UNIT TITLE: The
Jungle
Author: Amanda Smith
E-Mail Address:
School: G.W Lieb School:
Bridgeview, IL 60455
School Home Page
URL:
THEME :The Rain Forest
BROAD CONCEPT: Survival
GRADES: Intermediate
INTEGRATED SUBJECTS: Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts
UNIT GOALS AND PURPOSE:
Throughout this unit
students will learn about the features of tropical rain forests of the world,
and how valuable they are to our lives. They will learn what makes a forest
a tropical rain forest by finding out temperature and rainfall. Students will learn about some interesting creatures found
in the rain forest by researching and reporting their findings. They will also learn what one would need to survive in
the rain forest. During this unit students will be
using a variety of technologies, which they have past experience with. Alongside the aide of the teacher, students will use these various technologies to learn about the rain
forest and prepare activities throughout the unit. Students
will be evaluated individually, and through group work throughout the unit
by observation a well as with a performance based rubric.
TIME FRAME: 3 weeks
OBJECTIVES:
In this lesson, students will:
- know where rain forests are located on the map
- collect data from the Internet and graph it
- understand how temperature and
rainfall impacts the rain forest
- Students will measure heights
of trees in the rain forest
- learn the different levels of the rain forest, and the animals that live there
- identify products that come from the rain forest in their daily lives
- research a rain forest animal and present their findings
- compose a research paper using word processing software
- demonstrate their new found information by their ability to create a travel brochure
MATERIALS:
· General materials and equipment
various measurement tools-rulers
tape measures yard sticks etc., calculators, computers with Internet access,
encyclopedias and other reference materials, rain forest pictures, products,
paper, coloring supplies, chalk, newspaper ads, magazines
- Technology tools
Computer,
digital camera, printer, projector, screen, disks
· Software Used in this Unit
Desktop Publishing- MS Publisher
Brainstorming - Inspiration
Word
Processing - MS Word
Spreadsheet
- Excel
CD-ROM
Encyclopedia Encarta
Multimedia Kid
Pix Studio, Power Point
STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS UNIT:
3A2 Write paragraphs that include
a variety of sentence types; appropriate use of the eight parts of speech; and accurate
spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
3C2b Produce and format compositions
for specified audiences using available technology.
4B2a Present oral reports to
an audience using correct language and nonverbal expressions for the intended purpose and
message within a suggested organizational form
5C2a Create a variety of print
and non-print documents to communicate acquired information for specific audiences
and purposes.
5C2b Prepare and deliver oral
presentations based on inquiry or research.
6A2 Compare and order whole
numbers, fractions, and decimals using concrete materials, drawings and mathematical symbols.
6C2a Select and perform computational
procedures to solve problems and whole numbers, fractions and decimals.
6C2b Show evidence that computational
results using whole numbers, fractions and decimals are correct and/or that estimates
are reasonable.
7A2a Calculate, compare and
convert length, perimeter, area, weight/mass and volume within the customary and metric system.
at.
10A2a Organize and display data
using pictures, tallies, tables, charts, bar graphs, line graphs, line plots and stem and leaf
graphs.
10B2d Interpret make relevant
decisions based on data gathered.
11A2b Construct charts and visualizations
to display data.
17A2b Use maps and other geographic
representations and instruments to gather information about people, places,
results or and environments.
N.C.T.M. STANDARDS ADDRESSED BY THIS
UNIT:
Numbers
and Operations
understand numbers, ways of representing numbers, relationships
among numbers, and the number systems
understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another
Measurement
understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and
process of measurement apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to
determine measurements
Data Analysis and Probability
formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize,
and display relevant data to answer them
Communication
organize
and consolidate their mathematical thinking through communication use the
language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas precisely
Connections
recognize
and apply mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics
Representations
create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical
ideas
STUDENT ACTIVITIES WHICH WILL PROMOTE ENGAGED LEARNING:
LESSON 1 As an introduction to the unit
students will be in the computer lab, Excel will be
used to make a KWL chart. Students will fill in the
K, what they know about the rain forest, and the W, what they want to know
about the rain forest. The L, what they learned, will be completed after the
unit is finished. By doing this students will be brainstorming
a list of things they know already, but also thinking about things they would
like to find out. Students will also be starting a
Rain Forest Survival folder, which they will keep all completed work, and
will be turned in at the end of the unit.
LESSON 2 In this
lesson students will be able to locate rain forests on a world map. Teacher
will point out the Equator, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn. Showing these areas on the map will help students better
locate rain forest areas. Teacher will then review
some well know rain forests (Amazon, Congo etc.,) and show their placement
on a map. After explanation of this information, students
are asked to use Kid Pix Studio’s world map template
to recall and draw in the Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, and color
in the rain forest areas discussed.
LESSON 3 In this
lesson students will be able to understand why some forests are rain forests
using the average temperature rain forests have. In
groups students will search the Internet, using the websites below to find
out the temperature of three different rain forests around the world. Next
they will find the other factor that makes a forest a rain forest, average
rainfall. Students will find the amount of rainfall
in the same rain forests they found temperature information. Students will then search for temperature and rainfall
information in three United States cities. Students will then need time to
compile this information, finding out temperature and rainfall averages using
data given in search, and prepare for lesson 4.
LESSON 4 Using
the temperature and rainfall information gathered during lesson 3, in groups students will use the information to make graphs
and charts forest information. Students will use Excel
to create graphs of temperature, comparing rain forest temperature to U.S.
cities temperature. Then students will make a graph
of rainfall, comparing the amounts in the rain forest to cities in the U.S. Students will then share their charts and graphs with the
class.
LESSON 5 During
this lesson student will be learning about the heights of trees in the Emergent,
Canopy, and Understory layers of the rain forest. This
lesson is an outdoor activity. Students will be put
in groups to measure with various measurement tools, the heights of these
layers. Each group will be responsible for one tree
length. Students will use chalk to mark the heights
on the ground. Students will then compare the lengths
of marks made to see which layer contains the tallest, and which contains
the smallest trees. Students will be asked to imaging
how tall the tree heights would look if they were looking up at them. During
this lesson students will be taking pictures of group work with a digital
camera to capture their hard work.
LESSON 6 This lesson will introduce students
to the numerous products that are used everyday which come from the rain
forest. Teacher will show samples of actual rain forest
products, as well as photos of various rain forest items.
After students have a grasp of the products the assignment will be
given. Pairs of students will be given an imaginary budget of $1000 dollars
in which they need to by as many rain forest products as possible. Students will need to use ad papers from local stores,
and may also use the Internet to find items. When finished
with shopping, students will use Inspiration software to make a Products
of the Rain Forest Web to show all the items they were able to buy with their
budget.
LESSON 7 The
lesson will begin with students looking a various rain forest animal pictures. Students will then select a rain forest animal they wish
to do more research on. Using the Internet, Encarta
Encyclopedia, rain forest reference books, students will be trying to find
special characteristics of the animal, what rain forest
the animal is located in, which level it lives in the rain forest, and any
facts they think are interesting.
LESSON 8 Using
the information gathered during lesson 7, students will be typing a research
paper using MS Word and will then insert a picture of their animal in their
report.
LESSON 9 Students
will be placed in groups according to the level their rain forest animal lived
with in the rain forest. Students will be using Kid
Pix Studio to create an informational slide for their animal. The larger group will then use the individual slide to make a slide
show titled “Animals of the Canopy” etc. Students will
then present their slide show, in which each person will be responsible for
presenting their informational slide and answering any questions other students
might have about their animal.
LESSON 10 Students will select one tropical
rain forest or create their own imaginary rain forest. They
will create a travel brochure using desktop publishing, MS publisher. Their brochure will need to incorporate what things tourists
would encounter should they travel to the rain forest(animals, trees, products,
people etc.)
LESSON 11 Using
the rain forest information gained throughout the unit, (temperature rainfall
averages, animals, measurement, products, etc.) students will create their
own word problems for their classmates to solve. Students
will put their word problem on MS word and use the projector and screen share
their problem with the class.
LESSON 12 Students will complete the final
portion of their KWL chart, which was started on the first day of the unit. Students will be adding what they learned about the rain
forest to their Excel KWL chart. They will also turn
in their Rain Forest survival folder.
SHARE
YOUR IDEAS:
During this unit students will
be sharing their knowledge through cooperative group projects, as well as
presentations of facts and information. Students will
be assessed on cooperative group work, individual work, and participation
through the use of a rubric. Turning in their Rain
Forest Survival folders will be the culminating activity.
The folder will include all work and data collected through the unit
and will be scored by the following rubric.
KWL CHART
all sections complete 10
WORLD MAP
Tropic of Capricorn 5
Tropic
of Cancer, Equator 5
Rain
forests colored 5
GRAPHS
rain forest temperature 5
rain forest rain fall 5
U.S. temperature 5
U.S. rain fall 5
data from Internet 5
RAIN FOREST PRODUCTS
product web
10
ability to stay within $1000
budget 10
ANIMAL RESEARCH
typed
5
spelling and grammar 5
location & level of forest 10
special characteristics 5
interesting facts 5
ANIMAL SLIDE
ability to work in group 5
clear explanation of information 5
knowledge of animal 5
clear presentation tone 5
ability to answer questions 5
TRAVEL BROCHURE
includes rain forest facts 10
creative and colorful 15
WORD PROBLEM
incorporates math with new knowledge 10
GRADING SCALE
160-145 = A
144-130 = B
129-114= C
113-99= D
98 or below = F
STUDENT AND TEACHER ROLES:
During this unit the teacher
will act as a guide. She will instruct students, allowing
them to grasp necessary information, but also guide them in finding information
for themselves. The teacher will provide necessary
materials and facilitate group work as well as individual work, help where necessary, and provide suggestions and give
feedback.
During this unit students will
be actively engaged in a variety of activities to promote self growth and
discovery of rain forest information. By doing these
activities students will be able to express their creativity and newly found
knowledge. Students will work with others in completion
of projects using available technology.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE PRINT RESOURCES STUDENTS MAY USE :
Newspapers- Students will use
local and major newspapers to find weather information and product advertisements.
World Book Encyclopedia- Students will use encyclopedia to find additional facts.
Student Science, and Social
Studies Text- Students will use individual text books
for additional information.
THE FOLLOWING BOOKS CONTAIN INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TOPIC:
The Great
Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
Wonders
of the Jungle by National Wildlife Federation
Tropical
Rain Forest by Arnold Newman
FOR ADDITIONAL
ONLINE INFORMATION AND MEDIA PERTAINING TO THIS UNIT, TEACHERS MAY WANT TO
USE THE FOLLOWING INTERNET ARTICLES: (minimum 6 sites)
Title1: Scholastic
URL1: www.scholastic.com
Description1:
This site offers lesson
plans and background information for teachers an a variety of subjects including
the rain forest.
Title2:
Discovery
URL2: www.discovery.com
Description2:
This site offers a wide
variety of information on science related subjects. There
are lesson plans for teachers to use.
Title3: World Rain Forest Information Portal
URL3: www.rainforestweb.org
Description3:
This sight has information
for teachers about why rain forests are being destroyed, why they are important,
and what happens in them.
Title4: ABC Teach
URL4: www.abcteach.com
Description4:
The site offers many different
subject matters, however the rain forest information on the site is very clear
and easy to understand. There are lesson plans and
activities for teachers to use or adapt.
Title5: The Rain Forest
URL5: www.oocities.org/Rainforest/Vines/3995/rainforest.html
Description5:
There is a wonderful article
on this site that explains important information about the rain forest including:
levels of trees where they are located, animals that live there and products
that come from the rain forests. There are also links
to other great web sites.
Title6:
Rain Forest
URL6: www.edtech.kennesaw.edu
Description6:
This site offers research
and information about rain forests of the world.
RELEVANT INFORMATION, STUDENTS WILL VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEB SITES:
Title1: Toucan Sam’s Encyclopedia of the Rain Forest
URL1: www.toucansam.kellogs.ca
Purpose of Use1: to search for rain forest
information within the unit
Description1:
This site offers a variety
of information and activities that students will learn from. Explanation of animals, plants and many more facts about
the rain forests is given as well as a trip to a rainforest using wonderful
pictures.
Title2:
Rain Forest Action Network
URL2: www.ran.org/
Purpose of Use2:
Students will use this
site to look up temperature and rain fall information, and animal information.
Description2:
This site offers current
news on the world’s rain forests.
Title3:
Saving the Amazon
URL3: www.worldwildlife.org/amazon
Purpose of Use3:
This site will be used
to complete animal research as well as find out interesting facts.
Description3:
The site offers a look
at how the WWF is protecting the rain forests. There
is explanation of the many animals that live in the rain forest, but also audio of sounds from the rain
forest.
Title4: Discovery Kids
URL4: www.discoverykids.com
Purpose of Use4:
Used for added research
and information, but also for its pictures.
Description4:
This site offers numerous
topics to choose from but the rainforest search has a lot of fun interesting
information for students.
Title5:
Scholastic
URL5: www.scholastic.com
Purpose of Use5: Used for research and fact finding.
Description5:
This site has a lot of
information on the rainforest, and is kid and teacher friendly.
Title6: Tropical Rain Forest Biome
URL6: lsb.syr.edu/projects/cyberzoo/rain.htm
Purpose of Use6:
Students can use this
site to find out information about rainforest and animals.
Description6:
This site offers a list
of questions and answers and lists the animals that live in the parts of the
rainforest.