Marge Peltz

Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning.
Many of the phenomena that we observe on Earth involve interactions among components af air, water, and land.
Living things are both similar to and different from each other and nonliving things.
The continuity of life is sustained through reproduction and development.
Organisms maintain a dynamic equilibrium that sustains life.
Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment.
Through systems thinking people can recognize the commonalties that exist among all systems and how,parts of a system inter-relate and combine to perform specific functions.
Strategies and technology are used together to make informed decisions and solve problems, especially those relating to issues of science, technology, society, consumer decision making.

Students will use a variety of equipment and software packages to enter, process, display, and communicate information in different forms using text, tables, pictures, and sound.
Students will telecommunicate a message to a distant location with the teacher's help.
Students will access needed information from printed media, electronic databases, and community resources.
Students will describe the relationships among air, water, and land.
Students will describe the life processes common to all living things.
Students will observe that differences within a species may give individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing.
Students will describe the major stages in the life cycles of selected plants and animals.
Students will describe some survival behaviors of common living things.
Students will describe the relationships of the sun as an energy source for living and nonliving cycles.
Students will identify common things that can be considered to be systems (e.g. a plant, population, a subway system, human being).
Students will discover that a model of something is different from the real thing but can be used to study the real thing.
Students will use simple instruments to measure such quantities as distance, size, and weight and look for patterns in data.
Students will participate in an extended, culminating science and technology project. The project will require students to:

work effectively
gather and process information
generate and analyze ideas
present results.

Students will identify and describe parts of a plant.
Students will identify and describe special adaptations that certain plants have in order to survive in a rainforest environment.
Students will use printed text, computer software, videos, and other visuals to access information on the four layers of the rainforest.
The children will create a bar graph depicting the number of third graders needed to equal the height of various trees found in the four layers of the rainforest.
Students will create a rainforest ecosystem in a jar.
Students will compare the amount of sunshine on the various layers of the rainforest.
Students will observe the adaptions of the bromeliad and will understand the interdependencies of one living thing on another in its environment.
Students will use research skills to locate information on plants of the rainforest.
Students will identify some plants that grow in the rainforest as valuable to medical science.

Students will construct a model of a rainforest in the classroom. The model will incorporate a variety of plants and trees from the various layers of the rainforest.
Students will be able to identify the parts of a plant.
Students will be able to create a new plant. Each new plant will have a labeled diagram and it will be placed in its appropriated layer in the rainforest.
Students will create a poster showing the lavers of the rainforest.
Students will work in co-operative groups.
Students will construct a model of the rainforest and compare the temperature at the different levels.
Students will do an independent activity of a food found in the rainforest.
Students will give an oral and visual presentation of a particular food found in the rainforest.
Students will use their particular food in a recipe and share the end product with classmates.
Students will recognize the role of plants in the food chain.
Students wili be aware of the importance of some rainforest plants in medicine.
Students will collect and display a variety of products from the rainforest that are used in our daily lives.
Students will collect pictures of plants and products from the rainforest.
Student responses in their Rainforest Journals will show knowledge of plants of the rainforest.
Students will write a creative story about a day in the rainforest.
Students will enjoy a "tasty" experience by sampling a variety of fruits from the rainforest.
Student's knowledge of the various species of plants and trees found in the rainforest will be assessed by using the following rubric.

Emergent Level - The student can describe and give examples of
(Highest Level) plants found in the rainforest.

Canopy Level - The student can describe and give at least two examples of plants that grow in the rainforest.

Understory - The student can either describe or give examples of plants that grow in the rainforest.

Forest Floor - The student can neither describe nor give examples of
(Lowest Level) plants that grow in the rainforest.

The children will begin their study of plants of the rain forest by using a KWL chart. The KWL chart helps children organize their knowledge into three categories.

What we KNOW about plants of the rain forest,
What we WANT to know about plants of the rain forest,
What we LEARNED about plants of the rain forests

Materials needed: a roll of brown paper
several pieces of green construction paper 18"x24".
markers

The teacher and/or students can create a forest floor from the roll of brown paper. This should be app. 36" wide and torn at the top to represent the irregular forest floor. At the top should be written WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW ABOUT PLANTS OF THE RAIN FOREST.
A tree trunk made from the roll of brown paper is for the next chart.
WHAT WE WANT TO LEARN ABOUT PLANTS OF THE RAIN FOREST.
A silhouette of tree leaves can be the final section of the KWL chart
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT PLANTS OF THE RAIN FOREST.
This part of the chart will be completed as a group activity with each group supply leaves of information to the tree. Information will be gathered throughout the unit and new leaves will constantly be added to the tree.
The teacher is to encourage the children to brainstorm what they know about plants of the rainforest and their responses should be recorded on the forest floor. The teacher should record all responses, even incorrect ones.
On the tree trunk, the teacher is to record what the children want to learn.
The children should record in their personal Rainforest journals information they wish to learn throughout their study of the rainforest.
The children will include a page tided: Books and Articles I Have Read About the Rainforest
During the unit of study, the children will add the tides and authors of any book and/or magazine articles read.

Assignment: The children are t(> try to bring to school any materials on the rainforest that they have at home.

The children will learn that rainforest's plants have the same parts as all plants - roots, stems, and leaves but also have unique adaptations that allow them survive in a wet, dim, and nutrient-poor environment.

Materials: any video that shows plants found in a rainforest, a variety of rainforest books, CD-ROM, magazines, websites, drawing paper crayons, colored pencils, or markers, Magnetic Way - Exploring Rain Forests,
any suitable model showing parts of a plant

Procedure: After viewing a video that shows plant life in the rainforest the children should be aware of the following information.

Parts of a Plant
Roots - rainforest trees have shallow a root systems. Water and nutrients lie neat the surface of the soil therefore a deep root system is not needed. Many trees are top heavy and can easily be blown over in a storm. These trees have stilt roots that grow out of the tree trunk giving the tree additional support. These special roots are known as buttress roots. Moss, lichen, orchids, and bromeliads are called epiphytes. These plants have roots that anchor the plant to a tree branch. Their roots dangle in the air or grow in a thin layer of compost which forms in the dips and cracks of the many branches.

Stems - the stems and trunks of many rainforest plants are not as solid as those we know. Their hallow insides often provide a home for many kinds of animals. These trees are easily blown over in a storm. Lianas and other vines tie some trees together in a support system. Lianas are vines that grow from the forest floor and grow upward trying to reach the sunlight.

Leaves - there is a great variety of leaves in the rainforest. There are sharp, pointed palm leaves; wide and shiny leaves like the philodendron; green furry leaves like the African violet; and metallic brown or polka-dotted leaves. Many rainforest leaves have drip tips so that water can drip from one layer to the next. There are tight spiral arrangement of spiky leaves that form a pool in the center core. These are called bromeliads. Some leaves are so big that they could be used as an umbrella.

Using Magnetic Way: Exploring Rainforests, the children will use the magnetic activity board and place visuals relating to plants of the rainforest.
The children will also use various models of plants from the school media center.

Assignment: The children are to create a new plant. They are to name the plant then draw a diagram of this plant, label its parts and place it in its own layer of the rainforest. This is to be done on a piece of drawing paper.
As a bonus, the discoverer of this new plant will write a paragraph describing an interesting characteristic of this new plant. A life cycle diagram can be included. These plants will be included in a display of unfound rainforest plants.
As part of a class project the children can go "on line":http://thomasmc.com/Seeds/rain-forest.htm and order a variety of rainforest plant seeds. (See attached information)

Materials- video that tells information on the various layers in the rainforest, books,
construction paper 12" x 36" in a variety colors,
two ,worksheets - The Four Layers of the Rain Forest (Carson-Dellosa Publ CD-7326
Magnetic Way: Exploring Rain Forests
Worksheets titled: Layers of the Rainforest

EMERGENT LAYER: The tallest trees scattered throughout the rain forest are called emergents. There are usually one or two of these towering trees which can be 120 to 200 feet tall in any one area of rainforest land. Emergents have small leaves and slender trunks.

CANOPY: The trees found in the canopy are usually 60 to 1 1 0 feet in height. These trees combined with the emergents create a canopy or a giant umbrella that cover the other remaining layers. Sunlight and rain are plentiful and one can find numerous varieties of flowers, fruits, nuts, and spices growing in this layer.

UNDERSTORY: Small trees that grow to 15 feet and very young canopy trees, and palms are found in this layer. Beneath these are smaller bushes, fems and woody vines. This layer is often hot and humid because the heat and moisture of the forest are trapped beneath the canopy.

FOREST FLOOR: Although mosses, herbs, fungi, seedlings, ferns, and bromeliads grow on the forest floor. These plants are often a few inches tall. The vegetation is sparse due to lack of sunlight. High temperature and high humidity make decomposition rapid.

You and some of your friends decide to take a trip to South America where you will visit a rainforest in Costa Rica. In your backpack your mother tells you to take a long sleeved shirt, pants, heavy socks, a pair of boots, a straw hat, and a poncho. After many hours on the plane, you arrive at your destination. You and your friends get onto a bus. As you ride the bus, you notice it is war-m and humid. You are getting warmer. Your clothes are beginning to stick to you. The back of your shirt is soaking wet. You are beginning to wonder why you packed the clothes you did. You are positive they are all wrong. Finally you meet your guide. She is very nice and takes you and your friends to a trail that leads into the rainforest. She tells you that the rainforests are known for their lush green plant life. The plants usually have large green leaves. There are a variety of t7owers. You notice how dark it is on the trail. You begin to realize that there are many layers of trees blocking out the sunlight. As you walk along the forest t7oor you see dead leaves scattered about the floor. There are roots from plants sticking above the ground. You trip and fall into a group of low bushes. You suddenly notice something crawling in the tree. Its only a brightly colored lizard looking for a meal. He sees a beetle and he begins to chase it. Suddenly a ray of sunshine hits your boot. You look up and can't believe the number of tree branches and other plants. Your guide tells you that there are three layers of trees above the forest floor. The tallest layer is called the emergent layer. You spot one very tall tree off to your right.. The next layer is called the canopy. This is where the tops of the trees grow together. What is that noise? Your guide gives you her binoculars. You see a brightly colored bird with a large yellow beak-. You are told that this bird is called a toucan. One of your friends screams. He tells you that he sees many large spiders coming your way. You notice that these spiders have long thin tails. Your guide tells you that it's nothing more than a band of spider monkeys jumping from tree to tree looking for something to eat. The rainforest gets darker. Thunder can be heard in the distance. It grows louder as is gets closer. Along with the thunder comes a terrible howling sound. Everyone is frightened. What could it be? A jaguar? Your guide assures you that it is not a jaguar, it is a band of howler monkeys. They often howl with the thunder. It is time to take out your poncho, it is starting to rain. You have never seen such a rain! One of your friends shout out that he has just seen a bug-eyed monster swimming in a hole in some plant. Everyone rushes over and they see a beautiful, green tree frog with bright red eyes frolicking in a bromeliad. Your guide tells you that you are looking at the plants that grow in the understory. You can see vines growing on the trees. The rain has stopped. Beautiful butterflies flutter by while hundreds of ants march in a line carrying pieces of leaves to their underground home. Mold will grow on these leaves and the ants will eat the mold. You realize you are once again looking at the forest floor. What a day this has been. There is so much to see. Tomorrow will be another exciting day.

Using previously acquired information on the Layers of the Rain Forest, the children are to measure the height of the trees that grow in the different layers. Each group of children are to go into the halfway and estimate how long 200 feet (the tallest trees in the emergent layer) then using the trundle wheel and/ or tape measure actually measure this distance. Tape the adding machine tape to the side of the hall. As one child measures, another child can roll out the adding machine tape to the correct length. Tape this length onto the side of the hall wall and label it emergent layer.
Continue to measure the tallest plant of each layer.
When the group has completed its horizontal rain forest, the children can predict how many third graders are needed to be as tall as one of the tallest trees in the emergent layer. Record this prediction and then using their bodies as a standard measure, each group is to discover how many third graders were needed.
Extended activity: Divide children into partners. Have each child trace his partner onto butcher paper and cut it out. (Children may add facial details and clothing to their tracings before cutting them out.)
When all groups have completed this activity, the children can graph their predictions and their findings.
The children are to enter their discoveries into their Rainforest Journal. They may illustrate their findings.

The children will make a miniature living rainforest
The children will be able to observe the climate of a rainforest in their rainforest.
The teacher can model this activity or it can be a cooperative group activity

Materials: a 10 gal aquarium if teacher is to model this mini biome, and/or a clear gallon bottles and/or a small fish tank for each group
Clear plastic wrap for a cover
several large spoons
small amount of gravel
potting soil or compost
small plants such as mosses, ferns and small tropical plants found in a local nursery
water and eye dropper
Copy of attached worksheet How To Make a Rain Forest in a Jar if activity is done in small groups.

The teacher can make the model in a ten gallon aquarium or each group is to make their rnini-rain forest in their container following the attached directions.
The children are to place their completed rainforest on the window sill and watch the water cycle begin and watch the plants grow and change. The children should be able to see evaporation/condensation cycle almost immediately as the temperature within the bottle rises and falls.
If several mini-rainforest were made, the children can place their bottles in different places in the room. The children can compare the growth of plants in direct sunlight with those in partial shade.
The children can remove the covering from one of the terrariums and see what happens when the water cycle is broken. If a 10 gallon aquarium is used, the teacher can add a small lizard, a tree branch, and some crickets to the aquarium. This will allow the children to observe the animal in its environment.

Assignment: The children are to write their observations of the Mini Rainforest in their Rainforest journal. Illustrations may also be included.

Additional credit will be given to any child who creates a mini-rainforest in a jar at home.

If a 10 gal. aquarium is used, the children can place an animal in the aquarium and observe him for any unusual adaptations. They win be able to observe an ecosystem. The children are to include these observations in their Rainforest Journals.

The children will see the effect of sunlight on the layers of the rainforest.
Materials: brown and green construction,
toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls,
scissors,
masking tape or transparent tape,
a square piece of cardboard no smaller than 12" x 12" and no bigger than18" x 18",
thermometers,
a goose neck lamp or lamps.

The children are to construct tree models of the various levels by placing brown construction paper around the toilet paper and paper towel rolls. This serves as the trunk of the trees. The children are to draw circles of various diameters onto green construction paper. These are to be cut out and then place on top of the trees. These green circles represent the leaf masses. These leaf masses are to be secured to the tree using tape. The tree then is attached to the forest floor by using tape. The teacher is to suspend the goose neck lamp 6 to 8 inches above the forest. The teacher is to tell the children that the lamp represents the sun. Be sure the children notice the bright "sunlight" over the emergent and canopy layers and the shade in the lower layers. Using a thermometer the children are to record the temperature at the upper layer and of the forest floor

Assignment: The children are to record their findings into their Rainforest Journal and tell why certain types of plants live in the various layers of the rainforest.

The children are to grow a tropical plant that is in the same family as a bromeliad. The children will observe the characteristics of the bromeliad.

Materials: fresh ripe pineapple form the local supermarket,
a liquid measuring device,
a knife,
a trowel or large spoon,
gravel, sandy soil,
a flower pot to grow the plant in,
a large transparent bag.

The children are to observe a healthy pineapple plant. Have the children feel the pineapple and closely examine the long, thin spiky leaves. Have the children predict how much water the whorled-leaf top can hold. Then using a liquid measuring device, measure the exact amount of water. Discuss why would water stay in this mini-pond? The class is going to grow a new plant from this plant. Explain that the pineapple and a bromeliad are cousins and are part of the same plant family.
Cut the top of the pineapple leaving a few inches of fruit attached to the leaves. (This plant is now put aside to dry in the air for a few days.)
Using a pineapple top that has been aired, cut off the fruity section leaving the core and leaves.
In the flower pot, place a layer of gravel and then add moisten sandy soil to the pot. When the flower pot is almost full, plant the top of the pineapple with its core into the soil and be sure the leaves remain above the soil.
Cover the entire flower pot and plant with a clear transparent plastic bag. (This creates a rainforest environment for the plant.)
Place the plant in a warm, sunny spot in the classroom (avoid direct sunlight). The bag may be removed when new growth is observed in the center of the plant. (With the second bromeliad, the teacher can plant it in a similar soil mixture. This time no bag is place over the plant. The children can compare the growth of these two pineapples.) It is doubtful that fruit will be produced from this plant.

Assignment: The children are to predict how the new plant will grow and what it will look like. The children are to illustrate the new plant and color their illustration. This is to be done in their Rainforest Journal.
The children will use information- from printed materials, websites, videos, and CD-ROM's to inform them how bromeliad plants help others who live in the rainforest. The children are to make a drawing of a bromeliad as an environment for another living thing. This is to be done in the Rainforest journal.

The children will discover that many of the foods that we eat and spices that are used, originate in the rainforest.

Materials: Teacher- made list of foods from the rainforest, a variety of books, CD-ROMS, filmstrips, videos, on-line information found at a variety of websites, magazines, cookbooks, etc.

Each child must do a report showing his/her food. Parents and siblings are encouraged to help. The finished project will be evaluated by using the following rubric:

Emergent Level (highest grade)
The finished project will include a picture of the food, information as to where the food is grown, at least a recipe using the food as an ingredient, a sample tasting of the food, and a mini poster advertising the purchasing of the food.

Canopy Level (above average)
The finished product will include a picture of the food, at least one recipe using the food as an ingredient, a sample tasting of the food, and a poster advertising the purchasing of the food.

Understory Level (average)
The finished product will a picture of the food, one recipe using the food as an ingredient, and a sample tasting of the food.

Forest Floor (below average)
The finished product will include a picture of the food and a sample tasting of the food.

The children will discover the importance of plant products coming from the rainforest in their daily lives.

Materials: the attached worksheet titled - Treasures From the Rainforests,
magazines,
chart paper,
household items
Worksheet - Products of the Rainforest

The teacher will brainstorm with the children the importance of plants from the rainforest of the Earth. Through guided questioning the children will discover the rainforests provide products we use in our daily lives. Some of the plants that grow in the rainforest are used in medicine to help save lives. Many of the fruits that we eat originated in the rainforest.
The children look over the worksheet: Treasures from the Rainforest and discuss the products.
The children are to take the survey home and have their parents help them find products they have in their home that originated in the rainforest. Ask the children to bring back to class one or two products that they found in their home.
When these survey sheets are returned, using chart paper, make a master survey sheet and as the name of each product is read, have the children raise their hands if they checked that product on their survey.
The children can decorate the chart by using magazine pictures and have the children display the actual products on a table near the chart.

Assignment: Each child is to complete the worksheet tided: Treasures from the Rainforest and bring in rainforest items from home. Each child is to pick one item found on the survey and tell why he/she thinks it is important. This is to be done in their Rainforest Journal.

Each child will create a word find using worksheet, Products from the Rainforest. The completed word finds will be duplicated and placed into a book format. The children will be able to complete these puzzles and review products from the rainforest.

The children will understand the importance of rainforest plants to the science of medicine.
Materials needed: Rain Forest Action Network (http:www.ran.org/)

Teacher is provide information of medicines from the rain forest.
Paper, both loose leaf and drawing paper, pencils, crayons and/ or markers.

Scientists are trying to identify and study rain forest plants before they are lost forever. Ethnobotany, a new branch of science, is the study of the way rain forest people use plants for food, materials, and medicine. Ethnobotanists hope to locate plants that will be a new source of food and drugs for us.
Many prescriptions often contain products from plants that grow in the rain forest.
Vincristine is derived from the rosy periwinkle. It is used to treat leukemia in children and for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease.
Reserpine comes from the Rauvolfia plants and is used in the treatment of hypertension.
Quinine is used to prevent and treat malaria, It comes from the bark of the Cinchona tree.
Ipecac is used to treat dysentery and it comes from the root of a plant found in Brazil.
Curare is derived from a tropical vine and is used to relax muscles during surgery and in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Assignment: The children will be going on an imaginary trip through the rainforest. After walking a mile, each child is tired. Each child finds a comfortable place next to a buttress, sits down and soon falls asleep.

Suddenly thunder is heard in the distance and as the child gets up, he notices an unusual plant. The child looks carefully at the plant and realizes it's the miracle plant that everyone has been looking for. This miracle plant will be a cure for_____________disease.

The children will have the opportunity to drink the "Drink of Kings". The children will conduct a "taste test" using a variety of hot chocolate mixes.

Materials: unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon stick, milk
"hot" cups for drinking the "Drink of Kings"
hot plate or any source of heat
small grater to grate the cinnamon stick
different brands of hot chocolate mixes.
small cups for tasting

A drink made from the cocoa seeds and spices such as cinnamon was the favorite drink of Aztec and Inca Kings. It is said that the Aztec Emperor Montezuma drank 50 or more portions of "chocolat" every day.
The Spanish explorers took the cocoa powder back to Europe. The Spanish sweetened the cocoa powder with sugar and this mixture became very popular through out Europe.
The Swiss added milk to this mixture and created Milk Chocolate.
In the 19th century, the English developed solid chocolate and created the first chocolate candy bar.

The teacher should show the children the cocoa powder. They should be encouraged to use their senses while examining this powder.
A small amount (app.1/2 tsp.) of cocoa powder is placed into each cup.
Two to three teaspoons of sugar are added. While the children are involved in this activity, the teacher should be boiling the water. Hot water is added to the cup. If desired, a small amount (app. a pinch) of grated cinnamon stick can be added to the drink. Stir with a spoon. Remind the children to be careful when drinking this hot liquid known as the "Drink of Kings". After the first taste, the children might wish to add a small amount of milk to their drink.
The children may get involved in a "taste test" using different brands of hot chocolate mix. The bottom of each small cup is marked with some symbol that represents a brand of hot chocolate mix. A small amount of each brand is added to the proper cup and the children try to decide if there is any taste differences in the various brands of hot chocolate. The children can make a tally of their likes and dislikes. The results of the individual tallies can then be transferred to a class graph and these results can be published in the school.

The children will have an opportunity to taste tropical fruits that came form the rainforests.

Materials needed: a variety of tropical fruits such as bananas, coconuts, grapefruits, lemons, limes, mangos, oranges, papayas, passion fruits, pineapples, and tangerines.
a large bowl and/or a flat platter
a sharp knife -