El Salvador -- Sixth Grade
Units Additional Resources Standards
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Every year thousands of migratory birds make the long journey from North American forests, parks and backyards to the warm rainforests of Central and South America. Many of these birds will land in trees that shade coffee farms in Central America. Fifth- and sixth-graders will learn about the important work that SalvaNatura, the Rainforest Alliance's partner group in El Salvador, is carrying out to protect coffee forests and El Imposible, the first national park of El Salvador. |
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Units
Download all 6th grade units [PDF ~226K]
Key Concept: Many species of migratory birds have two main homes: a temperate forest and a tropical rainforest. Their survival depends on the health of both forest systems. And the health of both forest systems depends on the survival of migrating birds.
Essential Question: Why do some birds need two homes, thousands of miles apart, when we only need one?
Download in PDF [PDF ~134K] View On Screen
Key Concept: Coffee plants are grown in the same habitats required by many birds. Rainforests, temperate forests and the landscapes that link them must be carefully managed in order to ensure the survival of migratory birds.
Essential Question: Whose breakfast isn’t for the birds?
Download in PDF [PDF ~54K] View On Screen
Key Concept: Our food choices may have an impact on rainforests. Sun-grown coffee farming destroys essential bird habitat in rainforest areas.
Essential Question: How can my breakfast harm the birds?
Download in PDF [PDF ~49K] View On Screen
Additional Resources
Don't forget to check out our Great Resources page for easy access to the many supplemental materials tailored to complement these units.
- Slideshow - This slideshow will introduce students to the country of El Salvador, the wildlife of El Imposible and the conservation of the region. An easy-to-follow script has been provided. The slideshow can be downloaded for viewing in the classroom, printed out and read as a story or viewed online with the students.
View On-Screen Download [PDF ~3.2M]
Download Script [PDF ~16K]
- Species Profiles - See below for profiles that include that include photos, along with information on habitat, foraging behavior, group relationships, threats, etc.
Ocelot View on Screen Download [PDF ~80K]
Great curassow View on Screen Download [PDF ~63K]
King vulture View on Screen Download [PDF ~26K]
Ruby-throated Hummingbird View on Screen Download [PDF ~71K]
Blue-Crowned Motmot View on Screen Download [PDF ~36K]
Coffee View on Screen Download [PDF ~84K]
- Unit-Specific Stories - The Rainforest Alliance has developed two original stories for use with these units. The stories are available to download and print or can be viewed on-screen.
Alex Goes Exploring in El Imposible
English: View On-Screen Download [PDF ~1.5M]
Spanish: View On-Screen Download [PDF ~442K]
Portuguese: View On-Screen Download [PDF ~432K]
Life in San Miguelito
English: View On-Screen Download in PDF [PDF ~1.6M]
Spanish: View On-Screen Download in PDF [PDF ~449K]
Portuguese: View On-Screen Download in PDF [PDF ~441K]
- Park Profile - Click here for a basic introduction to El Imposible National Park:
- Rainforest Poster - A colorful two-page poster is available for you to use in explaining the layers of the rainforest, its products and the environmental threats facing many rainforests around the world.
Inside the Canopy - Structure and species of the rainforest
Download 8.5x14 [PDF ~2.3M]
Status Report - What is happening to the rainforest
Download 8.5x14 [PDF ~356K]
- Rainforest Products - Click here for a summary of products found in our homes and supermarkets that either originated in tropical forests or are currently produced there.
- 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.
- Conservation Coffee Summary - An eight-page introduction to the issue, including a glossary of terms. Appropriate for students to read independently. Download [PDF ~92K]
- Venn Diagram Template - Click here [PDF ~321K] for a photocopy-ready Venn diagram for use in this unit.
- 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.
Standards
Visual Arts
Standard 2
Knows how to use structures (e.g., sensory qualities, organizational principles, expressive features) and functions of art.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Knows how the qualities of structures and functions of art are used to improve communication of one's ideas.
Geography
Standard 2
Knows the location of places, geographic features and patterns of the environment.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Knows the relative location of, size of and distances between places (e.g., major urban centers in the United States).
Life Sciences
Standard 6
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Knows factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (e.g., available resources; abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures and soil composition; disease; competition from other organisms within the ecosystem; predation).
Mathematics
Standard 6
Understands and applies basic and advanced concepts of statistics and data analysis.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Reads and interprets data in charts, tables, plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter) and graphs (e.g., bar, circle, line).
Organizes and displays data using tables, graphs (e.g., line, circle, bar), frequency distributions and plots (e.g., stem-and-leaf, box-and-whiskers, scatter).
Sciences
Standard 6
Understands relationships among organisms and their physical environment.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Knows factors that affect the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support (e.g., available resources; abiotic factors such as quantity of light and water, range of temperatures, and soil composition; disease; competition from other organisms within the ecosystem; predation).
Geography
Standard 3
Understands the characteristics and uses of spatial organization of Earth's surface.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Understands how places are connected and how these connections demonstrate interdependence and accessibility (e.g., the role of changing transportation and communication technology, regions and countries Americans depend on for imported resources and manufactured goods).
Thinking and Reasoning
Standard 6
Applies decision making techniques.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Makes decisions based on the data obtained and the criteria identified.
Secures factual information needed to evaluate alternatives.
Environment and Society
Standard 14
Understands how human actions modify the physical environment.
Level III (Grade 5-8)
Understands the environmental consequences of people changing the physical environment (e.g., the effects of ozone depletion, climate change, deforestation, land degradation, soil salinization and acidification, ocean pollution, groundwater-quality decline, using natural wetlands for recreational and housing development).
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