Be an Expert: Rainforests

1. Rainforests of the World     5 Points

2. Rainforest Vocabulary      5 Points
Define these words associated with rainforests.

niche
diurnal
habitat
nocturnal
range
tropical
biodiversity
ecosystem
parasite
variation
competition
sustainable
temperate
deforestation
indigenous
epiphyte

3. Birds of the Rainforest      5 Points
Name 5 birds found in a rain forest.

4. Insects of the Rainforest      5 Points
Name 5 insects found in a rain forest.

5. Mammals of the Rainforest      5 Points
Name 5 mammals found in a rain forest.

6. The Great Kapok Tree     15 Points
Read Lynne Cherry's Book The Great Kapok Tree. Fill in the chart about three of the animals.

7. Layers of the Rainforest  Label the 3 layers of the rainforest.     10 Points

                      

Emergent Layer
This is the top layer of the rain forest.  It can reach heights of 40 meters. The tall trees break out above the canopy layer to the sunlight.  Many of the birds live in this area.  The birds eat fruit and fly in the open areas of the emergent layer. They look for nesting places and are away from predators.

Name some of the birds and other animals you would find in the Emergent Layer?

Canopy
The canopy is full of life. It receives more sunlight that the layers below.  Tree tops here are about 25 meters. There are plants that grow in this area. Their roots don't reach the ground. These are called air plants.  The roots get their moisture from the humid conditions.  The canopy is home to may birds and monkeys.  

Investigate and list what animals live in the Canopy Layer?

Understory
Only 2% of the sunlight reaches here.  Many animals are nocturnal.  Many animals go from the understory to the canopy and back. These canopy and understory layers are brimming with life. Many animals also go from the forest floor to the understory. 

What animals would you find in the Understory Layer?

Forest Floor
This layer is dark and wet. Ferns, moss, and dead leaves cover the ground. The floor of the forest is teeming with animal life, especially insects and arachnids. The largest animals in the rainforest generally live here.

Name some of the animals you woulf find on the forest floor.

8. Weather Comparison      10 Points
Chart the weather for one week for your home town and for a rainforest town.
Keep track of temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and the conditions (sunny, rainy, etc.)
Make a chart to keep track of data.

Rainforest Animals

9. Rainforest Species     10 Points
Choose a rainforest animal of your choice to research.

• Anaconda, Ant, Anteater, Beetle, Boa constrictor, Pit viper, Butterfly, Fer de Lance, Capybara, Caiman, Coatamundi, Cockroach, Electric eel, Catfish, Frog, Pink dolphin, Katydid, Grasshopper, Monkeys (many varieties), Jaguar, Kinkajou, Puma, Macaw, Parrot, Crow, Manatee, Mosquito, Bot fly, Parrot, Tarantula, Bat, Termite, Sloth, Quetzal, Toucan

Prepare a written report, a poster, a shape book or a foldable book about the animal you have chosen.

• Common name
• Scientific Name
• Physical Characteristics
• Habitat
• Range
• Food
• Predator/Prey relationships
• Place the organism in a typical food chain
• Unique abilities or distinguishing habits
• Effect and/or relationship of the organism to humans
• Interesting Fact

10. Rainforest Postage Stamp Collection      20 Points
Collect 25 rainforest animal stamps from around the world.
Separate the stamps by country.
Mount the stamps on a display or in an album.

Idea
Create an emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor layer diagram.
Mount the stamps in the layer you would find them in.

11. Soil Horizons     5 Points
Soil is divided into layers called horizons.
There are four soil horizons: O, A, B and C
Describe the type of materials found at each horizon.

• Horizon O
  
• Horizon A
  
• Horizon B
  
• Horizon C

12. Products of the Rainforest      10 Points
The rainforests of the world are a tremendous resource for many of the world's people, including Americans. Many of the things we buy at the store and use every day like fruits, vegetables, ingredients for medicines, and construction materials come from the rainforest.

Procedure

• Identify products made with materials that originate in the world's rainforests. 
• Identify which 5 products are the most important to them.
• Evaluate whether or not their products have been harvested in a sustainable manner from the Amazon.
• To do this:
  Research those products to find out
      1. Is the product harvested from the Amazon?
      2. Is done in a sustainable manner?
      3. If not, how could they change their shopping behavior in favor of a product that is made in a sustainable way.

Use Product List found at: http://www.smithlifescience.com/RainForestProductsList.htm

13. Destruction of Rainforests      5 Points
Every year an area of rainforest the size of New Jersey is cut down and destroyed. The plants and animals that used to live in these forests either die or must find a new forest to call their home. Why are rainforests being destroyed? Humans are the main cause of rainforest destruction or deforestation. Humans are cutting down rainforests for many reasons.

List 4 reasons humans are cutting down rainforests.

14. Extinct Animals of the Rainforest      5 Points
Name 5 extinct animals that used to be found in rainforests.

15. In the News     5 Points
"RAN urges hundreds of companies to stop using palm oil." was a recent environmental headline.

• What does RAN stand for?
  
• What is palm oil used to make?
  
• What companies uses palm oil in their products?
  
• Why does RAN want companies to stop using palm oil?

16. Create a Rainforest Picture      15 Points
Create a section of tropical rainforest with plants and animals. that live there. Be sure each animal you select has a plant or animal food source that it needs to survive.   (If you choose a carnivore in your rainforest you must have at least one of the animals it eats in the rainforest, too. Use the Rainforest Information Sheets for rederence.

Select, cut out and glue stick the pictures to the rainforest picture.

• 2 large carnivores
• 3 small carnivires or omnivores
• 6 herbivores
• 3 special plants

Plants and Animals of the Rainforest found at: http://www.arborday.org/kids/graphics/poster-contest/activity-guide07.pdf
Specific pages you need

• Tropical Rainforest picture page 11
• Rainforest Information Sheets A & B pages 12-13
• Plants and Animals Cutout Sheets page page 14
  

Projects

17. Light Affects the Growth of Plants     10 Points
Tropical rainforests are very lush and dense with foliage.  All the plants that make up this dense foliage need adequate amounts of light to grow.  This activity will show what happens in the tropical rainforest as plants compete for light to grow.

Materials

• Shoe box
• 2 Sprouting potatoes
• Container large enough to hold the potato
• 2 index cards
• tape
• scissors

Procedure
1. Cut a 6 cm hole in the end of the shoe box.
2. Use the index cards to make two walls inside the box.
3. Place the potato in a container behind one of the walls farthest from the hole.
4. Place lid on shoe box and place near light source.
5. Have another sprouting potato out of the box and in the light for comparison.
6. After a few weeks sketch both of the plants and describe the differences.

18. One Square Foot      10 Points
Explore a small area.  Map the area. Gather specimens. Identify the specimens.   Display your specimens.

Materials

• Ruler
• Trowel or spoon
• Magnifying glass
• Small jars or sandwich bags for specimens
• Microscope

1. Select an area which is as undisturbed by human activity as is possible.
2. Measure an area 1 foot by one foot.
3. Construct a map of everything in your "One Foot". such as small plants, insects, fallen leaves, twigs.
4. Collect small samples of the materials in the plot.

• Leaves from plants
• small samples of decaying matter from the soil
• Soil samples are collected with the trowel or even a spoon and placed into vials, jars, or paper bags.
• Collect several types of insects or other small animals which are found.
• The insect specimens can be dried, mounted and identified using insect identification guides.
• Small soil samples can be mixed with a small amount of water and studied under compound microscopes for smaller insect larvae, nematodes, protozoan or other organisms.
• Make sketches of the organisms and to use identification keys to identify the organisms. 
• Mount your specimens and label.

5. Make a display of your "One Square Foot"

19. Amazon Soil     10 Points
Compare seed germination and growth between Amazon soil and fertile soil.

Materials

• Flats used by greenhouses to sprout plants or small plastic cups.
• Potting soil
• Agricultural clay (montmorillinte or laolinite is better)
• Sand
• Decayed leaves
• Seeds

Procedure
1. Create the soils of the Amazon rainforest using a mixture of agricultural clay and 5% sand.
2. Fill ½ flat with the Amazon soil and the other half with fertilized soil.
3. Put a 1 mm layer of decayed leaves across the top of the Amazon soil.
    This will represent the O and A horizons.
4. Put one seed in each section of the flat.
5. Construct a chart sufficient to take growth readings for a month to 6 weeks.
6. Water and take measurements and descriptive notes of the plant growth every other day.
7. Graph the final results and write a description of the results of the experiment.

ONLINE RESOURCES
Birds in the Rainforest found at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/education/kids/coloring-book/index.html

Frogs in the Rainforest found at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/education/kids/frog-pond/index.html

Layers of the Rainforest found at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/education/teachers/curriculum/resources/documents/rainforest_layers.pdf

Products of the Rainforest found at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources.cfm?id=daily_lives

Rainforest Action Network found at:
http://www.ran.org/

Rainforest Alliance found at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/

Rainforest Cards found at:
http://www.ran.org/fileadmin/materials/education/curriculum/FlashCards.pdf

Soil in the Amazon found at:
http://www.pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/teacher_soil.html

Species Profiles found at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/resources.cfm?id=species_profiles

Weather Underground Page found at:
http://www.wunderground.com/

What Are Rainforests found at:
http://kids.mongabay.com/lesson_plans/handout5.html

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