Rainforest Alliance

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

Challenge

Students identify one of the essential elements from their environment that must be protected in order to maintain the effective balance of the ecosystem. Insects are critical to the survival of many ecosystems.

Materials

- Internet access or insect field guides
- Poster paper
- Art supplies

Procedure

1. Students research different pollinating insects that live in their local environment on the Internet or field guide books. For example, bees work to pollinate plants that provide essential botanical species within certain areas. Bees may be necessary for the production of honey or for certain vegetables in gardens.
2. Students create posters that describe their insect and show its connection to plants in their area.
3. Have students identify how the insects may interact by sharing plants or insuring that a food source is present for another insect.
4. Display the posters.
5. Remove one of the insects at a time and discuss the impact this might have on the environment, especially on the types of plant and animal life (vegetable gardens and honey producers) that live in the area.
6. Identify which plants and animals would have to move to another location or would die as a result of the changes on insect life.
7. Discuss what other changes might affect plants and animals that children have identified, for example, changes in rainfall or temperature.

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

Challenge

Students find out what changes in the Ecuadorian landscape will impact the productivity of cacao trees.

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

Challenge

Students calculate the ratio of chocolate to the productivity of cacao plants and their farmers.

Step 4 -- Present (Edit Work/Students Present Projects)

Challenge

Students have a mock open house for their store and advertise their 'products' to other students.

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 third grade lessons.

Language Arts Writing

Standard 4 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
2. 3. 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes (encyclopedias, dictionaries, electronic media).
Uses multiple representations of information (maps, charts, diagrams, tables) to find information for research topics.
7. Uses strategies to compile information into written reports or summaries.

Reading

Standard 7 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand a variety of informational texts.
5. Summarizes and paraphrases information in texts.
6. Uses prior knowledge and experience to understand and respond to new information.

Standard 6 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of literacy texts.
9. Makes connections between characters or simple events in a literary work and people or events in his or her own life.

Listening and Speaking

Standard 8 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
Contributes to group discussions.
Asks questions in class.
Responds to questions and comments.
1. Listens to classmates and adults.
7. Makes basic oral presentations to class.
10. Organizes ideas for oral presentations.

Thinking and Reasoning

Standard 3 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
4. Makes comparisons between countries in terms of relatively concrete characteristics (size, population and products).

Standard 1 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
1. Uses facts from books, articles and databases to support an argument.
7. Recognizes when a comparison is not fair because important characteristics are not the same.

Standard 5 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
1. Identifies issues and problems in the school or community that one might help solve.

Mathematics

Standard 1 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
1. Uses a variety of strategies to understand problem situations.
2. Represents problems situations in a variety of forms.

Standard 3 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
7. Solves real world problems involving number operations.

Standard 4 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
1. Understands the basic measures perimeter, area, volume circumference.
2. Selects and uses appropriate tools for given measurement situations.
4. Understands relationships between measures.
1. Uses specific strategies to estimate quantities and measurements.

Standard 9 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
2. Understands that mathematical ideas and concepts can be represented concretely, graphically, and symbolically.

Life Sciences

Standard 6 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
1. Knows the organization of simple food chains and food webs.
2. Knows the transfer of energy.
3. Knows that changes in the environment can have different effects on different organisms.
4. Knows that all organisms (including humans) cause changes in their environments and these changes can be beneficial or detrimental.

Standard 1 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
Understands atmospheric processes and the water cycle.

Standard 4 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
5. Knows that the characteristics of an organism can be described in terms of a combination of traits; some traits are inherited and others result from interactions with the environment.

Standard 5 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
3. Knows that living organisms have distinct structures and body systems that serve specific functions in growth, survival and reproduction. (body structures for walking, flying, or swimming).

Standard 7 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
3. Understands the concept of extinction and its importance in biological evolution.
4. Knows ways in which living things can be classified.

Standard 9 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
Understands the sources and properties of energy.
Standard 11 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
5. Knows that good scientific explanations are based on evidence (observations) and scientific knowledge.
6. Knows that scientists make the results of their investigations public.

Standard 13 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
1. Knows that people of all ages, backgrounds and groups have made contributions to science and technology throughout history.

Standard 12 Level 2 Grade 3 - 5
3. Plans and conducts simple investigations.
4. Uses appropriate tools and simple equipment.