Rainforest Alliance

Step 1 -- Connect (The Concept to Prior Knowledge)

Challenge

Students identify the rules, laws, jobs and people who help them feel safe, keep them healthy and make them comfortable and happy. They identify the rules, laws, jobs and people who look after the livelihood of animals, particularly those in the Maya Forest Reserve.

Materials

- Paper, pencils

Procedure

1. Students make a list of all the rules, laws, jobs and people who make their playground and school safe. They extend this list to include their homes.
2. Students identify changes that have been made to their playgrounds or homes to increase safety or comfort.
3. Students may draw a picture to show one incident/person who helps them feel safe in their neighborhood or play space.

Step 2 -- Literature/Discuss (Give Expert Information Book; Ask Questions)

Challenge

Students identify the people who are trying to keep the rainforest safe for the four focus species.

Materials

- Book: The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry
- Book: My Dad the Ranger, a Rainforest Alliance story

Procedure

1. Read The Great Kapok Tree, by Lynne Cherry. Identify the threats to the animals and the rainforest that are identified in this book.  Discuss the reasons that people might be cutting down trees in the rainforest.
2. Read My Dad the Ranger, a Rainforest Alliance story. Talk about the ways that the ranger is protecting the four species of focus. Discuss people in the lives of the students who provide safety and health. What do they do that is different than the ranger?
3. Visit the Adopt-A-Rainforest pages about Belize for a discussion of threats to the environmentally important Maya Mountain Marine Corridor and efforts to protect it.
4. Give a short overview of Belize and the Maya rainforest: Belize's tropical rainforests are home to more than 220 tree species and 350 species of birds. Forest areas include the largest true subtropical rainforest in Belize, with a great diversity of rare and endangered plants, birds, insects and animals, including five species of wild cats. Cover information about what the Toledo Institute for Development and the Environment (TIDE) is doing to protect Belize's rainforests. Due to its tremendous natural diversity, TIDE with the support of The Nature Conservancy and the Rainforest Alliance, is working to conserve the "Ridges to Reef" conservation corridor in Southern Belize.

Step 3A -- Practice (Math and Learning Centers)

Challenge

Students carry out a variety of interesting comparisons between the two environments: their neighborhoods and the marine corridor. Students create a column graph that compares the threats to the safety of humans and animals within both environments.

Materials

- Paper, pencils

Procedure

1. Have students brainstorm the kinds of things that might threaten the integrity of their playground, school or home.
2. List those things in columns labeled respectively. Then list the things that might threaten the Maya Forest Marine Corridor (both the forest and the watershed).
3. Compare and contrast the sources of threats and the results of threats.

Step 3B -- Create (Performance Tasks Related to Standard Indicators)

Challenge

Using the materials they have studied, students will translate what they know into a symbolic representation.

Materials

- Paper
- Art Supplies

Procedure

1. Students will create a 3D model of the two environments in small groups. This might be in the form of a diorama or a flat cookie sheet sized model.
2. Students will talk about the ways the two environments are the same and what threats they face in the future to their safety, health and comfort.

Step 4 -- Present

Challenge

Students will write stories that use the two different 3D representations as a background for a personal exploration of the rainforest or of an exploration of their playground from the perspective of a jaguar, howler monkey, manatee or loggerhead turtle. The stories will highlight where animals feel safe, where they can get what they need to survive and whether they feel comfortable.

The Rainforest Alliance curriculum is unique in that it teaches science, math, language arts and social studies essentials while addressing the United States National Standards for Learning. These are the standards addressed in the second grade lessons.

Writing

Standard 3 Level 1: K - 2
1. Generates questions about topics of personal interest.
2. Uses a variety of sources to gather information.

Reading

Standard 7 Level 1 Grade K - 2
1. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts.
4. Relates new information to prior knowledge and experiences.

Listening and Speaking

Standard 8 Level 1 Grade K - 2
8. Listens and responds to a variety of media.

Thinking and Reasoning

Standard 1 Level 1 Grade K - 2
Understands and applies the basic principles of presenting an argument.

Standard 5 Level 1 Grade K - 2
Identifies simple problems and possible solutions.

Mathematics

Standard 1
Uses a variety of strategies in the problem-solving
Level 1 Grade K - 2
A) Draws pictures to represent problems.
B) 4. Makes organized lists or tables of information necessary for solving a problem.

Standard 3 Level 1 Grade K - 2
3. Understands basic estimation strategies.

Standard 4 Level 1 Grade K - 2
1. Understands the basic measures of length, width, height, weight, and temperature.

Life Sciences

Standard 6 Level 1 Grade K - 2
1. Knows that plants and animals need certain resources for energy and growth.
2. Knows that living things are found almost everywhere in the world and that distinct environmental support the life of different types of plants and animals.

Standard 13 Level 1 Grade K - 2
Understands that in science it is helpful to work with a team and share the findings with others.

Standard 12 Level 1 Grade K - 2
1. Knows that learning can come from careful observations and simple experiments.

Standard 5 Level 1 Grade K - 2
1. Knows the basic needs of plants and animals (air, water, nutrients, light or food, shelter).
2. Knows that plants and animals have features that help them live in different environments.

Standard 4 Level 1 Grade K - 2
3. Knows that differences exist among individuals of the same kind of plant or animal.

Standard 7 Level 1 Grade K - 2
2. Knows that there are similarities and differences in the appearance and behavior of plants and animals.