Tropical Rain Forests
Theme
 Tropical rain forests are the theme of the unit because there are a variety of interesting
books, activities, and projects that can be integrated into the unit.
Book(s)
 Nature's Green Umbrella by Gail Gibbons
 The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
 Rainforest Animals by Paul Hess
 One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest by Jean Craighead George
 Animals of the Rainforest by Stephen Savage
 Tropical Rain Forests Around The World by Elaine Landali
Other Resources
 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/
 http://www.rainforesteducation.com/
 http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest
 http://www.eagle.ca/~matink/themes/Biomes/rainfrst.html
Academic Standards
 5.1.6 Explain how the solution to one problem, such as the use of pesticides in agriculture
or the use of dumps for waste disposal, may create other problems.
 5.2.4 Keep a notebook to record observations and be able to distinguish inferences from
actual observations.
 5.4.4 Explain that in any particular environment, some kinds of plants and animals
survive well, some do not survive as well, and some cannot survive at all.
 5.4.5 Explain how changes in an organism’s habitat are sometimes beneficial and
sometimes harmful.
 5.4.7 Explain that living things, such as plants and animals, differ in their
characteristics, and that sometimes these differences can give members of these groups
(plants and animals) an advantage in surviving and reproducing.
 5.5.1 Make precise and varied measurements and specify the appropriate units.
 5.6.4 Investigate, observe, and describe that things change in steady, repetitive, or
irregular ways, such as toy cars continuing in the same direction and air temperature
reaching a high or low value. Note that the best way to tell which kinds of changes are
happening is to make a table or a graph of measurements.
 5.2.1 Use the features of informational texts, such as formats, graphics, diagrams,
illustrations, charts, maps, and organization, to find information and support
understanding.
 5.4.5 Use note-taking skills.
 5.5.4 Write persuasive letters or compositions that:
state a clear position in support of a proposal.
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support a position with relevant evidence and effective emotional appeals.
follow a simple organizational pattern, with the most appealing statements first and
the least powerful ones last.
address reader concerns.
5.7.5 Clarify and support spoken ideas with evidence and examples.
5.2.9 Demonstrate civic responsibility in group and individual actions, including civic
dispositions — such as civility, cooperation, respect, and responsible participation.
5.2.11 Use a variety of information resources to identify and evaluate contemporary
issues that involve civic responsibility, individual rights, and the common good.
5.3.7 Use information taken from a graph or equation to answer questions about a
problem situation.
5.6.1 Explain which types of displays are appropriate for various sets of data.
5.7.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships, telling relevant from irrelevant
information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
Objectives
 Students will be engaged by the theme.
 Students will read both fiction and nonfiction books to learn and understand more about
tropical rain forests.
 Students will complete a variety of activities, projects, and reports that will help them to
gain a deeper understanding of tropical rain forests.
 Students will complete activities individually, in pairs, in small groups, and as a class.
 A variety of subject areas will be incorporated into the unit.
 Students will gain knowledge of tropical rain forests, their different levels, the various
types of vegetation and animals that live in the rain forests, and an understanding of the
significance rain forests world’s ecosystem.
Activities
 Create a list of animals that live in the Amazon rain forest for students. Each student will
chose 5 animals that interest them. The students will use sources located in the
classroom, provided by the classroom teacher to research their five animals. Students are
to determine basic characteristics of each animal, what each animal eats, which layer of
the rainforest they live in, and one other interesting fact they found about each animal.
Students will also explain what would happen to each animal if the trees in the rain forest
were cut down. (verbal/linguistic, intrapersonal)
 Students will design a post card by drawing a picture on the front of a tropical rainforest
in a specific country. Students will do research on an assigned country where a tropical
rainforest is located. Students will learn what the name of the tropical rainforest is in that
country, what resources the country uses from the rainforest, and where the rainforest is
located within the country. Students will then use the information they have researched
to write a post card to a friend telling them the interesting things they have learned about
the rainforest in the country. (visual/spatial, verbal/linguistic, intrapersonal)
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Students will create a rain stick using cardboard tubes from either wrapping paper or
paper towels. Students will tape one end of the tube shut and then pour rice into the tube.
Then students cover the other end of the tube with tape. Students can then cover their
tube with plain paper and can decorate it however they like. (musical, bodily/kinesthetic,
visual/spatial, intrapersonal)
The class will decorate the entrance to the classroom like a rainforest. The students will
be divided into groups, and each group will decorate one of the layers of the rainforest
using what they have learned about each layer to create an accurate picture of each layer.
The teacher will play a large role as facilitator and will direct the students by showing
them how to make the parts of the rainforest. Supplies such as colored heavy duty paper,
glue, tape, scissors, paint, markers, crayons, colored pencils, tissue paper, etc. will be
available for students to use. (visual/spatial, interpersonal)
Using the research they have done on their animals, students will create a Venn diagram
of two of the animals by creating a list of the animals’ characteristics and the
characteristics that are the same. (logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, interpersonal)
Students will create a rain forest informational book on the layers of the rain forest.
Students will learn about the layers of the rain forest from books in the classroom and
will use the information they have learned to create a book that explains and describes
each layer of the rain forest through diagrams, illustrations, and paragraphs.
(verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, logical/mathematical, intrapersonal)
Begin this activity by brainstorming on the board the reasons for deforestation of the rain
forests. Next, brainstorm reasons to save the rain forests. Have a class discussion on the
disadvantages to destroying the rain forest and talk about the effects deforestation of the
rain forests might have on the world. Then students will make "Save the Rain Forest"
posters. Their posters should include why the rain forests should be saved, illustrations,
and should be eye-catching and convincing. Students will each present their poster to a
partner. Each student will explain his/her poster and why she/he feels it is important to
save the rain forests. (verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, intrapersonal, interpersonal)
Divide the class into groups with about four students per group. Students will be asked to
hypothesize which container they think will displace the largest amount of soil when the
same amount of water is poured onto each container: either the container with both grass
and soil in it, or the container with only soil in it. Students will write their hypothesis in
their journals individually. Then students will conduct the experiment in their groups by
pouring water in each container. They will measure the amount of soil displaced. Then
students will have a group discussion in order to draw a conclusion about why more soil
was displaced in the soil only container. Then each group will present their conclusion to
the class and the teacher will help them to understand what happened in their
experiments. The class will then have a discussion drawing connections between what
they learned about deforestation and what they learned about soil erosion.
(verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, naturalist, bodily/kinesthetic, intrapersonal,
interpersonal)
Students will play the Amazon Explorer game on the website:
http://www.eagle.ca/~matink/themes/Biomes/rainfrst.html. Students will answer the
questions that the website asks at the beginning of the game along with a list of other
questions that the teacher will provide and will record their answers in their journals.
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This will provide students with a more real, first hand interaction with a rain forest.
(verbal/linguistic, visual/spatial, naturalist, intrapersonal)
Students will be given the annual precipitation recorded for various tropical rainforests in
the world. The class will graph each tropical rainforests’ precipitation for the past year,
plotting the amount of precipitation recorded each month of the past year. The teacher
will facilitate this, but the students will take turns plotting the points on the graph on a
large piece of graph paper in front of the class. The class will graph the annual
precipitation amounts for each of the tropical rainforests in the world on separate graphs.
Then the class will get in small groups (about 4 students per group) to compare the
annual precipitation in each of the world’s tropical rainforests. They will make another
graph where they plot the total precipitation amount in the past year for each of the
rainforests on one graph so they can compare. The groups will be given a list of things to
find out, such as which rainforest had the greatest precipitation last year, and which had
the least. (visual/spatial, logical/mathematical, naturalist, interpersonal)
Time Schedule:
Day
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Week 1
Decorate classroom
Amazon Explorer Game
Make rain forest info books
Make Postcards
Graph precipitation
Week 2
Make rain sticks
Animal research project
Venn Diagram
Soil erosion experiment
Save the rain forest posters
Grouping:
The majority of the grouping will be done using flexible grouping. Groups will be
assigned and will change frequently according to student needs. Each activity involving group
work can be adapted for each group if necessary. Some of the grouping will be done using
cooperative grouping, such as the soil erosion science experiment because the concepts may be
challenging for some students to grasp, and easy for others. These groups will be grouped by the
teacher according to ability level. Each group will contain one low student, one high student,
and two middle students so that the balance is fairer in each group in order to enhance the
learning of each student. The groups will continue to change and the teacher will adapt the
groups as necessary. Students will choose their own partner for the poster project.
Checklist: See attached handout.
Bloom’s Taxonomy:
 Level I: Knowledge:
What is a rain forest?
What are the levels of a tropical rain forest?
 Level II: Comprehension:
What information supports the deforestation of the rain forests?
What information supports saving the rain forests?
Compare and contrast two different tropical rain forests.
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Level III: Application:
What would the result be if the rain forests did not exist any more?
How could you try to save the rain forests?
Level IV: Analysis:
Why do you think people cut down trees in the rain forests?
What conclusions can you draw from your experiment with the soil erosion?
Level V: Synthesis:
How would you solve the problems in the rain forests?
Can you propose an alternative to cutting down the trees in the rain forest to get
the resources we need to live?
Level VI: Evaluation:
What is your opinion of deforestation in the rain forests?
Based on what you know about the levels of the rain forests, what would happen
to the plants and animals in each level of the rain forest if some of the trees in the
rain forest were cut down?
Rain Forest Student Checklist
Student Name:
Activity:
Decorate Classroom
Amazon Explorer Game
Rain Forest Info Book
Postcard
Graph Precipitation
Rain Stick
Animal Research Project
Venn Diagram
Soil Erosion Experiment
Save the Rain Forest Poster
Comments:
Completed?
Grade
Erin Bowers
Rain Forest Unit
Educ 340
25 April 2005