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Rainforest Wildlife

Rainforests are vital ecosystems that play a critical role in global climate. Students will learn about their characteristics and the flora and fauna that exist there, then create a rainforest scene.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Read a book such as "The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest" by Lynne Cherry or "What the Macaw Saw" by Charlotte Guillain and Sam Usher, fictional works that present factual information about rainforests and threats to their health. Have students give examples of some of the many species of plants and animals that live there. Did they know that although rainforests cover less than 2 percent of the Earth's surface, they contain about 50 percent of all life on the planet? Explain that rainforests are carbon sinks, which means they absorb more carbon than they emit, and this helps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that leads to climate change, in the atmosphere.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to research where rainforests are located around the world and locate them on a map. Have students learn about some animals, plants, and trees that live in various rainforests, then ask them to choose a few to illustrate. They can outline their design in crayon, and then fill in the plants and animals with washable paint.

  • Step 3

    Ask students to present their art and some of the facts they learned about these vital ecosystems and the creatures and plants that inhabit them.

Standards

SCI: Use evidence to support the concept that behaviors can be influenced by the environment and the environment is impacted by behavior. 

SS: People, Places, and Environments: Use maps, globes, and other geographic tools. Demonstrate understanding of the use and misuse of the environment and the relationship between human populations and the physical world. 

Adaptations

Have students write a story told from the point of view of a rainforest creature. How do they spend their day? Who are their friends? What do they want to tell humans about the importance of their home and all the wildlife that lives there?

Ask students to imitate the movements of some rainforest animals. They could flap their wings like a macaw, wiggle like a snake, beat their chest like a gorilla, etc. Have students use these movements in an original rainforest dance they develop.