Nowhere on Earth is the rainforest more fascinating to children than the Amazon.

In this unit, children will explore the rich culture of the Yanomami and compare their situation to the Amazon rainforest’s newest arrivals: settlers seeking a better life. Students will learn about the work that The Oficina Escola de Lutheria da Amazônia (OELA), the Rainforest Alliance’s Brazil-based partner, is doing to help the people of Boa Vista do Ramos improve their lives while ensuring the long-term health of the forest.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Rainforest Complexity and Diversity

Key Concept: Maintaining interdependence and diversity among plants and animals is essential in sustaining rainforests.

Essential Question: How can so many plants and animals share such a small space?

Lesson 2: Independence and Conservation

Key Concept: Things change in all environments. The impact of one loss or disturbance may not be visible until the rate of change and impact on diversity threatens the habitat of a particular species so much that their food source, shelter, health or safety disappears. What is the critical threshold?

Essential Question: Does it all collapse when one block is pulled out?

Lesson 3: Products from the Rainforest

Key Concept: Bananas, cocoa, coffee, wood and many more products originate in the rainforests of Latin America. As demand for products from the rainforest increases, more pressure is exerted on these precious ecosystems. With 90 percent of the world’s forests outside of protected areas, the Rainforest Alliance works to protect ecosystems and the people and wildlife that depend on them by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. For instance, companies and communities in Brazil work with the Rainforest Alliance and their partners to harvest wood while ensuring the forest will remain healthy and productive for generations to come.

Essential Question: Is this table someone’s old climbing tree?

About Our Curricula

The Rainforest Alliance curricula are unique in that it teaches language arts, math, science, social studies and the arts while addressing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.

• Learn more about how our curricula adhere to these standards.
• Learn more about the terms and conditions of using our curriculum.