THE RAIN FOREST, A WHAT OR A WHO?

THE RAIN FOREST, A WHAT OR A WHO?

MASTER TEACHER Colleen McGran

GRADES 1-3

OVERVIEW
The rain forest is an area that is vital to all living things. It provides oxygen for the earth and is home for hundreds of thousands of living creatures. There are three types of rain forest, the cloud forest, the dry forest, and the low land rain forest. Many people think of the rain forest as a "what", but it is actually a "who" when you learn about the many living things there. Humans are playing a vital role in what is currently happening to the rain forest. Students will learn how all of these factors affect each other.

ITV SERIES
Kratt's Creatures 109 "Rain forests: Under the Canopy"

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The students should be able to:
*list the three different types of rain forest;
*explain how humans affect the ecosystems;
*identify a natural cycle within the rain              forest;
*classify some creatures according to what        they eat and create a bar graph;
*predict what will happen if deforestation          continues;
*solve situational problems using problem         solving skills.

MATERIALS
(per teacher)
large T chart
pictures of the rain forest animals
tape of sounds from the rain forest and tape player
markers
dilemma cards
blank flashcards (for vocabulary words)
poster for bar graph

(per student)
paper folded in half labeled before/after
something to write with
paper folded in half labeled animal/eat
paper plate
crayons or markers

(per pairs of students)
art supplies to create masks
paint
markers
large paper bags
paper plates
yarn
pictures of animals from the rain forest
glue

VOCABULARY
deforestation          natural cycle
protection               habitat
diurnal                     pesticides
omnivorous            herbivore
ecosystem               carnivore
green house effect

PREVIEWING ACTIVITIES
Give each student a piece of paper. Give instructions: Fold it in half and label one side "BEFORE" and the other side "AFTER". Discuss the definition of a Rain Forest. Have students write their definition of a rain forest on the "BEFORE" side of the paper. Then play a tape of the rain forest. While listening to the tape, brainstorm on a large T chart what students will see and hear while learning about the rain forest. Next play a recording of a bull dozer. Ask students if this sound can be heard in the rain forest and why. Introduce vocabulary words and make flash cards for each word.

FOCUS FOR VIEWING
Say, "You are going to see a video on the rain forest. Two brothers, Chris and Martin Kratt will take us on a tour of the three types of rain forest. Their assistant Allison is very concerned about the human impact on the rain forest." To give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, "Watch the video and look for the different creatures of the rain forest and at what they eat. Also pay attention to how they are dependent on each other. Look carefully at the message Allison and Ttark are giving us."

VIEWING ACTIVITIES
Begin video. The Kratt's brothers will be introducing the rain forest. There will be an illustration with a question mark. Pause the video when they say "Didn't you know there are three types of rain forest? The cloud forest, the dry forest, and the lowland rain forest." Ask the students, "What were the three types of rain forest?" (cloud forest, dry forest, lowland rain forest). Ask students, "Do you think there is a difference in the animals that live in these forests, or are they about the same?" (answers will vary, they are about the same). Place the paper labeled before at the top of your desk. Pass out another sheet of paper, fold in half and label one side "Animal" and the other side "Eat". Say, "We will begin in the cloud forest, keep notes of the animals you are introduced to and what they eat on your T chart. If they eat a certain type of leaf you can just write leaf."

Resume the video. Chris will be in a tree explaining what trees give to monkeys. Pause the video after Chris says, "Trees of the rain forest give monkeys food and a place to live." Ask the students, "What animals have you written on your chart, and what do they eat?" (tapir/leaves, jaguar/other animals, coati/omnivorous, monkeys/food from trees). Say, "One of our vocabulary words was introduced when we met the coati, that is diurnal. Do you remember what this means?" (awake during the day). Say, "Next we will meet Allison who is concerned about how humans are effecting the rain forest. I want you to predict what her concerns are. Turn to your neighbor and whisper your prediction." Allow students about one minute to share their prediction. Say, "Remember to continue to keep track of the animals and what they eat."

Resume the video. Allison explains her concerns. Ttark and Allison are talking about her part of the presentation. Pause the video when Ttark says, "Animals, trees, bugs, everything relies on everything else. That's what you should show."
Ask students, "Were your predictions accurate? What were Allison's concerns?"
(logging, farming, manufacturing, population explosion, deforestation, balance of life, ecosystem, and greenhouse effect).

Resume the video. Pause the video when the Kratt's say, "See the ants need the trees and the trees need the ants. Not that it matters if people keep cutting down the trees." Say, "We just saw three examples of how things in the rain forest rely on each other. Can you tell me what they were?" (humming bird, monkey, ants). Say, "These are examples of how things are dependent upon each other in the ecosystem. Let's illustrate how the humming bird relies on the flowers and the flowers rely on the humming bird on a paper plate." Give each student a paper plate. Instructions: Illustrate a humming bird at the top. To the right draw a picture of a flower from which nectar is obtained. At the bottom show how the humming bird then goes to another flower to get nectar. To the left them draw more flowers that produces nectar.. Say, " So, in the rain forest each living creature is dependent on each other to survive."

Resume the video. Pause the video when they say, "We've got to move if we are going to cover the dry forest." Ask the students, "What animals did you add to your chart, and what do they eat? "(toucan/fruit, hummingbird/nectar, tree ants/insects) Say, "Remember to keep adding to your chart as we meet more creatures."

Resume the video. Pause the video when Ttark says, "Pesticides, pesticides in the rain forest! Do you know what that means?" Ask the students, "What do you think is wrong with pesticides in the rain forest?"(pesticides will kill insects and effect the animals that eat the insects)

Resume the video. Pause the video when the brothers say, "Where else would we be, we are tubing our way through the lowland rain forest. It's warm, it's wet, and it's full of creatures." Say, "Before we meet the creatures of the lowland rain forest, what creatures did you add to your chart?" (Tayra/meat, leaf cutter ants/leaf and fungus) Say, "Let's see what we will add next."

Resume the video. Pause the video when the brothers say, "In a way that is what it is all about. The trees and the creatures that call them home." Ask the students, "What other animals did you add to your chart?" (three toed sloth/leaves, white lipped pecarrie/meat, Hercules beetle/insects)

Resume the video. Allison will be completing her part of the presentation. Pause the video when she says, "The rain forest isn't a what, it's a who." Ask students, "What does Allison mean by this statement?" (That the living creatures are dependent on the rain forest for shelter. By destroying the rain forest we are destroying their habitats. If we learn more about the creatures that live in the rain forest, we may think twice about destroying them.) Stop Video

POST-VIEWING ACTIVITIES
On the "AFTER" side of their paper have the students rewrite their definition of the rain forest. Discuss the differences if there were any as a class.

Web the three types of rain forests using the information learned on a class chart. Draw a circle for each rain forest and place the information from the students around the appropriate circle.

Create a bar graph of the animals listed on the T-chart labeling it Carnivore, Herbivore, and Omnivore using Work sheet #1. Ask questions about the graph, such as; "Do more animals eat meat or vegetation?" "How many animals will eat what ever they can find?"

Have students work with a partner. Pass out materials to create a mask of an animal found in the rain forest. After they make their mask tell them that they have a chance to tell the humans about themselves and why they are a "who" in the rain forest. They will role play how deforestation is effecting them. Each student will state which animal they are and state what they would tell the humans.

Pass out dilemma cards to each pair of students. They will read the card and solve the problem presented on the card. The students will explain the steps they used to solve the problem.

ACTION PLAN
Ask a representative from the zoo to come speak to the class about what they do to protect the animals. Ask them to explain how they create a habitat for the animals of the rain forest.

EXTENSIONS LANGUAGE ARTS
Write a research paper on an animal of the student's choice from those found in the rain forest. The teacher provides books for the students to complete their research. The papers could include; where the animal lives, what they eat, adaptations, and if the animal they chose is endangered.

SCIENCE
The teacher can use this video to lead into a unit on endangered animals. Students create a habitat that would be safe from predators.

Compare/Contrast the vegetation in the rain forest to that of the desert.

ART
Students create posters illustrating the need to protect the rain forest. The posters could be focused on making people aware of the problems in the rain forest.

SOCIAL STUDIES
Locate the rain forest on a world map. Compare it's location to where the students are.

Dilemma Cards

The rain forest provides oxygen to the world. Five hundred miles of rain forest are burned. What will happen to the oxygen in this area? How will this affect the human and animal life? Coffee and soda are products from the rain forest. McDnald's serves a lot of coke and coffee. What will happen to their business if the rain forest are destroyed? What will they serve instead?

The rain forest protects the lowlands from flooding. What will happen to the lowlands when the rain forest is gone? How can people help prevent this? A farmer moves to the rain forest and burns 10 acres of land. He farms for two years and the soil does not provide enough nutrients for a third year of farmer do? How will this affect the rain forest?

The three toed sloth lives high in the trees. It moves very slowly. Because it lives high in the trees, it does not have to move quickly to get food. What will happen if all of the trees around where the sloth lives are destroyed? How will they have to adapt? A log farmer cuts down part of the rain forest to get wood and charcoal for poor people to burn as fuel. Which animals that we met would be affected? what might happen to them?

Balloons are a product of the rain forest. The rubber to make balloons comes from trees found in the rain forest. Is it better to have a balloon at a birthday party, which is made from rubber, or to protect the rain forest? Cinnamon is a product of the rain forest. Because the rain forest is being destroyed cinnamon has become harder to find in the grocery stores. I needed cinnamon to make cinnamon rolls. when I went to the grocery store there wasn't any and there was a sign that said they would not carry cinnamon any longer. What might have happened to the cinnamon?

Work sheet #1

Animals of the Costa Rican Rain Forest

Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore

Updated: April 01, 2008