Rain Forest Field Trip
Introduction
Rain Forest Field Trip
Introduction
It’s a typical morning in your classroom, or so you think. You walk into the room, unload your backpack, and get ready to do the assignment listed on the chalkboard. All of a sudden you hear, "Good morning, class!" You look up to say good morning to your teacher, but to your surprise it’s not your teacher at all. The lady standing in front of the class has red curly hair and the most outrageous dress you’ve ever seen. It’s blue with big green trees and colorful toucans all over it. "Oh great," you think, "another crazy substitute!" Then you take a second look at her. You realize that she looks just like Ms. Frizzle from your favorite book series, The Magic School Bus. "Wow!" You think to yourself. "This is really strange!" She then tells the class that your teacher is out sick for the next few days and she will be taking over for her. She explains that your teacher told her you were studying the Rain Forest and announces that instead of studying the Rain Forest from books, your class is actually going on a field trip to the Rain Forest! Everyone cheers and you think, "Awesome! This really is like the Magic School Bus!" She then surprises you by telling the class that you students will be in charge of planning the trip to the Rain Forest.
Task
You will have two tasks to complete before you can leave on your trip.
Task 2- Work with your group to come up with
a plan and list of supplies to bring based on what you found out from your
research.
Process
1. You will work in a group of five. Each person will investigate one part of the Rain Forest. Decide with your group who will do each job.
Animal Expert- The animal expert will investigate five different animals and find out as much information as possible including where they live, what they eat, and which animals might be dangerous to people.
Plant Expert- The plant expert will investigate five plants that grow in the Rain Forest. You should find out where they grow, if you can eat them, if they are poisonous, and what animals eat them.
Products Expert- The products and supplies expert will need to investigate the types of resources that can be found in the Rain Forest. You will need to tell us what types of food and medicines we will find there and how to find them. In addition, you’ll need to think of how we will get shelter and any supplies that we can make from rain forest materials.
Conservationist-
The conservationist is worried about preserving
the Rain Forest and making sure that the class doesn’t do anything to harm
the Rain Forest. You will be in charge of finding out about how we can
help preserve the Rain Forest while we are there and what we can do when
we get back to help save the Rain Forest for the future.
Click on "What is a Rain Forest?" or Ch. 5.
Go to the bottom of the screen and click on Chapter 3
www.msu.edu/~urquhar5/tour/active.html
Move the mouse around the picture until you find an animal. Then click
on it.
www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/index.shtml
Click on the "Animals live in the Rain Forest" in the 3rd or
4th paragraph. There’s also a list of animals at the bottom
of the page if you
scroll down.
Plants Expert
http://edtechkennesaw.edu/web/rforest.html
Click on "An Amazon Adventure: Plants"
www.toucansam.kelloggs.ca/eng/contents.htm
Go to the bottom of the screen and click on Chapter 4
www.msu.edu/~urquhar5/tour/active.html
Move the mouse around the picture until you find a plant.
Then click on it.
www.ran.org/kids_action/
Click on "Slide Show" and find pictures of plants. Read those slides.
Products Expert
www.ran.org/kids_action/
Click on "Rain Forest are Full of Life"Then, click on "Slide Show" and
look for people and homes. Read those slides.
Next, click on "Rain Forest People"
www.toucansam.kelloggs.ca/eng/contents.htm
Go to the bottom of the page and click on Chapter 5.
http://wwwenchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/index.shtml
Conservationist
www.ran.org/kids_action/
Click on "7 Steps for Kids to Take"
Next, click on "Protect an Acre."
Then, click on "Slide Show" and skip to the picture of the people with
the fire. Read the next 4-5 slides.
4. Work together with your group. Each person should share the information they found with the other group members.
5. Together fill out the Trip Planning Sheet. You should work together
to come
up with ideas, but the person who investigated the topic should make the
final decisions.
Evaluation
You will get two grades for this assignment.
The first grade will be based on your individual research. The second grade
will be on how well you worked with your group to come up with a travel
plan.
| 1 point | 2 points | 3 points |
|
|
| Individual | Browsed the websites | Browsed the websites and completed part of the information form | Browsed the websites and completed the entire form accurately | Browsed the websites, completed the form accurately and contributed to travel plan |
| Group | Met with your group to discuss travel plans | Shared information, but did not work together to come up with a complete travel plan | Worked cooperatively with group members, shared information, but did not complete travel plan | Worked cooperatively with group members, shared information, and completed a travel plan |
Conclusion
You have now gathered the information you need to have a successful field trip to the Rain Forest. You should know what animals to look for, which plants to study, and how to survive in the Rain Forest’s environment. Good luck on your trip! Have fun!
Extension
Once you arrive, you can keep a journal of the animals, plants and various sights you see throughout your trip. Maybe you even ran into some of the Rain Forest people or had an injury or got sick and had to make your own medicine from the plants. Make sure to tell what you ate, where you slept, and how you protected yourself from the dangers of the Rain Forest.