Rain Forest Products

Grade Levels: 3 - 5

INTRODUCTION

This lesson provides students with an opportunity to learn about products native to tropical rain forests.

OBJECTIVES

Students will:

• learn about the various foods and substances that come from tropical rain forests.
• understand how the clear-cutting of rain forests will impact their lives and the availability of the products they use every day.
  
• take inventory of rain forest materials found in their classroom and at home.
  
• analyze and interpret data from a survey.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE

40 minutes

MATERIALS

• Treasures of the Rain Forest Article
• Vocabulary Worksheet
  
• Rain Forest Inventory Worksheet
  
• Rain Forest Product Survey Worksheet
  
• Tape, scissors, graph paper, pencils

PROCEDURE

1. Introduce and define key vocabulary: conservation, natural resources, cultivate, medicinal plant, native, product. Ask students to fill in the Vocabulary Worksheet.
   
2. Have students read the article Treasures of the Rain Forest individually or in pairs.
   
3. Ask the students to think of all of the materials in the classroom that are from the rain forest.
   
4. Have them cut the labels from the Rain Forest Product Inventory sheet and tape them to those things that apply.
   
5. When the students are finished, have them reconvene as a class and draw up a class list of all the things they labeled.
   
6. Distribute the Rain Forest Product Survey and ask the students to complete it at home that evening.
   
7. When the students return to class, have them share their results.

ASSESSMENT

Have students chart the class results of the survey and calculate which items were found most often.

Students should be able to:

• define key vocabulary words.
  
• complete the Vocabulary Worksheet.
  
• take a survey and chart the results.
  

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

• Challenge students to create their own surveys.
• Have students write in their journals and answer the following questions about conservation:
  Why should we care about what happens to the rain forest?
  Why is it important to replant trees in the rain forest?
  What can you do to help protect the rain forest?