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Concept There are many differences and similarities between the flora and fauna of temperate forests and rainforests. Certain environmental conditions allow particular plants and animals to live in the rainforest.
Essential Question How can something so far away and different be so similar?
Total Time: 85 minutes
Additional Resources
• Slideshow – Click below for a slideshow and script about the Cachalú reserve that includes background information about the animals, people and landscape of this region. The slideshow can be downloaded for viewing in the classroom, or printed out and read as a story, or viewed online with the students. Download as PDF [~5.5M] View On-Screen Download script as PDF [~17K]
• Chayo’s Andean Home –A Rainforest Alliance original story that teaches children about the animals that Chayo sees on the farms and what her family is doing to help protect the forest.
• Species Profiles – Profiles include: photos, habitat, foraging behavior, group relationships, threats, etc.
• Coloring Pages –
- Spectacled bear Download [PDF ~217 K] • Rainforest Products – Click here for a summary of products that we use in our everyday lives that originate in rainforests. Both teachers and students will find information on the products found in their homes and supermarkets that either originated in tropical forests or are currently produced there.
• Conservation Coffee Summary – This summary includes the environmental, social and cultural impact that coffee has had on the Americas, the connection between coffee farms and wildlife and a glossary of relevant terms. Download [PDF ~92K]
• Rick and the Gang Find Out Why Some Coffee is Bad for Birds – This article from Ranger Rick Magazine describes the impact some coffee harvesting techniques have on bird habitat. Download [PDF ~5.7M]
• Profiles in Sustainability – Click here for case studies on companies who work closely with the Rainforest Alliance to ensure that their practices protect wildlife, workers and communities.
• Sample Parent Letter – Download a sample parent letter to be used as part of Unit. Download [PDF ~18K]
• Certificate of Accomplishment – Print out colorful rainforest certificates for your students to commemorate their completion of these units. Download [PDF ~594K]
• Great Resources – Check out this page for easy access to additional supplemental materials that complement these dynamic units.
STEP 1 - CONNECT (The Concept to Prior Knowledge) 20 minutes
Challenge Challenge students to work with a partner to sort pictures, sounds and objects according to whether they think each item can be found in a rainforest or temperate forest.
Materials (per 3-4 students/group. If you can make more sets of these materials, divide the class into pairs.)-3, 12”x15” presentation cardboards or white boards. Label one board “Rainforest,” one board “My Forest” (Temperate Forest) and the other, “Both.” On the front of each board stick small pieces of Velcro at random locations. -A mixed set of pictures, objects and sounds representative of flora, fauna and landscapes from temperate forest and rainforest. Pictures and objects should have masking tape stuck on back. -Masking tape.
Landscape photos can be 81/2” x 11”. Plant and animal photos should be no larger than 3”x5” so that 10 or so of these images can later be displayed as a collage on the presentation board. **Tip: A computer can be set up at one station with various sounds posted for students to click and hear with headphones. The Web site www.christiananswers.net/kids/sounds.html#amphib has a large collection of rainforest sounds. To save these items, open each sound file using Windows Media Player. Click “File”, then “Export Playlist to File”. Save the file on your computer’s desktop and give it a name such as “Sound 1” or “Bird 2”. Temperate forest sounds can be found on many Web sites. Audiotaping early morning sounds is also an option.
Procedure1. Set up 4-6 stations, each containing the same set of objects, pictures and sounds listed above. These items should be in a random pile.
2. Challenge students working in groups of 3-4 to sort the items into 3 piles consisting of plants, animals, weather and scenery from: (a) a temperate forest (presumably their own); (b) a rainforest; and (c) items that belong in both places.
Rather than say “rainforest” say, “A forest where it rains almost every day of the year- often more than 100 inches per year. There is only one season, and the temperatures are typically between 70 and 90 degrees.”
Rather than say “temperate forest” say, “the forest around here” if you live near or in a temperate forest. Or say, “A forest where it rains about 35 inches per year, there are 4 seasons and the temperatures range from 0 to 100 degrees.”
3. Tell students to tape each picture onto the appropriate presentation board and to place each object in front of the corresponding board as well. If they are able to listen to sounds, tell them to tape the sound number on the board they think it belongs.
4. Explain that they will return to their boards in a little while.
STEP 2 - LITERATURE/DISCUSS (Give Expert Information Book; Ask Questions) Challenge After reading aloud The Umbrella by Jan Brett, challenge students to verbalize how rainforests and temperate forests are similar and different. Then ask students to return to their presentation boards and make any changes based on what they just learned. Materials
Procedure1. While reading The Umbrella ask questions like:
where we live.
the rainforest we read about?
don’t live in a temperate forest?
forests?
2. Ask students to work with a partner to describe 3 ways they think rainforests and temperate forests are different. Elicit students’ ideas and ask which ideas, if any, they don’t agree with and why.
STEP 3A - PRACTICE (Math and Learning Centers) 15 minutes
ChallengeChallenge students to work in their original groups to reorganize their forest boards based on what they learned from the previous reading and discussion.
Materials -Same as Step 1
Procedure 1. After presenting the challenge and giving the students a few minutes to make any changes, pick a few of the items from each board and ask them to explain what makes them think it belongs where they placed it. Then tell each group how many of the items on each board do not reflect what we know in real life.
2. When all the groups think they are done, have them rotate around to each of the other groups’ presentations and ask them to note of any items that are organized differently from their own.
3. Elicit from the whole group those items on which they do not agree. Ask students to explain their thinking and inform them of the correct answer.
STEP 3B - CREATE (Performance Tasks Related to Standard Indicators)
Challenge 20 minutes Students create collages that depict the rainforest and the local forest, displaying their understanding of the two types.
Materials -Objects and pictures from Step 1 -Large posterboard or butcher paper on which to tape elements and paint -An assortment of crayons, paints, markers, colored pencils, etc. -Masking tape
Procedure 1. Ask students to disassemble and mix up their entire set of objects and pictures and then make a final collage using the pictures and objects from the exercise. Invite them to paint and draw other items that they think belong in each forest.
You could facilitate the creation of two larger murals on which all the items from all the groups are displayed. In either scenario, use their final work to help them verbalize the similarities and differences between a temperate forest and a rainforest.
STEP 4 - PRESENT (Edit Work/Students Orally Present Projects) 10 minutes Challenge Students present their newly created landscape collages, explaining what lives in their forest and why it belongs there. Materials-Same as Step 1
Procedure1. Ask students to describe their collages to the class. Challenge them to describe the plants and animals that live in the forest they chose. Ask them to explain why some plants and animals live in one forest and not the other, and how some animals can live in both the local, or temperate, forest as well as the rainforest. Challenge students to verbalize the similarities and differences between a temperate forest and a rainforest.
LESSON 1 ASSESSMENT RUBRIC: Teacher observations of tasks with rubrics as listed below, as well as collected work samples.
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