Overview of Lesson		Body of Lesson - Procedure & Assessment
Connection to the Curriculum,Standards and Skills		Activity One and Student Assessment
Grade Level		Activity Two and Student Assessment
Purpose of Lesson		Activity Three
Primary Geographic Question		Assessment of Lesson
Secondary Questions		References
Materials		Self-Assessment

Overview of the Lesson

Rainforests are the richest regions on Earth in terms of diversity of life.  Tropical rain forests house 40-50% of the world's plant and animal species.  These forests serve many important functions which affect the world, not to mention its own unique ecosystem.  The tropical rainforests are being impacted negatively by cattle ranching, logging, road building, and industry.  We live in a world of expansion and industrialization and unfortunately, these activities come with drawbacks.  The study of this ecosystem will provide students with expanded knowledge of rainforests, the interdependence between rainforests and the world, and an understanding of the effects of human interaction with Earth.

Geography Standards

Standard 4:  The physical and human characteristics of places.

Standard 8:  The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth's surface.

Standard 14:  How human actions modify the physical environment.

Alabama Course of Study:  Social Studies Content Standards (Grade 7)

Standard 5:   Locate selected countries, cities, and physical features on maps, globes, and satellite images.

Standard 7:  Evaluate the impact of human activity on landscapes over time using maps, graphs, and satellite-produced images.

Standard 14:  Identify changes over time in a nearby ecosystem resulting from human intervention.

Geographic Skills

Asking geographic questions:  Where are the rainforests located?  Why are they located here?  Is there a pattern to their locations?  What are the characteristics of rain forests?  How do rain forests affect me?

Acquiring geographic information:  Use maps to locate rainforests.  Research people, plants, and animals of the rain forest.  Discover reasons for destruction.  Compare to local forests.

Organizing geographic information:  Graph local climate with rain forest climate.

Analyzing geographic information: Identify pattern of location for tropical rain forests.  Analyze the relationship between rainforests and the world.

Answering geographic questions:  Write a story about a walk through the rainforest explaining their location, climate, plants/products, animals, and people and explain the interdependence between this rainforest and the rest of the world, and the changes occurring in the rainforest due to human intervention and what might be the long-term effects of this intervention.

Grade 7

The students will locate rainforests, research characteristics of rainforests to include climate, location, plants/products, animals, and people.  The students will discover relationships between rainforests and the world and how the destruction of rainforests will affect the world.

What characteristics make rainforests important to its own ecosystem and to the world?  What changes are occurring in the rainforest due to human intervention and what might be the long-term effects of this intervention?

Where are rainforest located?  What is the pattern of their locations?

What are the climatic characteristics of rainforests?

What are uses of plants from the rainforests (locally and globally)?

What ecological threats are there to rainforest plants, animals, and people?

How can we make a difference?

• Base map of the world
• World map or globe
• Encyclopedias
• Almanacs
• Textbooks
• Internet
• Art Supplies
• Poster Board
• Markers
• Teacher-Made Model of Bar Graph
• Video Tape - Rain Forest (National Geographic)
• Writing Materials
• List of Rainforest Organizations/Addresses

Activity One

Secondary Questions # 1 & #2:  Where are rainforest located?  What is the pattern of their locations? What are the climatic characteristics of rainforests?

Wear a green belt to class.  Start a discussion about the green belt.  Why do they think I might be wearing a green belt?  What might it represent?  Tell students that we are going to study rainforest in geography for a few days.  Take predictions on where they think rainforests are located.  Using resource materials, have students determine where rainforests are located.  Complete base map by having students label the continents, equator, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, fill in the name of countries where rainforests are located, color in rainforests.  Have a discussion about location of rainforests.  What patterns do they note?  What country has the most rainforests?  Why? Identify three countries that contain a significant are of rainforests.  What are the differences and/or similarities?  Now, can anyone tell me the meaning of my green belt in relation to this lesson?  (If we look at the map of the world, we see that the rainforests are the world's "green belt").

Introduce climatic characteristics of the rainforests.  Divide the class into groups to research rainfall and temperature data.  (All research can come from the classroom library, textbooks, encyclopedias, world almanacs, and the Internet.)  After research is done, students will develop a bar graph.  Teachers should demonstrate the development of a bar graph and make sure students have an understanding of information contained in a graph.  (Have available local precipitation and temperature.)  These graphs can then be used by students to make written comparisons between local and rainforest climates.

Assessing Student Learning: Activity One

Students will write in their journal a definition of "rainforests", explain their overall location, and name three countries that contain a significant area of rainforests.  Each group will display their precipitation/temperature chart comparing rainforest climate with local climate and be able to explain their charts in written form.

Activity Two

• Secondary Questions # 3 & #4:  What are uses of plants in the rainforests?  What ecological threats are there to rainforest plants, animals, and people?
• Divide the class into three expert teams.  One team will study plants/products of the rainforest, one team will study animals of the rainforests, and one team will study people of the rainforests.  Give the following questions as guidelines in their research:
• Plants/Products: Why do more than half of the world's plant species live in rainforests?  What are some different/unique types of plants found in the rainforests and how have they adapted to their surroundings?  What are some of the uses for plants/products found in the rainforests?  Identify everyday products used that come from the rainforests.  How would it effect you if the plants/products were suddenly gone?
• Animals: This group could subdivide and each person choose an endangered or threatened animal to research. What are the animal's physical characteristics?  Where does it live, what does it eat, who are its enemies?  Describe the animals interdependence with the rainforest.  How has this animal adapted in the rainforest for survival?  Why should the animal be protected from extinction?  What is being done to help the animal?
• People:  This group will study the Pygmies of Africa whose home is the rainforest.  Define "indigenous people", tell us how they live, and of what importance the rainforest is to them.  Describe their living conditions, traditions, language, and spiritual life.  How do these people find food?  What types of food do they eat?  What do they use for shelter?  What happens when there is no longer any food in the area?  Why should the rainforest be protected for these indigenous people?  What is the relationship between these people and the rainforest?  Possibly compare to American families.
• After several days of research and collaboration, the groups will creatively present their findings to the class.  (Teacher conference with each group before presentation.)  Each student will write several paragraphs on what they have learned.

Assessing Student Learning: Activity Two

Students will be assessed on group presentations and will be individually assessed through their journal entries regarding the three focused areas.

Activity Three

• Secondary Question #5:  Why are rainforests being destroyed and how can we make a difference?
• Read Our Endangered Planet:  Tropical Rain Forests.  Discuss the importance of the rainforests, the negative effects of their depletion and what steps might be taken to improve the situation.
• Have students do research on the reasons for rainforest devastation.  Divide class into two groups and let one group take the role of government officials who wish to cut down large areas of the rainforests in their countries.  Assign the other group to represent the opinions of a worldwide citizens group that is opposed to cutting down any more trees from any rainforests.  Prepare arguments for a class debate.
• Have students begin work on their save the rainforest posters.  They should include illustrations and a stronger message of why they think the rainforest should be saved.  When finished, the students will present their posters to the class and describe their reasons for saving the rainforest.
• Inform the class that there are many organizations for the rainforests preservation.  These organizations are here to help us make a difference so we can save the rainforests.  Students may write to these organizations to request information on what they can do to save the rainforests.
• Show students a model of a T-shirt you have made.  Let them design their own T-shirts showing what they have learned about the rainforests.

Task Description:  Students will brainstorm what they have learned about the rainforest throughout the unit. Ask students to write their own story about a walk through the rainforest as a geographer.  They should use their senses to describe sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and tactile experiences.  Stories should include specific animals, plants/products, people, climate, location, and other aspects of the rainforest.  The story should conclude with an explanation of the interdependence between this rainforest and the rest of the world, changes occurring in the rainforest due to human intervention and what might be the long-term effects of this intervention.  Have students share their stories with another student and then allow that student to edit the story.  Students should complete the self-assessment before turning in the final draft.

Teachers.Net

http://www.gnbvoc.mec.edu/rainforest/default.htm

Learning Magazine, March 1993 issue
The Mailbox, Feb/March 1994 issue
Discovery Online
Encarta World Atlas Online
National Geographic Society
Rain Forest Database
Rain Forest Gopher
The Virtual Tourist
Rainforest Action Network
Envirolink
The Rainforest Ecosystem
HerbWeb:  Forest, Rainforest Net
Climate Alliance
Countries & Cultures
Indigenous Peoples' Information
People of the Rain Forests
Amazon Animals
Electronic Zoo
Sea World
Tropical Forests
Rainforest Alliance
National Zoo - Amazonia Exhibit