t s e r o F n i Rain Forest Theme Day a Traveling Outreach Program Pre- and Post-Visit Activities Grades K-2 R Education Department 501 East Pratt Street Baltimore, MD 21202 Reproduction for educational purposes only. Printed on recycled paper, preserving aquatic habitats. 12/13 The National Aquarium is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. 501 East Pratt Street • Baltimore, MD 21202 aqua.org This booklet was prepared by the Education Department at the National Aquarium. Illustration: Cindy Belcher The educational goals of the National Aquarium are supported by funding from the Jacob and Hilda Blaustein Aquatic Education Endowment Fund. The booklet may be reproduced by any teacher, school or school district for educational purposes. © 2010 Rain Forest Theme Day A 60-minute auditorium program and 20-minute lab sessions for Grades K-6 A school-wide package is a great way to give classes in multiple AAAS Benchmarks grade levels (K-6) the opportunity to benefit from a traveling outreach program. Each package includes: • Two auditorium presentations 5D/P1-K-2: Animals eat plants or other animals for • Ten interactive discovery sessions that allow students to food and may also use plants (or even other animals) explore the theme in depth and to investigate animals for shelter and nesting. introduced in the auditorium presentation. Each 20-minute session is limited to one class (30 students maximum) to 5D/P2-K-2: Living things are found almost everywhere allow for optimal learning. Parent volunteers are required in the world. There are somewhat different kinds in to assist with interactive discovery sessions. See Parent different places. Volunteer Instructions on page 4 for more information. OUTREACH PROGRAM DESCRIPTION MD Voluntary Curriculum: Science Auditorium Presentation: Investigate plant and animal inter- actions and adaptations necessary for survival in the South American Rain Forest as students utilize props to create a Kindergarten – 3.0 Life Science F.1a. rain forest. Discover the importance of this unique habitat, Describe observations using drawings, oral or written text threats to its survival and how to influence its future. of the place and some of the living things found there. Discovery Labs: Students explore the rain forest by examining Grade 1 – 3.0 Life Science E.1 live animals, rainforest products, artifacts from indigenous Describe some of the ways in which animals depend on people and more. plants and on each other. PLANNING FOR THE OUTREACH PROGRAM Grade 2 – 6.0 Environmental Science A.1 This lesson includes pre- and post-program activities that will Recognize and explain how Earth’s natural resources from supplement the auditorium program and discovery lab sessions. the natural environment are used to meet human needs. These activities can be incorporated into units about animal adaptations, relationships and diversity; as well as food chain studies. Other complementary units include social studies units addressing the importance of these animals to different world MD Voluntary Curriculum: Reading cultures or map studies examining the distributions of species and location of rain forests around the globe. This lesson should be covered in three days including the outreach Grades K-2 – 1.0 General Reading Processes D program at your school. Students will use a variety of strategies and opportunities to understand word meaning and to increase vocabulary. Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 3 DAY 1: PRE-OUTREACH PROGRAM ACTIVITIES Before educators from the National Aquarium’s outreach department visit your school, read the Teacher Background section found on pages 6-8 and share with your students. As a class, complete Activity 1 – Build a 3-D Rain Forest on pages 11-13 and Activity 2 – Animals of the Rain Forest on pages 14-17. There are two versions of Activity 2. Version A is more sim- plified and can be completed prior to the National Aquarium program. Version B works well as a post activity for slightly older children since it includes a research worksheet for a more in-depth investigation of rainforest animals. These activities allow students to familiarize themselves with vocabulary such as the names of the rainforest layers as well as other informa- tion that will be touched upon during Aquarium programs. DAY 2: OUTREACH PROGRAM AT YOUR SCHOOL On the day of your Rain Forest Theme Day, the National Aquarium outreach staff will present two 1-hour auditorium programs—one for grades K-2 and one for grades 3-6. Ten to twelve discovery lab sessions (depending upon what is written on the contract) will take place in a separate room throughout the school day. See sample schedule on page 5. Parent Volunteer Instructions: Auditorium Presentation Requirements: 1. Parent volunteers need to arrive approximately 30 minutes 1. A room large enough to hold all of the students prior to the start time of the first lab session for training. scheduled to attend that presentation. 2. Each parent volunteer will be in charge of manning one 2. Students should be seated and ready to go at the start particular table during the entire classroom session. time that is listed on the contract. 3. Their main job will be to guide the students through 3. Allow 1 hour for each auditorium presentation. that station and actively engage students with questions and fun facts. Discovery Lab Session Requirements: 4. Useful questions include: “Have you seen something 1. Labs need to be in one room for the entire day. The like that in your home?,” “What does that feel like?,” room needs to contain four large tables (or desks that “What do you think that is used for?,” “How is that can be pushed together). different from the items that you have at home?” and/ 2. Each individual class will come to this room approximately or “What animals are in your backyard that are like two minutes before their scheduled time. Teachers should rainforest animals?” Object comparisons are also useful have the class divided into four groups. (i.e. find similarities, differences, etc.). 3. Lab sessions are 20 minutes each in duration. 5. Please also focus the students’ attention back on the 4. National Aquarium outreach staff will need a copy of National Aquarium instructor when it is time to rotate the schedule upon arrival. to the next station. Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 4 SAMPLE SCHEDULE The outreach staff at the National Aquarium is happy to review your schedule to ensure that the program will run smoothly. Please send a copy of your schedule via fax to 410-659-0116 Attn: Outreach or e-mail [email protected]. AUDITORIUM PROGRAM DISCOVERY LABS Time Program Time Program 9-10 a.m. Grades K-2 9-9:30 a.m. Aquarium staff will also set (extra time allotted for transition and up labs during the morning set-up for the next program) presentation 10-11 a.m. Grades 3-6 9:30-10 a.m. Train morning set of volunteers 10-10:20 a.m. Grade 1 10:25-10:45 a.m. Grade 1 10:50-11:10 a.m. Grade 2 11:15-11:35 a.m. Grade 2 11:40 a.m.-12 p.m. Grade 3 Lunch, rest animals, train 12-1 p.m. afternoon volunteers 1-1:20 p.m. Grade 3 1:25-1:45 p.m. Grade 4 1:50- 2:10 p.m. Grade 4 2:15-2:35 p.m. Grade 5 2:40-3 p.m. Grade 5 DAY 3: POST-OUTREACH PROGRAM ACTIVITIES The day after the outreach program complete Activity 3 – Postcard from the Rain Forest found on pages 18-19. This activity will reinforce the content taught by outreach educators from the National Aquarium during both the auditorium and discovery lab programs. It will also allow students to enjoy and celebrate their 3-D rain forest in the classroom. Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 5 forest: the forest floor, understory, canopy and emergent layer. Each layer is comprised of plants and animals that have adapted to live in that specific locale. FOREST FLOOR The forest floor is the bottom layer of a rain forest. Only about two percent of the sunlight available to the canopy is able to filter down to the forest floor. As a result, it is very dark but also open and easy to walk through. There are small palms, herbs and ferns growing on the forest floor that are well-adapted to these very low light intensities. This layer of the rain forest consists of shallow, nutrient-rich soil and leaf litter from the above trees. Decomposers, organisms that feed on and “recycle” dead matter into nutrients, break down the decaying plant and animal matter. Animals that can be found on the forest floor include armadillos, turtles, army and leafcutter ants, hissing cockroaches and wood turtles, just to name a few. Piranhas, caimans and anacondas can be found in the rivers that flow through the rain forest. Teacher Background UNDERSTORY The understory consists of trees that grow to a maximum WHAT IS A RAIN FOREST? height of about 60 feet (18 m). Plants in the understory are adapted to living in shaded conditions. Many of the trees A tropical rain forest is a hot, humid, wet, dense forest from this layer of the rain forest have large leaves so that that is characterized by an enormous biodiversity of plant they can absorb as much sunlight as possible in order to and animal life. The wet tropical climate consists of an air control their metabolic pathways. Not only is it dark, but it is temperature between 68°F and 93°F (20°C-34°C), with an also extremely humid in the understory because there is little average humidity of 77-88 percent. Annual rainfall can range air movement. Animals that can be found in the understory between 84 inches (213 cm) and 300 inches (762 cm); most include poison dart frogs and other frogs, tarantulas, lizards, rain forests receive upwards of 100 inches (254 cm) of rain per bats, snakes, iguanas, birds such as the toucan and butterflies. year, as compared to the average yearly rainfall in Maryland of 41 inches (104 cm). Most of the world’s tropical rain forests are found near the equator in Central and South Americas, CANOPY Africa, Asia and Australia. Hawaii is the only state in the United Taller trees, between 60 feet and 130 feet (18 m – 40 m), grow States that has tropical rain forests, although temperate rain in the canopy layer of the rain forest. The canopy forms a forests can be found in both Oregon and Washington State. “roof” over the lower layers. Tree leaves tend to be much smaller, more oval in shape and have “drip tips.” Drip tips Abundant moisture and warm temperatures encourage tre- are pointed ends that allow the rain to slowly run off instead mendous plant growth, while space and light availability limit of pouring down too quickly into lower layers of the rain the number and types of plants that can grow. Competition forest and washing the nutrients out of the soil before they for sunlight results in layering or stratification of the rain can be absorbed by tree roots. The shape of these leaves also forest. Although the layers of vegetation are interwoven, they help to keep the leaves dry so that mildew and mold do not are distinct enough to provide different habitats for many grow on the surface of the leaf. Food is extremely abundant different kinds of animals. There are four layers in a rain in the canopy since many animals live in this layer and most Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 6 trees produce flowers, seeds or berries. Some animals that TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS COMPARED TO live in the canopy are sloths, red-eyed tree frogs, poison NORTH AMERICAN FORESTS dart frogs, spider monkeys, emerald tree boas and other Although South American rain forests and North American snakes, parrots and macaws. Since there is so much available temperate forests are very different from each other, they food, many of these animals will spend their entire lives in have many similarities. Just as the rain forest can be broken the trees of the canopy. Some even stay in this level during down into layers, American forests can as well. The layers of reproduction! Exotic plants such as orchids and bromeliads rain forests in ascending order are the forest floor, understory, also grow in the canopy. canopy and emergent layer. North American temperate forests have similar layers. They are the forest floor, shrub layer, EMERGENT LAYER understory and canopy. The emergent layer is the uppermost level of the rain forest, where the trees can grow between 100 feet and 240 The trees that grow in North American forests are different feet (30 m – 75 m). There is only about one emergent tree than those in tropical rain forests. Coniferous trees with per acre.These trees have tall trunks, few branches and often tough, needle-like leaves grow in colder regions. In warmer have buttressing roots that spread out to support the great places, deciduous trees grow. These trees have bigger leaves heights of these trees. Since the trees in this layer are above the that fall to the ground in the autumn. rest of the trees, they are able to reach the sunlight without competing with the other trees. Tree leaves tend to be thick Temperate forests are characterized by broad-leaved trees and waxy to help retain water and protect them from the sun including beeches, oaks, elms, maples and hickories. The and wind. Many birds live in the emergent layer, including animals in temperate forests are much different from those harpy eagles, as well as many species of butterflies and monkeys. found in rain forests as well. Bear, deer, wolves, badgers, squirrels, insects and owls are just a few of the animals that SYMBIOSIS live in North American temperate forests. Regardless of the location, forests provide people with resources such as food, Throughout the different layers of the rain forest, many plant timber and medicines. and animal species depend on each other for survival. Life in the rain forest is competitive, and many species have developed symbiotic relationships with other species. Symbiosis is a relationship between two different species of organisms that live together. For example, this form of teamwork can be seen between ants and the cecropia tree. The umbrella-shaped cecropia tree has leaves that are often covered in a sticky liquid (sap) and has a hollow trunk. The ants get food by eating the sap and a safe place to live inside the hollow trunk of the tree. The cecropia tree gets protection from the ants as the ants attack animals that try to eat the leaves or plants that grow too close. In the rain forest, symbiosis can also be seen between the Brazil nut trees and the agouti. The agouti, a ground-dwelling rodent, is the only animal with teeth strong enough to open the grapefruit-sized Brazil nut seed pods. The agouti eats some of the seeds and then scatters the rest on the forest floor, allowing new Brazil nut trees to grow. Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 7 THE RAIN FOREST AS A GROCERY STORE Plants from tropical rain forests yield a variety of familiar commercial products. Hardwoods such as mahogany and teak are rain forest products often used for furniture, and the lightweight balsa is used by hobbyists. Bamboo, a giant grass, grows quickly at the edges of the rain forest and is used as a building material. The rubber tree has been widely harvested for its latex (sap), which is processed into natural rubber. Special resins, gums and aromatic wood oils are other rainforest plant products. Many foods come from the rain forest. The cacao tree, which is native to South American rain forests, produces a pod containing 20-70 beans that are hand-picked, fermented, washed, dried and then roasted to make the commercial chocolate bean. This bean is then utilized in other processes to make milk chocolate and other forms of chocolate. Vanilla, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, allspice, chili pepper, cardamon and coconut are just a few of the spices grow in tropical ecosystems. Not only are people moving into these the rain forest and that are commonly used by people. These areas, but rainforest trees have been cut for lumber and spices come from the flowers, seeds, fruits, and bark of many firewood, and also cleared or burned to allow for agriculture rainforest plants. Also, latex from the sapodilla tree was in a process called deforestation. Current estimates indicate originally used to produce chicle or more familiarly known that less than one half of the world’s original rain forests as chewing gum. remain, and at the current rate of destruction, only 25 percent will remain by the year 2030. Important drugs used by forest tribes have been refined and renamed for use in the field of modern medicine. Many plants Removal of trees has a devastating effect on the land previ- produce chemicals that help to discourage insects from feeding ously covered with vegetation. Plants in the forest retain on their leaves or sap, and these same chemicals have been and release water like a giant sponge in order to moderate used in the pharmaceutical industry. The bark of the Amazon seasonal rainy and dry seasons. Without trees, local rainfall cinchino tree, now called quinine, was found in 1675 and may decline and floods may wash away the topsoil, leaving used to treat malaria. New drugs from rainforest plants are hard red clay soil. Much of the sediment ends up in the rivers, being discovered and are being used to treat high blood which changes the quality of the water. This loss of trees pressure, heart disease, leukemia and other forms of cancer. also affects the animals of the rain forest since their habitat Curare, a dangerous poison when received at full-strength, is destroyed when trees are burned or cut down. was commonly used in lower doses during surgery to im- mobilize patients prior to the development of anesthesia. Scientists and researchers are constantly searching for more People worldwide are starting to realize just how important plant products that may have the potential to be developed rain forests are as a natural resource. International conferences and used to cure human ailments. have been set up to plan ways to conserve rain forests and to prevent the extinction of their unique plants and animals. Management of logging activities and establishment of GOING… GOING… GONE? national parks and wildlife preserves are just two ways that The mysteries and promise of the world’s rain forests are wildlife and trees can be protected. There are also funds that being lost as the human population produces demands on sponsor animals and purchase acres of rainforest land. Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 8 Glossary Biodiversity – the diversity of plant and animal life in a Symbiosis – a type of relationship where two different particular habitat species of organisms live together; examples include ants living in the cecropia tree and agouti eating the Brazil nut pod seeds Bromeliad – a type of epiphyte with a rosette of stiff leaves Tropical rain forest – a forest that is found near the equator Buttress roots – roots that spread out to support the great and gets over 80 inches of rain every year heights of emergent layer trees Understory – the layer of trees and plants that grow between Canopy – thick layer of leaves and branches that make up the forest floor and the canopy; made up of smaller trees and the “roof” layer of the rain forest bushes; little available sunlight Decomposer – organisms that feed on and “recycle” dead matter into nutrients; examples: millipedes, hissing cock- roaches, termites, worms, insects and fungi Deforestation – cutting down, burning and clearing of forests Drip tip – the long, pointed tip on leaves in the upper layers of the rain forest; shed water from the leaf’s waxy surface at a slower pace Emergent Layer – the top layer of the rain forest; the layer with the tallest trees Epiphyte – a plant that lives on another plant and gets its water and nutrients from the air Equator – an imaginary line that circles the world like a belt halfway between the North and South Poles Forest Floor – the bottom layer of the rain forest (soil) Nutrients – “food” that plants and animals need to grow Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 9 Resources NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NATIONAL AQUARIUM, BALTIMORE, MD nationalgeographic.com aqua.org A website that contains a great list of web links to find Use this site for information about rainforest animals. There information about rainforest animal facts and conservation. are fact sheets that are at an elementary readability level. Navigate the Aquarium website to find animal information sheets, resources and fun activities for your students. BOOKS See page 16 of the teacher booklet for a comprehensive list. ANIMAL PLANET animalplanet.com This website contains a great list of web links to find infor- mation about rainforest animal facts and conservation. THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY wcs.org This organization works to save wildlife and their habitats through careful science and education. CAN TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS BE SAVED? PBS Home Videos Documentary that discusses rain forest conservation issues. RAINFOREST ACTION NETWORK KIDS’ CORNER ran.org/new/kidscorner/kid_s_action/ A website that provides information about threats to the rain forest and what you can do to help. There is also information about native people and animals. RAINFOREST ALLIANCE – FOR KIDS AND TEACHERS rainforest-alliance.org/resources.cfm?id=facts A website that features information about rainforest animals and ideas that kids can do to save the rain forests. Rain Forest Theme Day – Grades K-2 10