children will be enthusiastic and engaged with the project.

Resources
o BBC Interactive Poster Rainforests – hotspot 1.1, metre sticks, paints,
tissue paper, selection of different art materials, large rolls of sugar paper.
Activity
Pose the question - What are rainforests?
Watch BBC_IP hotspot 1.1. Children must come up with a definition in pairs, no
more than 40 words, referencing weather, climate, animals and plants. Discuss
definitions and elaborate if needed, providing children with more factual
information.
Display a picture clearly showing the strata of the forest.
Introduce terms and discuss each section of the forest.
Show measurements for emergent and canopy. Discuss rounding and down
scaling to produce consistent measurements for all class to work with. In groups,
paint the forest (to scale). Give children infomation about the different types of
plant and animal life they may find in each layer (from BBC iposter Teachers
Guide). Children add to the strata.
Plenary – Discuss products. Praise correct placement of plants. What would it be
like to spend a day and night in the Amazon rainforest? Recap question ‘What is
a rainforest?’
BBC_IP 2.2. Read facts relating to different strata, children in pairs discuss which
it relates to. (Transfer to classroom forest, when paintings are complete)

Where next (or extension)
Display the posters, covering all of the windows, to create a classroom rainforest.
Children work ‘within the jungle’ all week. Use the display interactively, with
children able to add information and images.
Activity two

Key Question
Where are rainforests?

Learning objectives
To use atlases and globes to
locate counties.
To look at where tropical
rainforests are found, and draw
patterns.

Learning outcomes
Children have an understanding
of where tropical rainforests are found within the world. They are developing an
awareness of the countries in South America, especially those home to the
Amazon Rainforest.

Resources
BBC iposter hotspot 1.2, BBC iposter pack photocopy sheet – ‘Rainforests of the
world,’ class set of atlases, globes, Whiteboard world maps.

Activity
Where are rainforests?
Children use an Atlas/ globe (discuss advantages to each) to locate countries
with largest amount of rainforest (mark on individual whiteboard maps).
Come back to the carpet. What have children noticed?
Look at where most of the worlds rainforests are, and why (use terms equator,
Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of Cancer, tropics) BBC iposter 1.2.
Which continents do not have rainforests? Why?
Where is the Amazon Rainforest? Locate 9 countries in South America. Discuss
countries it covers (what do children know about them?) Use Google maps to
trace river from Andes to Atlantic. Briefly mention colonisation, how the Amazon
got its name etc.
Time dependent- independent work ‘Rainforests of the world’ (Sheet available in
BBC Interactive poster pack)

Where next (or extension)
Refer to map of the Amazon region along side reading the Great Snake book.
Find the start of the main character’s journey along the Amazon River, and look
up any places named in the book.
Activity three Drama & PE
– Ideas from ‘The Prince’s Rainforest
Project’ http://schools.rainforestsos.org/

Learning objectives
To work collaboratively
To use physical movement to
interpret and explore ideas
related to the rainforest
environment

Resources
A parachute, 4-6 skipping ropes
Activity
Rainforest Warm Up
Setting the scene
Imagine you are an explorer trekking through the rainforest, your mission is to find your
base camp, its in the middle of the rainforest, its getting dark, raining hard and you need
to watch out for leeches!
Hacking through the Jungle
Imagine you have a large machete and you have to hack your way through the thick
jungle, it’s very tiring, hot, humid and noisy. Start hacking at the top and work your way
down, take a step forward and do it again.
Crossing the raging torrents
Ask why you might not want to go for a swim in the jungle stream? Encourage answers
like crocodiles, piranhas, anacondas and electric eels.
Fortunately there are some slippery logs lying across the stream so everyone has to
carefully balance across them.
Crawling through the hollow log
Explain that as a scientist you can’t resist looking for creatures that hide in the end of
hollow trees, get everyone to crawl along the floor flat on their tummies, but mind the
scorpion!
Glooping through the sticky mud
Mud can contain leeches and all sorts of other nasties so you have to walk though it
carefully making sure you don’t loose your boots. This is obviously a very noisy activity
so children should make lots of squelchy noises.
Canoeing down the rapid
The children work in pairs and canoe safely down the river, introduce rapids waterfall
and low hanging branches. (There might also be a crocodile lurking in the shadows so
speedy paddling is a useful skill).
Moving like animals
Many animals live in constant fear of being eaten, move through the jungle like an
animal.
Main Activity
Rainforest Parachute Games
Game 1: Animal merry-go-round
Children hold the parachute with one hand so that they can circle round. They then
travel round in a circle moving as different rainforest creatures, eg:
 Sloth = walk very slowly

Ants = take small steps on tiptoe

Monkeys = jump around the circle

Bats = flap one wing and run with light steps

Jaguar = fast running etc.
Game 2: Snakes
Place 4-6 skipping ropes on the parachute. Children stand up and shake the parachute
to try and make them slither off.
Game 3: Crocodiles
Everyone sits on the ground with their legs stretched out under the parachute which is
held at chest height. One or two children are the crocodiles crawling around under the
parachute. They quietly grab the legs of the children around the perimeter and pull them
under the parachute. The crocodile now swaps places.
Game 4: All change
Children sit in a circle around the parachute. The adult walks around the circle assigning
a number of different rainforest creatures according to the size of the group, for example,
jaguar, toucan, sloth, bat etc. Children crouch down to begin and then on the count of
THREE extend their arms to lift the parachute up. The adult calls the name of a creature
and all those children run under the parachute and swap places.
Cool Down
Making a canopy
On the count of THREE the children raise their arms, lifting the parachute over their
heads, pulling it behind them and sitting down with their bottoms on the edge. The
children are now under the canopy. Children share what they have learnt about
rainforests/ the Amazon rainforest so far.
Sarah Shaw, Bradway Primary School