Explore the Rain Forest!

By: Taylor Boyer&

Chelsi Hummert

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to explore the rain forest? What kind of animals live there? What types of plants grow there? Do you know why rain forests are important?

Let’s Find Out!!

After you explore the rain forest you will create a poster and present your findings to the class. You will also write a paragraph explaining what you learned about the rain forest!

You will begin your rain forest journey with three of your classmates to find information about the 4 layers of the rain forest. Each person in your group will have a specific layer to explore during your journey. Job 1: Emergent Layer Job 2: Canopy Job 3: Understory Job 4: Forest Floor

Each student will be in charge of answering the following questions on a chart about their assigned layer: What animals live in your layer? What plants grow in your layer? What are some characteristics of your layer?

When you return from your Rain Forest exploration you will work as a group to complete the chart and share information about the rain forest layers.

You will also begin creating your group rain forest poster displaying the layers.

Chart to be completedName: Emergent Canopy Understory Forest Floor

What animals live in each layer of the Rain forest?

What plants grow in each layer?

What are some characteristics of each layer?

Answer the following questions together as a group:

1. Why are Rain forests important?

 

2. What are 3 popular Rain forests and where are they located?

 

3. Why are Rain forests being destroyed?

 

Use the chart your teacher has given you to collect information about your assigned layer of the rain forest. Use the following websites to get information!

Emergent Layer Find Characteristics here!

http://www.stri.si.edu/sites/rainforest/rainforest_layers.html

Learn about the animals on the website! http://

mrsgebauer.com/rainforestweb/emergent/emergent.htm

Click here to learn about the plants and animals! http://

www.tropical-rainforest-facts.com/Tropical-Rainforest-Layer-Facts/Tropical-Rainforest-Emergent-Layer-Facts.shtml

Canopy Layer Click here to learn about the canopy layer!

http://www.tropical-rainforest-facts.com/Tropical-Rainforest-Layer-Facts/Tropical-Rainforest-Canopy-Layer-Facts.shtml

More about the canopy! http://mrsgebauer.com/rainforestweb/canopy/canopy.html

Characteristics of the Canopy layer! http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0401.htm

Follow this link to explore the plants! http://www.ehow.com/info_8122581_plants-canopy-layer-rainforest.html

Use this website to learn about the animals! http://www.rainforesteducation.com/life/canopy3.htm

Understory Layer Learn all about the Understory here!

http://mrsgebauer.com/rainforestweb/understory/understory.htm

Click here to learn about plants and animals! http://www.tropical-rainforest-facts.com/Tropical-Rainforest-Layer-Facts/T

ropical-Rainforest-Understory-Layer-Facts.shtml

Characteristics of the Understory! http://www.stri.si.edu/sites/rainforest/understory.html

Find out more info about this layer here! http://www.tigerhomes.org/animal/layers-rainforest.cfm

Forest Floor

Characteristics can be found here! http://www.stri.si.edu/sites/rainforest/f

orest_floor.html Learn about the plants and animals

here! http://mrsgebauer.com/rainforestweb/floor/for

estfloor.htm More about the Forest floor!

http://www.tropical-rainforest-facts.com/Tropical-Rainforest-Layer-Facts/Tropical-Rainforest-Floor-Layer-Facts.shtml

When you have finished exploring each layer, join together as a group and fill out the chart. Share your information with your group members.

As a group, look at the next 3 questions and follow the links to find the answers together! Why are rain forests important? What are three popular rain forests and where

are they located? Why are rain forests being destroyed?

Why are rain forests important? http://www.rainforestconcern.org/r

ainforest_facts/why_are_rainforests_important/

http://kids.mongabay.com/elementary/401.html

http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/why-are-rainforests-important/

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/rainforest-profile/

Popular rain forests http://www.tiptoptens.com/2011/03/05/t

op-10-biggest-and-popular-rainforest-in-the-world/

http://www.smashinglists.com/biggest-rainforests/

http://differentrainforest.weebly.com/top-ten-rainforests-in-the-world.html

Why are they being destroyed?http://kids.mongabay.com/element

ary/501.html

http://www.boliviabella.com/11-ways-in-which-our-forests-are-being-destroyed.html

http://www.rainforestconcern.org/rainforest_facts/why_are_they_being_destroyed/

Create a Poster! Gather your art supplies to begin

working on your Rain forest poster. Each member will create a section of the poster reflecting their layer. Be sure to include plants, animals, and characteristics of your layer.

Conclusion Present your poster to the class. Make

sure each student participates and talks about the layer they researched.

Finally, write a paragraph telling me what you learned about the Rain forest!

Extension to this Lesson

Check out these cool books from

the library to learn more about the

Rain forest!

Congratulations! Great work! You are now an expert on

the Rain forest! We hope you are proud of all your research and hard work. Maybe one day we can save the rain forest!

Ideas for future study Write 5 journal entries about plants and animals

you encountered during your rain forest exploration.

Choose an animal from the rain forest and do a report about it.

Create a list of ideas and strategies on how to save the rain forest.

Compare and contrast the rain forest to another biome.

Read 5 books about the rain forest and share them with the class via a book talk.

Standards IL Science Standards

11.A.2c Construct charts and visualizations to display data.11.A.2d Use data to produce reasonable explanations. 11.A.2e Report and display the results of individual and groupinvestigations.

Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Evaluation Students will be assessed based on the

answers to 6 assigned questions. Correct information is expected.

Students are also required to work well both in their group and independently. Group collaboration is expected.

Students will be assessed on the creativity, effort, and accuracy of their poster work.

Students will be evaluated on the presentation of accurate rain forest information.

Grading Rubric  10 points 5 points 0 points

6 rain forest questionsStudent answered all 6 questions

on the handout about the rain forest. Content is accurate.

Student answered 3-5 of the questions on the handout about

the rain forest. Content is mostly accurate.

Student answered 2 or less questions about the rain forest.

Content is not accurate.

Group work and Collaboration

Student worked very well with other group members and provided information to the group. No group problems.

Student worked relatively fine with other group members. There

were some group problems.

Student did not work well with other group members. Several

group problems and unrest in the group.

Creativity and Effort

Student worked hard to create a nice and neat visual display to

present to the class. Grammar is correct.

Student put in some work to create an average poster to present to the class. Some

grammar errors.

Student lacked effort and creativity in creation of the visual display. Many grammar errors.

Accuracy of PresentationStudent presented accurate

information about the rain forest to the class with confidence.

Student presented some false information to the class.

Student presented a lot of incorrect information to the class.

Presentation skills were poor.