TROPICAL RAINFORESTS, Schemes and Mind Maps of Music

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EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT CURRICULUM

TROPICAL

RAINFORESTS

Written and Compiled by Kelly Drinnen Consulting with Gary Outenreath and Pat Sharkey Cover Design by Chris Lowe 3 rd^ edition, 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MISSION STATEMENT ................................................................................................i

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT & GOALS..........................i

INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................ii

Ecotourism ........................................................................................................... Conservation Organizations................................................................................. Moody Gardens.................................................................................................... The End? .............................................................................................................. Activity: Preserving Rainforests (K-5) ................................................... Activity: Informed Choices (6-8)............................................................ Activity: Persuading The Public (9-12) ..................................................

APPENDIX 1 Rainforest Conservation Organizations ...........................................................................

APPENDIX 2 Moody Gardens Education Programs ..............................................................................

APPENDIX 3 Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Alignments............................

GLOSSARY .................................................................................................................

BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................

MOODY GARDENS MISSION STATEMENT

Moody Gardens is a public, nonprofit educational destination utilizing nature in the advancement of rehabilitation, conservation, recreation and research.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT

The Education Department at Moody Gardens strives to instill in guests enthusiasm, appreciation and stewardship for the natural world by creating a stimulating environment for learning.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GOALS

The goals of the Education Department are...

∑ to offer a variety of educational programs and publications. ∑ to create programs which motivate guests to action. ∑ to provide a fun and educational experience for guests of all ages. ∑ to ensure that every guest learns something new. ∑ to present accurate, meaningful information to our guests. ∑ to supplement the traditional classroom experience. ∑ to furnish continuing education opportunities for teachers. ∑ to provide interdisciplinary curricula which support the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

INTRODUCTION

The conservation of tropical rainforests has received tremendous publicity over the past ten years. Almost everyone has seen or heard something about disappearing rainforests and what they should or should not do to help save them. But, what most people lack is an understanding of rainforests and why they are so important.

This curriculum guide is provided to help close the information gap. Chapters one through six provide basic information on the characteristics, locations, contents, and inhabitants of tropical rainforests around the world. Chapters seven and eight focus on the importance and conservation of these rainforests.

Each chapter concludes with three related classroom activities. These may be used to introduce and/or review the topic of discussion. One activity is designed for use with grades K-5, one for grades 6-8, and one for grades 9-12. We encourage teachers to adapt any or all of these activities to suit their particular grade level.

Teachers planning field trips to The Rainforest at Moody Gardens are encouraged to use this curriculum guide to prepare their students for the visit. We find that students with a basic understanding of the rainforest have a greater appreciation for and interest in what they see. Curriculum activities can also be used as review after the visit.

CHAPTER ONE

WHAT IS A TROPICAL RAINFOREST?

DEFINITIONS

In general, a rainforest is a forested area that receives over 60 inches of rain per year. Some rainforests receive in excess of 200 inches of rain per year while others may receive as much as 400 inches. Specific types of rainforest are labeled in terms of their elevation and average temperature.

Rainforests located from sea level to approximately 4900 feet (1500 meters) are considered lowland rainforests. These account for most of what we consider rainforests. Those located above 4900 feet (3000 meters) are considered montane rainforests. Here, temperatures are lower, fewer species of plants and animals are represented, and plants are much smaller in stature. This includes what many people refer to as cloud forests , where plants are constantly swathed in mists and fogs.

Rainforests classified by temperature are generally referred to as temperate or tropical based on their geographic locations. Generally, temperate rainforests have average

amount of sunlight. Temperatures at this level may be considerably cooler than in the canopy.

RAINFOREST LAYERS

ACTIVITY: GRADES K-

Objective: Students will be able to identify three layers of a rainforest and understand how they affect one another.

Materials: White construction paper, 12” x 18” (one per student) Green construction paper, 3” x 6” (three per student) Green construction paper, 3” x 4” (eight per student) Brown construction paper, 1” x 10” (three per student) Brown construction paper, 1” x 6” (four per student) Rainforest layer labels (one set per student) Scissors Glue or paste

Procedure:

1. Distribute materials to students as noted above.
2. Show students how to make trees and bushes from the construction paper pieces. A. For each canopy tree use a 1” x 10” brown piece for the trunk and cut a 3” x 6” green piece to create an umbrella-shaped tree top. B. For each understory tree use a 1” x 6” brown piece for the trunk and cut a 3” x 4” piece to create an umbrella-shaped tree top. C. For each forest floor bush cut a 3” x 4” green piece into a roundish shape.
3. Direct students to place the white paper in a horizontal position then glue or paste the trees and bushes onto it. Begin with the canopy, continue with the understory, and end with the forest floor (see sample on page 8).
4. Glue or paste each of the layer labels in the appropriate area of the picture (see sample on page 8).
5. Conduct a review using the newly created pictures. How many layers does a rainforest have? What are the layers called? Which layer is at the top? Which layer is in the middle? Which layer is at the bottom?
6. Direct students to draw the sun somewhere at the top of the page, then draw straight lines from the sun to represent the sun’s rays. Where do most of these lines end? Which layer gets the most light? Which layer gets the least light? Which layer is the warmest? Which layer is the coolest? Why? Use the pictures to help answer these questions.

Related Activities:

1. Hang a 4-foot length of butcher paper vertically on a wall or bulletin board. Divide the butcher paper into four sections and label them “emergent,” “canopy,” “understory,” “forest floor.” Mark and label each student’s/teacher’s height as they stand with their back against the paper (see diagram below). Which layer has the most students? Which layer has the fewest students? Are there students in every layer? Create addition and subtraction problems using information from this activity.

RAINFOREST LAYER LABELS

Copy this page, cut out labels, and distribute one set to each student.

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

CANOPY UNDERSTORY FOREST FLOOR

1. Discuss humidity with the students. This is a measure of how much moisture is in the air. When humidity is low, the air is capable of absorbing greater amounts of water so evaporation takes place quite readily. Evaporation draws heat away from the body so it seems cooler than the actual temperature. When humidity is high, the air cannot absorb as much water so less evaporation takes place. This makes it seem hotter than the actual temperature. Humidity tends to be high in a rainforest.
2. Using the altitude measurements for the different types of rainforest, practice converting from standard to metric measurements and vice versa. The following conversion formulas may be used:

1 foot = .3048 meters 1 yard = .9144 meters 1 meter = 1.0936 yards

ELEVATION SITUATION

ACTIVITY: GRADES 9-

Objective: Students will be able to create contour and elevation maps.

Materials: Graph paper Pencils Colored pencils Elevation map of world Contour map of world

Background Information:

Elevation, the height of land above or below sea level, is used to help differentiate between lowland and montane rainforests. This is the direct result of temperature and climactic changes associated with elevation. For every 1,000 foot (305 meter) increase in elevation, air temperature decreases by approximately 3.6ºF (2ºC). Such significant temperature variation helps explain why some mountains in equatorial regions are covered in snow.

Elevation also has a considerable effect on rainfall. Moist air blowing in from the coast is forced to rise when it reaches a mountain barrier. As it rises, it cools and precipitation occurs. Thus, the side of the mountain facing the wind, the windward side, receives a great deal of moisture. As air flows down the other side of the mountain, the leeward side, it warms and becomes drier. Rainforests are usually found on the windward side of mountain ranges while deserts are often found on the leeward side.

Elevation maps show elevation by using a different color or pattern to represent each elevation range. For example, green may represent land from 0-1,000 feet (0- meters); tan may represent land from 1,000-2,000 feet (305-610 meters); and, brown may represent land from 2,000-4,000 feet (610-1,220 meters). Contour maps show elevation by using lines to connect all the points at a set elevation. For example, one line may represent all land at 1,000 feet (305 meters) above sea level; a second line may represent all land at 2,000 feet (610 meters), and so on. The closer the contour lines, the steeper the slope.

An elevation profile can be used to create a side view or cross section of an area along a line drawn between two points. It is essentially a line graph where the horizontal axis represents sea level and measures distance from point A to point B. The vertical axis measures elevation above sea level, usually in hundreds or thousands of feet (meters).

Procedure:

1. Show students an elevation map and a contour map of the world. Explain the difference between the two styles of map and how they identify changes in elevation.
2. Provide each student with a copy of an elevation or contour map of South America. Direct them to select two points on the map and draw a straight line between them.
3. Have each student create an elevation profile along the line he/she has drawn. The profile should be drawn to scale and colored to identify the different elevation ranges.

Related Activities:

1. Have students create an elevation or contour map of the school grounds. Allow them to measure the height of different structures and land forms on property using the main parking lot as their “sea level” reference point.
2. Create an elevation profile of your city/county/state. What are the key features of this region? How does this affect temperature and rainfall? What adaptations or alterations have people devised to deal with the topography of the region?

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS

AFRICA

AngolaGambia SãoTomé & Principe Benin Ghana Senegal Burundi Guinea Seychelles Cameroon Guinea Bissau Sierra Leone Central African Rep. Kenya Somalia Comoros Liberia Sudan Congo Madagascar Tanzania Cote d’Ivoire Malawi Togo Djibouti Mauritius Uganda Equatorial Guinea Mozambique Zaire Ethiopia Nigeria Zambia Gabon Rwanda Zimbabwe

ASIA Australia Myanmar (Burma) Bangladesh Nepal BhutanPacific Islands Brunei Papua New Guinea Cambodia The Philippines China Singapore India Sri Lanka Indonesia Taiwan Laos Thailand Malaysia Vietnam

THE AMERICAS Belize Guatemala Bolivia Guyana Brazil Honduras Caribbean Islands Mexico Colombia Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama Ecuador Peru El Salvador Surinam French Guiana Venezuela

its rotation around the sun, the equator is always about the same distance from the sun. This is what enables the region around the equator to maintain fairly constant, warm temperatures.

CONTINENTS AND COUNTRIES

ACTIVITY: GRADES 6-

Objective: Students will be able to identify two major continents and the countries contained in each.

Materials: World map Continent maps (1 set per student) Scissors Crayons or markers 9”x12” blue construction paper (1 per student) Glue

Procedure:

1. Select a continent (South America or Africa). Identify the continent’s location on the world map and discuss its features. Does it have mountain ranges? Does it have any major rivers? In what hemisphere is it located? Does the equator run through this continent? What countries are found on this continent?
2. Distribute scissors and copies of the continent map to each student. Have students label each of the countries on this continent. Which of these contain rainforests? Remember, rainforests are generally located around the equator. Have students color the rainforest regions (see Appendix).
3. Direct students to cut out the entire continent, then cut out each individual country. Discard the scraps. Stop by each students’ desk and jumble the pile of countries.
4. Distribute construction paper. This represents the ocean. Have students glue the continent together, country by country, on the paper.
5. Repeat steps 1-3 for the second continent then have the students glue it to the other side of their construction paper.