United StatesAnimals of the Rainforest
Grade Levels: 3 - 5
This lesson provides students with an opportunity to learn about the behaviors and physical characteristics of rain forest animals.Objectives
- Students will identify features that help animals survive in their environment.
- Students will write a research report and give an oral presentation about a rain forest animal.
Materials
- Animals of the Rain Forest article
- Vocabulary Worksheet
- Adaptation Chart
- Books, magazines, and Web resources about rain forest animals
Procedures
- Introduce key vocabulary: prehensile tail, predator, prey, camouflage, food chain, carnivore, herbivore and adaptation. Ask students to fill in the vocabulary worksheet.
- Have students read the Animals of the Rain Forest article individually or in pairs.
- Ask the students to think of animals that have special adaptation features. Have them fill in the Adaptation Chart.
- Divide the students into pairs or small groups. Tell them to choose one rain forest animal to research. Students should use encyclopedias, magazines, books, and websites as reference materials.
- The report must include an illustration of the animal as well as a written description of the animal's physical characteristics, behavior, adaptive features, habitat, and diet.
- After the written reports are complete, have each pair of students present their findings to the class.
- Display the reports and illustrations in the classroom.
Assessment
- Have students list and discuss the differences and similarities between the animals of the rain forest and the animals that are found in their area.
- Students should be able to:
- Define key words.
- Fill in the Adaptation Chart using clues from Animals of the Rain Forest article.
- Write a comprehensive research report.
Extension Activities
- Challenge students to create their own adaptation chart with more animals found in the rain forest.
- Have students write in their journals and answer the following questions about adaptation:
- Why do some animals shed their fur in summer and grow a thicker coat in winter?
- Why do seals have flippers if they have the bone structure for hands like ours?
- Why are a duck's feet webbed?
- Life Sciences: understands how species depend on one another and on the environment for survival; knows that an organism's patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism's environment; knows organization of simple food chains and food webs.
- Language Arts: gathers and uses information for research purposes; demonstrates competence in speaking and listening as tools for learning.
Standards Correlations
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