UNIT TITLE:  The  Rainforest

Author:  Jean M. Casper

E-mail address ( optional )

School:  St. Patricia School : Hickory Hills, Il.

THEME: The important contributions of the Rainforest

BROAD CONCEPT: Survival and the interdependence of living creatures

GRADE:   5

INTEGRATED SUBJECTS: math, spelling/language arts, social studies, science, art, computer

UNIT GOALS AND PURPOSE:  Through this unit students will learn about the features of the Rainforest as well as where they are located and why they are important to all living creatures.  As they do this unit the students will learn how to compile information into a graph. They will be able to locate and list needed information into a chart format. Students will access data through, books, maps, and searches on the web. They will understand the purpose of sequencing, use Kid Pix Studio, and Cruncher.  They will realize that the Rainforest is the main source of oxygen for the whole world, and that 50% of all the animals in the world originate there. All living things are part of a food chain. Students will be compiling information for a class presentation.  This knowledge will be vital to support the concepts needed for further studies culminating in a Recycling Project completed in the sixth grade. Some of the activities will individual and some will be done cooperatively.

TIME FRAME:  1 day of introduction and preparatory discussion to ascertain previous knowledge. 12 days of lesson/activity

OBJECTIVES:

In this lesson, students will :

locate the Rainforests of the world on maps

use the web to collect data

create graphs

explain cause and result  relationships

construct a game board using facts about the Rainforest

demonstrate their understanding of size/distance relationships

identify the needs concerned with the depletion of the Rainforest

list and identify endangered species

recycle paper

MATERIALS:  

General materials and equipment:  rulers, world maps, calculators, drawing paper, markers, chalk, poster board, newspaper, rolling pins, construction paper, ice cream, chocolate flavoring, milk, spoons and large plastic glasses.

Transparencies: Life in the Rainforest  Milliken

Rainforest: Hands-On Minds-On Science Teacher Created Materials Inc.

Rainforest Wildlife- Usborne World Wildlife by Antonia Cunningham

Life in the Rainforests  by Lucy Baker  Scholastic

Resourceful Rainforest by Pat and Barbara Ward  Mark Twain Media

Software used in this Unit:

Word Processing  M S Word   Kid Pix Studio

                        CD-ROM encyclopedia  Encarta

                        Multimedia Kid Pix Studio

                        Spreadsheet  Cruncher

Preparation Class: (Friday only)

As an introduction to this unit, transparencies from Life in the Rainforest Milliken are used to give the students a visual representation of the locations of the Rainforests in the world. Students would then take turns trying to locate these places on pull down maps around the room. 

Animals of the Rainforest would be seen grouped together on a transparency.   Discussions would follow as to why we should be concerned about the fate of the Rainforests in regard to oxygen production. Cocoa pods would be discovered as one of the leading products of the rainforest and the major source of chocolate. The culminating and very enticing activity is the creation of a recipe for a chocolate shake that would fit in a 2 cup container.  Then after whole group consensus, children are allowed to make their own shakes using milk, ice cream, chocolate flavoring spoons and plastic cups. (The words ratio and proportion would be defined and explained.)

Lesson 1

Students will review the concepts generally  discussed. ( Oxygen, Plants, Animals)  Students will research the animals of the rainforest using Encarta. Together we will compile a list of the chosen animals.  Children will then go to the Internet site. www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/animals/rfbiomeanimals.shtml

Working in teams of 2, the children will each choose an animal  report on using their own word processor at home. ( all of them have their own )

Lesson 2

After reading their individual reports about the animals of the rainforest, the children will list the names of the animals horizontally across the board in the front of the room.   By using small sticky notes the children will vote for the  animal that they think is most interesting. By posting them on the board they are creating( Meyer style) a visual of a bar graph.  They will then use this information to create a bar graph using Cruncher. 

Lesson 3

Reviewing the concepts described from the text Resourcefull  Rainforest Mark Twain Publishing, children will note the fact that 30,000 square miles of the Rainforests are being destroyed each year.  The terms cause and effect will be explained and discussed. Their activity will be to figure out the square mileage of the remaining Rainforests and using calculators, give an estimate of time left before the existing Rainforest is depleted.

Lesson 4

Children will research the names of the 4 layers of the Rainforest, using the web sites:                       

                                 www.rainforesr-australia.comGianttrees
www.rainforesteducation.com/life/canopy

www.realtime.net/`raintreegallery/forest/htm

www.widgit.com/rainforest/html/topic

After individuals have ascertained that the four levels are the forest floor, understory, canopy layer and emergent layer, discuss how recycling paper will save many trees that take many years to replace. Children will also understand that the trees and the vegetation of the Rainforest provide the world with needed oxygen.  Children will use the KID PIX  to show the four main layers of the Rainforest.  

Lesson 5

Children will learn that most of what is discarded in the U.S is paper. Statistically, each person in the U.S.A. uses 749lbs.of paper per year.

 Teacher will have saved all the “garbage” disposed in the classroom the previous day.   Children gather around as the teacher dumps out all the classroom waste on a large plastic sheet. Using a stick to move it around the class will see that in their own “environment” a large proportion of what is thrown away is paper. Waste will be counted ( all wear gloves )and the children will work cooperatively to discover what percentage of the classroom waste consisted of paper. Children will use calculators to do the division and use Excel to show their findings in a pie chart.

Lesson 6

Children will use the data from lesson 6 to figure out how many lbs. of paper would be used by the children of the class, if each person is said to use 749 lbs. per year?  The need for recycling paper will be explained and the activity of recycling our own paper will be introduced. Children will print out the directions from the web site: www.infostuff.com/kids/paper.htm.

All necessary equipment will be laid out for them.  They will work in groups of four to mash, mix and roll out recycled paper.

Lesson 7

Children will work cooperatively using Desk Top Publisher  to make  a WANTED sign. The “ Wanted” are people who are informed about the crisis in the Rainforests of the world.  Students must incorporate and use correctly the vocabulary words: endangered, oxygen, extinct, producers, survival and interdependence.

Lesson 8

Size Relationships

Organisms are defined as any living thing. Organisms in the Rainforest range in size from the very small to the very tall.  Children use yardsticks and chalk to mark lines that represent the length of such organisms as:

Emergent trees                                             165 feet

Canopy trees                                                 115 feet

Understory trees                                            50 to 65 feet

Python                                                            30 feet

Anaconda                                                      20 feet

Jaguar ( inc. tail)                                            7.5 feet

Gorilla                                                             6 feet

Harpy eagle                                                   39 inches

Sloth                                                               20 inches

Anole                                                              6 inches

Toad                                                               3 inches

Army ant                                                         ½ inch

Children are divided into 6 groups to mark and measure out 1 large animal and 1 small animal. Children would then be asked to rank the organisms  from the largest to smallest. This would be done on the parking lot on a nice day.

If the weather is not compatible with this activity, then the students would cut lengths of string to lay out on the floor in the school gym.

Lesson 9

Students will construct a game board using a piece of cardboard that is 2 ft by 2ft.

Students will have to determine how to place an equal amount of squares around the board by measuring and using a calculator.   

Using factual statements concerning the survival of the Rainforest and the animals, students will make game cards to be answered true or false.  If the player answers correctly they will move ahead.  Students will use and share the  games in the room on days when the weather is inclement and they cannot go out for recess.

Lesson  10

( Friday  class)

Students will go on a field trip to the Rainforest exhibit at the Brookfield  Zoo. Special arrangements are made ahead of time to be met by a docent , who is prepared to engage the group in this learning activity.

Each group of 4 will select a subject to photograph with a digital camera.  One person would copy down the general information stated or posted about their subject. Another would note whether it is endangered  and if so, why?  The fourth student would be responsible for specifics of life cycle and it’s interdependence on other life forms

Lesson 11

 Co operative groups use information gathered from the field trip on Friday to write a short description of their chosen subject. The picture taken with the digital camera is included.  With help from the others, one student uses a word processor to compile all the facts. Together they will share their information in a   group presentation.

Lesson 12

 As a final activity the cooperative groups will present their research, show the four layers of the Rainforest on KID PIX, display their posters, explain the pie chart on the depletion Rainforest, and explain how paper is recycled and compare samples of recycled paper. They will be knowledgeable in the interdependence of life forms in the rainforest and understand the contribution of the plant life to the oxygen cycle. This will be further illustrated with the pictures taken while on a visit to the Rainforest Exhibit at Brookfield Zoo.

SHARE YOUR IDEAS

Although most of the activities in this unit are done in cooperative groups, each child must be able to show results of his/her active participation. In lesson one the team has just 2 members with the resulting information being processed at home individually.   Each student will be responsible for: a report on a Rainforest animal, a bar graph, solving a problem with a calculator, producing one KID PIX

Slide, producing a pie chart in Excel, producing a piece of recycled paper, making a wanted sign, producing a digital photo with an explanation done on a word processor. 

All of these assignments will be checked on a daily basis and collected for display. Papers will be put in the individual student’s folder. The student will receive a copy of the point value system.

GRADING  SCALE

A=  280-255

B=  254-229

C=  228-203

D=  202-177

F=  176 or below

|Report on a Rainforest Animal

 the source is listed                         10

minimal spelling errors                    10

40 words or more                            10

Reproducing a bar graph

Numbers are correct                       20

Names are spelled correctly           20

Using a Calculator

Multiplication is correct                      20

Division is correct                              20

     KID PIX

Team has produced a slide

Showing the 4 layers of the

Rainforest                                        40

Making Paper

Students have followed the

     correct sequence                              20

Students have produced a

      piece of recycled paper                   20

Pie Chart in excel

Numbers are identified          20

Titles are spelled correctly                 20

“Wanted”  sign

Included the words from the

       vocabulary list                                25

Correct spelling                               20

Digital Photgraph                                  25

Picture is clear and topic

Is correct

Report on Photgraph

Lists at least 4 pertinent facts          20

STUDENT AND TEACHER ROLES:

The teacher will be a constant facilitator and reference for all the activities.  The Science department also has a teacher-aide who circulates among the children to guide and direct.  Reference materials, and computrs are easily accessible.  The students have already learned to do KID PIX demonstrations in their computer class and will put this new skill into practice. Students will be working in groups assigned by the teacher so that the children with the stronger skills will be able to help others as well.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCE PRINT RESOURSES STUDENTS MAY USE:

World Book Encyclopedia, newspapers, textbooks, Children’s magazines   (Weekly Reader, Scholastic, Science Digest)

THE FOLLOWING BOOKS CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC:

A Walk in the Rainforest   by Kristen Joy Pratt Serafini

Tropical Rainforests by  Allen M. Young

Chocolate: Riches from the Rainforest   by Robert Burleigh

Rainforest Wildlife    by Antonia Cunningham

Rainforest    by Sara Oldfield, Brad Coleman photographer

FOR ADDITIONAL ONLINE INFORMATION AND MEDIA PERTAINING TO THIS UNIT, TEACHERS MAY WANT TO USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET

ARTICLES:

Title 1 :  Rainforest Action

URL1: http://www.ran.org.kids-action/

Description 1: This site looks at the Rainforest as a living biome.  It offers lesson plans, fact sheets, and many activities dealing with the Rainforest.

Title 2:  Journey Into Amazonia

URL2: http://www.pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/

Description 2:  This site has many teacher resources and information on the water, plant and land “ life” of the rainforest.

Title 3:  The Rainforest Workshop

URL 3:  http:// kids.osd.wednet.edu/Marshall/rainforest

Description 3: This site offers information and resources to compare and measure the size of the rainforest

Title 4:  Exploring the Rainforest

URL 4:  http://www.proteacher.com/prosearch/

Description 4: This site has themes, lesson plans, materials and literature based activities.

Title 5:  Keeping Our Planet Green

URL 5:  http:// members.aol.com/donnandlee/Green.html

Description 5:  This is a very comprehensive site. There is information on lesson plans, clip art, classroom gardening, Earth Day, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, many activities and creative fun.

Title 6:  Education Planet Earth

URL 6:  http://www.educationplanet.com/environment

Description 6:  This is a teaching site that has teacher resources for lesson plans, books, videos, maps, software, and even on-line courses.