Rain forest animal movement

Kindergarten students are naturally curious about a variety of animals. In this lesson, students explore the rain forest through books and online videos. Students will observe the movement of animals and then participate in imitation movements. They will then use nonstandard measurement to identify and record the length they moved.

A lesson plan for grade K Mathematics and Science

By Star Davis

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Related topics

• Learn more about animals, graphing, measurement, rain forests, and science.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• discuss their observations of the movements of rain forest animals. These observations will include how the animal moved, why the animal needs to move that way, and how one animal is similar to or different from another animal they know.
• participate in movement activities related to the movement of animals they observed, and they will correctly measure the length of their movements using nonstandard measurement instruments and record them on a graph.
• compare how far they moved and relate that information to how the real animal would move.

Teacher planning

Time required

Two 45-minute class periods

Materials needed

• Simple books about rain forest animals. Possible titles include:
  • Who Lives in the Rainforest? by Susan Canizares and Mary Reid
  • “Slowly, slowly, slowly,” said the Sloth by Eric Carle
• Copies of the first page of the Animal Movement Graph handout — one per pair of students
• Timer
• Measurement devices such as wooden blocks, link chains, foam “feet” (footprints cut to a twelve inch length), or paper strips cut to a length you determine
• Crayons and pencils
• Science journals or paper
• Tape to mark starting and stopping points
• Clipboards for holding graph paper (optional)
• Rain forest animal stickers (optional)

Technology resources

• Interactive white board, a computer connected to multimedia projector, or a television and video player
• Discovery Education membership (optional) — recommended video clips:
  • Crawling – a segment of “Animals in Action” (crocodile and sloth)
  • Blue Jean Frog – a segment of “The Jeff Corwin Experience: Amphibians”
  • In the Forest – a segment of “The Jeff Corwin Experience: Snakes”
  • J is for Jaguar – a segment of “Phonics in Context: ABC Animals”
  • Looking for Sloths – a segment of “The Jeff Corwin Experience: The Amazon Aquatic Ecosystem”

Handouts

Pre-activities

Prior knowledge

This lesson would work well within an animal studies unit in which students are comparing additional common animals. It is also recommended that this lesson be taught at a time when students are familiar with nonstandard measurement and basic graphing skills.

Activities

Day one

1. Access students’ prior knowledge of animals through books or a class discussion of other animals you have studied. Some sample discussion questions include:
   1. What do you know about how animals move? Name an animal and show me how it moves. Use language to describe each movement as they demonstrate.
   2. How does a fish move differently from a frog (or another animal you have studied)?
   3. Why does the fish/frog need to move that way?
   4. If you were a fish, what would you need to live? How does your movement help you?
2. Read an introductory story about rain forest animals.
3. Go back to the story and review a select number of the animals. Have the students discuss the following questions in knee-to-knee partnerships:
   1. How does this animal move?
   2. What do you notice about how this animal moves and where it lives?
   3. How is ___________ movement similar to/ different from ____________?
4. If possible, watch a short video clip of a sloth.
5. Compare a sloth with a squirrel (or pick another rain forest animal and a common animal). As a class, use fill out a double bubble map on the board comparing these two animals. See this sample double map.
6. Have students move to their own space. Have them draw a picture and write about an animal they choose, including how it moves, in their science journal or on other paper. You could provide each student with a sticker of a rain forest animal and have them add to the picture by writing how they think it moves, instead.

Day two

1. Review with the class what you learned on the previous day of this lesson.
2. Have students find a partner for knee-to-knee time to share the pictures they drew in their journals. Circulate to monitor and guide instruction.
3. Again, ask and allow students to model and describe how certain animals move. Guide them to include an animal from the rain forest.
4. If possible, watch additional video segments from Discovery Education (or another similar video resource).
5. Introduce the movement/measurement activity. Give each student a partner for this activity.
6. Mark the starting line where students will begin their movement.
7. Give each pair of students a copy of the first page of the Animal Movement Graph handout and review the directions with the class.
8. Have students take turns moving like their assigned animal until the timer rings.
9. Place a tape marker where each student stops. Have the students measure their movement from the starting line to the place where they stopped.
10. Have the students color on their graph how many blocks they moved in the given time.
11. Have each pair of students find another pair to join up with to create a group of four. Ask each pair to compare their graph with the graph of the other pair in their group.
12. Bring everyone back together for a whole-class discussion. Possible discussion questions include:
    1. With which animal movement were you able to move the farthest? Least?
    2. Do you think this animal in real life would move similar to how we moved?
    3. Which animal would win a race? Climb a tree faster? Get away from a predator easier?
    4. How does this animal’s movement help it survive?
13. Ask students to move back to their journal to draw and write about the experience of moving like rain forest animals. Encourage them to use descriptive words in their writing like slow, zigzag, around, crawl, etc.

Assessment

Day one: Use of comparative language and knowledge of animal movements

• Monitor partnership discussions. Guide and track their answers, as needed.
• Use a “draw out a name” strategy for picking students randomly to give answers for their double bubble map. Assess for understanding.
• In their journals, ask students to draw a picture and write about an animal of their choosing and how it moves. Optional: Provide each student with a sticker of a rain forest animal and have them add to the picture and write about how it moves.

Day two: Gathering measurement data, use of comparative language, and knowledge of animal movements

• Monitor partnership discussions. Guide and track their progress during the measurement activity, as needed.
• Collect data sheets for evidence of graphing skills.
• Assess students’ abilities to show specific animal movements in their journals or on paper and use words to describe them.

Modifications

• Whole class movement activities can provide a management challenge. With specific modeling and step-by-step directions, this activity is possible. However, as an option to working with a partner, you can have only some students do each movement and create a whole-class graph.
• For students with special needs, have them work with a partner to do the movements, as needed.
• As a higher-level extension, allow students to create their own graph using their knowledge of animal movements.
• For English language learners: This lesson is set up for specific modeling. Having several books or photos of animals available to relate to would also be helpful.

Alternative assessments

• For students with special needs, follow guidelines described in the student’s IEP to modify the writing activity.
• English Language Learners: Use care in setting up partnerships. Allow students to have access to books, photos and pictures with words as needed for writing tasks.
• For all, including higher level students: Adjust questioning skills to allow for more time or critical thinking.

Possible extensions

• Have students do at home research on a rain forest animal.
• Allow students to create a talking animal on Blabberize.
• Watch full videos of The Magic School Bus, such as “The Magic School Bus: Hops Home” (available through Discovery Education).
• Create a rain forest collage using student-drawn pictures of rain forest animals.

Supplemental information

Tropical-Rainforest-Animals.com

This site provides information on animals specific to the rain forest.

Enchanted Learning

This site provides printable student activities and other lesson ideas.

Rainforest Alliance

This site provides information for teacher background.

Comments

This lesson plan was created based on an Amazon rain forest workshop in Raleigh, NC. This workshop was funded by North Carolina State University for the purpose of giving teachers information, time, and resources to create lesson plans that communicate the importance of the Amazon rain forest to the global community, including North Carolina teachers and students.