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Rainforest Overview Objectives Students will be able to: 1. Identify five important characteristics of a rainforest. 2. Tell where rainforests are located. 3. List two living things found in a rainforest. Materials 1. Videos, slides, and/or pictures from books and magazines 2. Maps (can be obtained from National Geographic Society) 3. Pictures (found in Ranger Rick, National Wildlife, National Geographic, etc.) 4. Colored construction paper, white paper, crayons and fasteners Unit Background Information Many people think that rainforests are uninhabited. The truth is that people have lived in rainforests for thousands of years. Today, about 140 million people living in 1,000 tribal groups make the rainforest their home. Scientists have studied rainforests to discover the different kinds of life—plants, animals, and people—that thrive in them. All rainforests are not the same, but most have some specific things in common. Most rainforests are located in the tropics, where it is hot all year. These tropical forests are found in three large groups in Central and South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. They cover a large part of the tropics. About half of the animals and plants of the world live in tropical rainforests. Rainforest trees crowd together and many are very tall. The thick, leafy, tree-tops are called the forest canopy. More animals live in the canopy than in any other part of the forest. Just below the tree tops is the forest understory, filled with vines and young trees. The forest floor is covered with a layer of dead leaves. Above the canopy, at the very top of the forest, are the isolated crowns of the very tallest trees. These tree tops, homes of many rainforest birds and insects, are called the emergent layer. Learn more. About half the rain that falls on tropical forests is absorbed in forest soil and then slowly released into rivers and streams as fresh water. Rainforests are very important sources of fresh water and air, and they affect global weather systems. Despite their importance to the Earth, many acres of rainforest have been completely cleared of trees and other plants. This destruction results in loss of soil, droughts and floods. Many rainforest trees are cut (slashed) and burned to clear land for farming. Rainforests are harvested for timber, and their hardwood logs are sold around the world. Logging is the largest contributor to rainforest destruction. Rainforests are also cleared to create pasture for cattle to supply meat to other countries. Procedure 1. Warm-up Ask: What is a rainforest? (Encourage students to respond.) Answer: We will be learning many fascinating things about the rainforest, its people, animals, plants and much more during this Rainforest Unit. (Show the students a map of the world.) Ask: Can anyone show the class where a rainforest can be found? (After all students who wish to locate a rainforest on the map are through, point out the areas in which other tropical rainforests are located.) Ask: What kinds of living things can be found in a rainforest? (Make a list of children's responses on the board.) Ask: Who can help put these living things into groups? (Group the children's responses on the board.) Ask: How is a rainforest different from a regular forest? (Discuss likenesses and differences with students. Show a video or slides about rainforests. Discuss some of the things students learned from the video/slides.) Tell Students: We are going to create a rainforest booklet which you'll add something to each session. Use your booklets to share what we learn about rainforests with your mom and dad and other kids. (Pass out materials and children begin construction of booklet.) 2. Wrap-up Tell Students: We have learned that rainforests are a unique kind of place found in the tropical parts of the world. It rains almost every day in this kind of forest, and that is how it gets the name rainforest. There are many different kinds of people, plants, and animals living there. In our next science session we'll learn some interesting things about the people who live in the rainforest. Homework: Tell each student to pick a continent in which rainforests are found and learn two things about the rainforests in that area of the world. Ask them to share this information with the class. |
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