LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

At home in the tropical rainforest

Students will choose one rainforest animal to research using print and electronic resources. They will work cooperatively with a partner to create a Hyperstudio card with the following information: photograph of the animal, the layer of the rainforest it inhabits, sound the animal makes, and an interesting fact about the animal.

A lesson plan for grades 1–2 English Language Arts and Science

By Sally Eller

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Learning outcomes

Students will be able to identify the layers of the rainforest and the various types of animals the layers support.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

4 weeks

Materials/resources

  • Nature’s Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests by Gail Gibbons (Mulberry Books 1997) ISBN: 0688154115
  • Eyewitness Books Jungles by Theresa Greenaway (DK Publishing 2000) ISBN: 0789458969
  • Life in the Rainforests by Lucy Baker, (Two-Can Publishing 2001) ISBN: 1587285584
  • The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, (Gulliver Books 1990) ISBN: 015200520X
  • Jungle Days, Jungle Nights by Tanis Jordan, (Kingfisher Books October 1993) ASIN: 1856978850
  • Here is the Tropical Rain Forest by Madeleine Dunphy, (Bt Bound 1999) ISBN: 0613051424
  • Welcome to the Green House by Jane Yolen, (Bt Bound 1999) ISBN: 0613017609

Technology resources

  • internet access
  • electronic encyclopedia
  • Hyperstudio multimedia software
  • scanner to scan photographs from print resources

Pre-activities

Identify the layers of the tropical rainforest: forest floor, understory, canopy, emergent layer.

Activities

Teacher will provide students with a list of rainforest animals to choose from. Suggestions include: red-eyed tree frog, poison arrow frog, blue morpho butterfly, orchid bee, leaf cutter ants, emerald tree boa, jaguar, ocelot, tapir, three toed sloth, red howler monkey, spider monkey, harpy eagle, toucan, scarlet macaw, and gecko.

Students will work cooperatively with a partner to research their animal with print and electronic resources. Students will save photographs of their animal from the Internet or scanned images from print resources into a folder on the computer. Students will also locate a sound file of their animal from the Internet or electronic encyclopedia and save into a folder on the computer. Students will record an interesting fact about their animal, as well as the layer it inhabits, on a form provided by the teacher. The teacher will help students place their information on a Hyperstudio card and link the cards together to create a multimedia linear presentation about the animal inhabitants at home in the tropical rainforest.

Assessment

Use the attached checklist to judge each Hyperstudio card.

Supplemental information

Attachments:

Hyperstudio 3.2 is required to open the attached jag.STK. If you don’t have Hyperstudio, you will need to download the player from the Hyperstudio website.

Comments

I like to do this unit in April when first graders have the ability to do this type of project. It coincides well with the month of April and the theme of rain. This lesson could also be adapted for second grade. Expand the information to include animal classification, life cycle of animals and create a database from the information gathered by students. Use the database as a teaching tool for students to locate information about rainforest inhabitants.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Computer Technology Skills (2005)

Grade 1

  • Goal 1: The learner will understand important issues of a technology-based society and will exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computer and other technologies.
    • Objective 1.08: Recognize the characteristics of multimedia (e.g., text, audio, images, video). Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
    • Objective 1.11: Recognize, discuss, and cite various types of resources as a class. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
  • Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies.
    • Objective 2.07: Use multimedia software to illustrate words/phrases/concepts. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
    • Objective 2.08: Explore Internet resources and information using teacher-created bookmarks/favorites and discuss the variety and types of information found as a class activity. Strand - Telecommunications/Internet

Grade 2

  • Goal 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies.
    • Objective 2.09: Identify and use multimedia tools to combine text and graphics as a class/group assignment. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
    • Objective 2.10: Identify, discuss, and cite resources for a class/group multimedia project. Strand - Multimedia/Presentation
    • Objective 2.12: Use teacher-selected Internet resources to locate, discuss, and compare information about your local community as a class/group. Strand - Telecommunications/Internet

English Language Arts (2004)

Grade 1

  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.06: Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings).

Grade 2

  • Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
    • Objective 4.08: Write structured, informative presentations and narratives when given help with organization.
    • Objective 4.09: Use media and technology to enhance the presentation of information to an audience for a specific purpose.

Science (2005)

Grade 1

  • Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and make observations to build an understanding of the needs of living organisms.
    • Objective 1.02: Investigate the needs of a variety of different animals:
      • Air.
      • Water.
      • Food.
      • Shelter.
      • Space.
    • Objective 1.05: Discuss the wide variety of living things on Earth.

Grade 2

  • Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and build an understanding of animal life cycles.
    • Objective 1.01: Describe the life cycle of animals including:
      • Birth.
      • Developing into an adult.
      • Reproducing.
      • Aging and death.