Teach-nology
Learning Page
Rain Bird (the lesson plans compiled by Rain Bird were my main source of activities and info, as they had unites for EVERY GRADE…a 126 page document!! I was able to take things from ALL my kids levels to use…talk about your one-stop surfing!!)
Monday:
· Start with a prayer
· Say Pledge of Allegiance and/or Family Motto
· Sing: “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (CS pg 231)
· Read and memorize: Doctrine and Covenants 59:20
Introduction –
Question: Let me ask you a question…What is a tropical rain forest?
Answer: A tropical rain forest is a forest that receives 4 to 8 meters of rain each year.
Question: Where are tropical rain forests located?
Answer: Rain forests are located within a narrow region near the equator in Africa, South and Central America, and Asia. (get out a map/globe and show the equator and where the bands of rainforests are)
Question: Why are tropical rain forests important to our earth?
Answer: Rain forests play an important role in the climate control of our planet by having an affect on the wind, rainfall, humidity, and temperature. Within the rain forest, water, oxygen, and carbon are recycled. This natural recycling helps to reduce flooding, soil erosion, and air pollution.
The rain forests support over one half of the plant and animal life on Earth, even though they cover only 2% of the Earth's surface.
Approximately one fourth of the pharmaceuticals (medicines) we use come from plants of the tropical rain forests. According to the National Cancer Institute, 70% of the plants from which we make medicines and that are effective in the treatment of cancer can only be found in the rain forests.
Question: What is happening to our rain forests?
Answer: 27 million acres of the Earth's rain forests are destroyed each year due to man. The activities which threaten the rain forests are: agriculture, clearing and developing of land, beef cattle ranching, logging, and the building of dams and hydroelectric plants. This results in a loss of 100 acres of rain forest per minute and 80% of the rain forests in the world are now gone. The destruction of the world's rain forests at this rate causes 10,000 plant and animal species to become extinct each year.
This is why it’s so important to protect our rainforests. Use this coloring page to show where rainforests are located.
Opening Activity - Listen to a CD of rainforest sounds. Have kids lie quietly (even get pillows and dim the lights if you need to), and put on a CD of sounds from the rainforest (check out Amazon.com or iTunes). Have them close their eyes and imagine that they are in a tropical rainforest. Try and stay as quiet and still as possible to let the full force of the sounds settle on everyone.
After a few minutes, turn off the sounds and ask the kids to open their eyes. What did they hear? What kind of place did they imagine? How did they feel?
Explain that the Earth is a wonderful and magical place that was created for us by our Heavenly Father. When he made the Earth, he created it so that everything we would ever need would be available to us. The Earth was capable of caring for us, and all He asked us to do was to take care of it. But people have forgotten how to care for the Earth, and now there a lot of special places and animals and plants that are gone forever because people didn’t follow God’s commandments. One of the many places that are in danger are the rainforests. It is important to remember that the Earth is here for us to use, but we MUST respect it and use resources wisely.
Vocabulary –Have kids write vocabulary words on 3x5 cards, and then glue pictures on the back (you can get pictures off your Print Shop, online, or cut from magazines).
· Environment, Rainforest, Toucan, Sloth, Canopy, Understory, Decomposers, Orchid, Butterfly, Equator, Tropical, Tribe, Snake, Jaguar, Capybara
Outdoor activity - Go outside and collect several different kinds of flowers from around your neighborhood. While on your walk, take time to notice the things around you…the weather, flowers, and animals. Make sure to ask before you pick flowers out of someone else’s garden!! Bring them back to the house for the following Science activity…
Science –
Materials:
Flowers brought in by kids, forceps/tweezers, tape, and construction paper.
Procedure:
1. Using tweezers, have the kids dissect the flower completely and lay out the structures on a piece of paper.
2. Secure the flower structures to the paper with clear tape, then label the structures.
3. Identify the structures by comparing to the diagram.
Now – build a flower from things at home.
Materials:
You need this pattern, 5 bendy-straws, Styrofoam packing peanuts, construction paper, tape, and glue.
Procedure:
1. Have the kids copy the Sepals pattern on green construction paper, and the petals on the color of their choice. Cut out. (page 27 and 28 at the Rain Bird Rainforest site)
2. Begin construction by securing 4 of the straws around a central fifth straw with tape. The straw in the middle should have the bendable end down while the other 4 are positioned with the bendable end up. The five straws together will constitute the stamens and pistil structures of the flower.
3. Attach a packing peanut to each of the four stamens, by simply pushing the peanut onto the end of each stamen. Bend each stamen away from the central straw.
4. Attach the fifth packing peanut, which will serve as the stigma, by gluing it on the top of the center straw, which represents the pistil.
5. Using a pencil, gently roll each petal around the pencil to give the petals a curve.
6. Place the petals (curving outward) evenly around the straws and secure with tape.
7. Place the sepals evenly around the petals and secure with tape.
Art- In this activity, making leaf and flower prints as an art project will give the students an opportunity to carefully observe leaves and flowers. Use the flowers that you have already collected.
Materials:
White or light colored construction paper sheets (any size), poster paint, a variety of leaves and flowers.
Procedure:
Caution should be taken to keep hands as free of paint as possible to avoid smearing the paint and to create sharp images of the plant material. (Yah, right!!!)
1. Using poster paint and paint brushes, paint the underside of leaves (this is where the veins are the most pronounced) and then press the painted leaves, one at a time, on the paper, being careful not to smear the paint.
2. Repeat the process with flowers. When painting and pressing the flowers, the open blossom can be painted and then pressed onto the paper, or a closed blossom can be painted and pressed, giving a "side view" of the flower.
3. Allow the prints to dry thoroughly. If the prints are made on 11" by 17" paper and then plastic laminated, they make very attractive table place mats.
Journal – Have the kids write about what they imagined during the Rainforest Sounds activity. If needed, put the CD on again, and let them listen while they write. Have them draw a picture of what the rainforest looks like in their imagination.
Reading – Have kids read 20 minutes / a book / a chapter (whatever they’re reading level demands), and/or read to them out of a book you have chosen to read together as a family.
Flashcards – Have kids practice with flashcards to enhance math skills / ABC skills / color skills
Computer – Everyone gets 20 minutes computer time on EDUCATIONAL computer sites
Tuesday:
· Prayer
· Say Pledge of Allegiance and/or Family Motto
· Sing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (CS pg 231)
· Memorize Doctrine and Covenants 59:20
Opening Activity -
The tropical rain forest is a cloudy place, as much rain must fall to maintain this steamy environment, which is teeming with life. Have you ever wondered how clouds form? This demonstration allows us to witness cloud formation before our very eyes!
Materials:
One liter, clear plastic bottle with cap, water, and a match.
Procedure:
1. Place a small amount of water in the bottle (just a splash is sufficient).
2. Light a match and drop it in the bottle and quickly cap the bottle.
3. Squeeze the bottle 6 or 7 times (more squeezing may be necessary) and watch the cloud form!
Resource Information:
In order for water droplets to form and make a cloud, they need particulate matter (small particles) around which to form. This is the purpose of the smoke from the smoldering match. The cloud forms when the air cools as it expands, thereby reducing the temperature in the bottle below the dew point. The moisture then condenses as a cloud. Clouds on Earth form when warm air rises and its pressure is reduced. The air expands and cools, and clouds form as the temperature drops below the dew point.
In this demonstration you were able to make the air in the bottle compress and expand simply by squeezing the sides of the bottle and increasing and decreasing the air pressure.
Vocabulary – Copy the vocab words 3x each…in cursive for my older kids, print for the littler one, and then picture recognition for those who can’t yet write
Science – Yesterday we learned about flowers and the parts of flowers. Today we’re going to learn about rain. Rainforests get over 100 inches of rain in a year.
Materials:
Ice, baking sheet, ring stand, hot plate, tea kettle (or lab glassware for boiling water and creating a stream of steam), a tray with a few potted small live plants.
Procedure:
1. About 40 cm from the tabletop, attach a baking sheet horizontally to a ring stand and cover the sheet with a layer of ice cubes. (or just hold it with an oven mit)
2. Place water to boil on the hot plate (or the stove) adjacent to the baking sheet. A tea kettle works well, or use a flask with a one hole rubber stopper and a piece of glass tubing (a sturdy plastic flexible drinking straw can be used in place of the glass tubing). Direct the output of the kettle or tubing onto the bottom of the baking sheet.
3. In a tray, place a few small, potted plants and place this tray directly under the baking sheet (see diagram).
4. Wait for rain!
Questions for Kids (to answer in their journals):
1. Describe the process you just observed. Make a list of what occurred in the order in which it occurred.
2. Where is the cool air in this set-up and what does it represent? Where is the hot air in this set-up and what does it represent? How does the warm air and the cool air come together?
3. Why did it rain?
Notes to “Teacher”:
The tea kettle or the flask represents the source of water on Earth. As this evaporates and rises up to the ice-filled tray (the upper layers of Earth's atmosphere cooled by expansion), moisture condenses on the bottom of the tray and precipitation occurs. Rain falls on the small plants, which are used to model plant life on Earth.
Now let’s learn about the water cycle with some worksheets. (Here’s one, two, three, four, and five from KidZone.com, another, and a great one for older kids, and another one I am fond of. Enchanted Learning has a great one, too…but to get it without ads, you have to be a member.)
Math – Keeping Track of the Weather and Measuring Precipitation
Make a weather chart that can glue into your journal and keep track of the weather and precipitation for 2 weeks. Compare it with the temperature and precipitation in a city/village located in a rainforest (you can visit USA Today for international weather reports. Here is a chart good for bigger kids off PBS.org, and one from Go, Diego, Go that is VERY SIMPLE and good for little guys, or you can make your own)
Art – Make a Rain Stick.
Rain sticks in the rain forest are made from dried caches plants and small pebbles or seeds, making a soothing rain sound. Today, they are widely used as a percussion instrument and represent a "back to nature" feeling.
Concepts Covered:
1. The sound of the rain forest.
2. The symbolic nature and use of the rain stick.
Materials Needed (per child):
1 cardboard tube (paper towel tubes work great)
30 stickpins (flat head)
cellophane tape
1/2 cup of rice
decorative paper
Procedure:
1. Stick all 30 pins through the cardboard tube, in 5 rows with 6 pins in each row.
2. Put a strip of tape around each row to hold pins in place.
3. Tape one end of the tube shut.
4. Pour in the cup of rice.
5. Tape the other end of the tube shut.
6. Cover the tube with wrapping paper, gluing or taping it shut at the edge. (Plain paper can be used also for the students to decorate it as they want.)
7. Enjoy!! Turn stick over slowly and listen to the rain!
Journal – Most of the journal activity was handled in answering the science questions. If you want, have the kids draw their own version of the water cycle beneath the answers in their journals. Littler ones can just draw a picture of water. OR – have kids write why they are thankful for rain? How does it help us? How do we depend upon it?
Reading – Have kids read 20 minutes / a book / a chapter (whatever they’re reading level demands), and/or read to them out of a book you have chosen to read together as a family.
Flashcards – Have kids practice with flashcards to enhance math skills / ABC skills / color skills
Computer – Everyone gets 20 minutes computer time on EDUCATIONAL computer sites
Wednesday:
· Prayer
· Say Pledge of Allegiance and/or Family Motto
· Sing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (CS pg 231)
· Memorize Doctrine and Covenants 59:20
Opening Activity – Does anyone know what the word “stewardship” means? (Give time for kids to guess)
A “Steward” is someone who is in charge of caring for something that doesn’t belong to them. So, “stewardship” is the act of caring for something that isn’t just yours. We use the word “stewardship” a lot in church when talking about our different callings…for example, when someone is a Visiting Teacher, it is her job to care for the women on her list. Daddy serves in the Young Mens Presidency, and his stewardship is to care for the boys in that program.
There is a talk about stewardship by J. Richard Clarke
Modern scripture reminds us that all things belong to the Lord. He declared, “I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine, … all these properties. …
“And if the properties are mine, then ye are stewards.” (D&C 104:14, 55–56.
The lessons of stewardship are vividly taught in the parable of the talents (see Matt. 25:14–30). To be profitable servants, we must improve that which the Lord has entrusted to us. Stewards are managers, and sound management reduces waste and ensures an appropriate return on invested resources. How happy were the servants who could report to their lord that they had done all that was expected of them and were told, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things” (Matt. 25:21).
We are stewards of the Earth. As Heavenly Father has stated, he created all the Earth, and it is his handiwork, and we are his stewards…in other words, we are to care for the earth. Being environmental stewards can be defined as…“Environmental stewardship is the responsibility for environmental quality shared by all those whose actions affect the environment.” (United States EPA)
All of our actions effect the environment, and so we are all responsible to care for it. I have made a chart, like our chore chart, and everyone of us is going to be assigned to different activities that will help the environment. For example, there is one person in charge of making sure that all plastic water bottles get into the recycling bin. There is another person responsible for folding up boxes (like cereal boxes) and collecting paper to recycle. There is someone in charge of checking to make sure facets aren’t dripping, and someone to make sure that all the lights and electronics are off when they are not in use. I hope this help us be better stewards of the beautiful earth that Heavenly Father has given us.
Singing time - Learn the “Four Layers of the Rainforest” song
Tune: "If you're happy and you know it"
There are four layers in the rainforest.
4 LAYERS!
There are four layers in the rainforest.
4 LAYERS!
Forest floor, understory, canopy, emergent.
(as you sing the names of the layers first crouch down, then stand up and bend over a bit, then stand and put your arms over your head like an umbrella, then stand on toes and reach up high)
There are four layers in the rainforest.
4 LAYERS!
Hand out a worksheet about forest layers, like this one from Enchanted Learning.
Vocabulary – Write each word in a sentence. Picture recognition for young ones.
Science - Although abundant with life…there are a couple things that the rainforests really have to struggle to get. Can you guess what one is? It’s kind of tricky…because it seems like it wouldn’t be a problem in the hot, tropical climates where rainforests thrive. Give Up?
It’s SUNLIGHT!!
I bet you didn’t know that!! See…the sunlight rarely gets filtered all the way through the big emergent trees or the dense canopy…so the understory gets very little sunlight, and the forest floor gets almost none!! There aren’t many plants on the forest floor, except for those that are incredibly shade tolerant.
We all need sunlight to survive, but sometimes sunlight can be a bad thing too…like when we get too much. What happens when we get too much sun? (Sunburn) How do we protect ourselves from getting sunburned? (Sunscreen, protective clothing, staying hydrated).
There are many wavelengths of light, some of them visible to us and others not. Those wavelengths of light that are visible to us are not necessarily visible to all life forms capable of sight. At the same time, there are life forms other than ourselves that are capable of seeing wavelengths of light that we cannot. Ultraviolet light is an example of a type of light that humans cannot see but is important in the vision of other species.
Many flowers have markings on them that we cannot see without special equipment. These are markings that reflect ultraviolet light wavelengths. Bees can see this wavelength of light and these special markings on some flowers aid bees in locating the sweet nectar of the flower on which they feed. Bees, however, cannot see the wavelength of light that we identify as red!
In the tropical rain forests, as in other areas around the globe, plants have evolved elaborate mechanisms to entice the pollinators. Bees are one such type of pollinator needed to carry the pollen from one flower to another flower of the same species. It is the pollination process that eventually leads to the production of viable seed to ensure the survival of the species.
Another important aspect of ultraviolet light is the great hazard it presents in terms of the health of our skin. Aside from painful sunburns from overexposure to the sun, ultraviolet light ages our skin prematurely and can cause many types of skin cancer.
(The following activity uses some very inexpensive, plastic beads that are treated with a special pigment that is sensitive to ultraviolet light. When exposed to this wavelength, they change color. Don’t let the kids know what we’re doing…just follow the instructions below).
Materials:
Ultraviolet detecting beads available from Educational Innovations, 203/629-6049 (phone), e-mail info@teachersource.com, or at http://www.teachersource.com/LightAndColor/Ultraviolet/UltravioletDetectingBeads.aspx. (Allow about a week for delivery).
All of the beads are white in color, but when exposed to ultraviolet light, they turn red, yellow, orange, purple, or blue (depending on which ones you select). There are 240 beads, each about 1/4 of an inch in diameter, per package at a cost of $6.95 per package. This is more fun if you have at least 2 colors of beads.
The only other element you need is a sunny day!
Procedure:
1. While still indoors, give each child as many beads as you wish. Tell them to hold them in their hands with their hands tightly closed until everyone is outdoors.
2. Once outdoors in full sunlight, ask the students to open their hands and observe the beads. Do not tell them that the beads turn color in ultraviolet light—see if they make the connection between sunlight and the change in the color of the beads.
3. Once the connection between the sunlight and the color change is made, have the students check the effectiveness of sunglasses and sunscreen lotions that claim to block ultraviolet light. This can be done by simply holding the glasses over the beads and noting if the beads remain white or change color. Come back inside and rub the beads with sunscreen. Return outside and observe if the beads change colors.
Art –
Materials:
Ultraviolet beads
String, leather laces, or jewelry elastic
Procedure:
1. Using the ultraviolet beads, have kids make bracelets by stringing beads on elastic or string. You can also string them on shoelaces to make lanyards or on the fringes of shirts you’ve cut. Be creative. Tell them that when you put on sunscreen, to put sunscreen on the beads as well. When the beads start to turn colors, you’ll know it’s time to re-apply!!
Literature – Read “The Great Kapok Tree” and “The Shamans Apprentice” by Lynne Cherry. Discuss why the rainforest is important to us all. Heavenly Father gave us everything we need, but if we don’t take care of it, it will be gone when we really need it.
Talk about how even medicines come from the rainforest. What would it be like if Heavenly Father hadn’t given us these great gifts?
Special Snack – gather some foods (fruits, spices, roots) that we enjoy from the rainforest. Talk about them and taste them.
Journal – What are some things that we use in our home that come from the rainforest? How would our lives be different if those things were no longer available to us? Have little ones draw a picture of something that comes from the rainforest.
Reading – Have kids read 20 minutes / a book / a chapter (whatever they’re reading level demands), and/or read to them out of a book you have chosen to read together as a family.
Flashcards – Have kids practice with flashcards to enhance math skills / ABC skills / color skills
Computer – Everyone gets 20 minutes computer time on EDUCATIONAL computer sites
Thursday –
· Prayer
· Say Pledge of Allegiance and/or Family Motto
· Sing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (CS pg 231)
· Memorize Doctrine and Covenants 59:20
Opening Activity – Read about Amazon animals – give everyone a homemade coloring book about Amazon animals
(check these web-sites to print pictures of animals from the Rainforest: First School, ABC Teach, The Coloring Spot, The Learning Page, Coloring WS {but that one has a lot of ads to navigate around}, and Enchanted Learning.)
Vocabulary – Write a story about the rainforest. Include as many vocabulary words as you can. Have the little ones draw a picture of the rainforest using as many vocabulary words (pictures) as they can.
Science – Animal Reports
Have kids pick a rainforest animal that is ENDANGERED and do a report on it. Give ample computer time for research. Help them with any report form you wish.
Math – Favorite Rainforest Animals
Make a graph and poll the family about what their favorite rainforest animal is. You could include neighbor friends, and even call Grandma and Grandpa on the phone. Include the graph in your animal report.
Art – Make a poster promoting awareness of your animal and why it should be protected. You can use magazine pictures to make a collage, or draw with crayons or markers.
Journal – Your journal activity is covered by your animal report today!!!
Reading – Have kids read 20 minutes / a book / a chapter (whatever they’re reading level demands), and/or read to them out of a book you have chosen to read together as a family.
Flashcards – Have kids practice with flashcards to enhance math skills / ABC skills / color skills
Computer – Everyone gets 20 minutes computer time on EDUCATIONAL computer sites
Friday-
· Prayer
· Say Pledge of Allegiance and/or Family Motto
· Sing “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (CS pg 231)
· Memorize Doctrine and Covenants 59:20
Vocabulary – have a quick vocabulary test with kids
Field Trip – Today is field trip day!! Check out your local zoo, botanical garden, or butterfly garden, or take a hike in your local nature preserve. Encourage kids to pick up trash as they go…
Books Suggestions To Use For This Week -
A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Joy Pratt
The Vanishing Rainforest by Ricahrd Platt
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
The Shamans Apprentice by Lynne Cherry
Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes
Natures Green Umbrella by Gail Gibbons
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