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The students will be able to name at least five animals of the rain forest. |
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The students will be able to describe why the rain forest is important. |
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The students will be able to locate geographic locations of the rain forest. |
| Materials for the centers: |
| Center 1: Twenty-one clear two liter plastic bottles, gravel, sand, soil, plants (different varieties), spoons, long sticks, water. |
| Center 2: Maps, map reference books, colored pencils, and colors. |
| Center 3: Construction paper, scissors, markers, colors, paint, glue, colored tissue paper. |
| Center 4: Paper, pencils, reference books, computers. |
| UWSP Museum Visit scheduled for 9/24/99 at 10:00 a.m. |
| 9/2/99 Administration approval |
| 9/7/99 Make reservations for museum |
| 9/7/99 Make bus arrangements |
| 9/8/99 Request for chaperones |
| 9/8/99 Send out permission slips |
| 9/21/99 Confirm reservation |
| 9/21/99 Confirm chaperones-give them itinerary and group list |
Sample letter to parents
| September 8, 1999 Dear Parents, On Wednesday, September 24, 1999, the third grade class is going to the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Museum of Natural History. This learning experience will enhance our study of the tropical rain forest unit. There is no charge for the field trip. We are looking for parents to chaperone our trip. If you can help, please mark the form below. Please complete the bottom section of this letter and return it to school by Wednesday, September 15, 1999, so that your child can attend this educational experience. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your student’s teacher, Mrs. Lass or Mrs. Jeschke. ************************************************************************
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Sample letter to chaperones
| September 21, 1999 Dear Parent, Thank you for offering to chaperone our trip to the UWSP Museum of Natural History on September 24, 1999. Enclosed is a copy of the itinerary and a list of the children you will have in your group. Please plan to arrive at the school at 9:00. We will be boarding the school bus promptly at 9:15 a.m. If you have any questions involving our trip, please feel free to contact us at 555-1214. Thank you again for your help. Sincerely, Mrs. Lass and Mrs. Jeschke Itinerary for the day of the trip
Group list
Mrs. Lass will be moving throughout the museum to help any groups that need assistance. |
Pre-activity
We have been working on a unit on the rain forest.Ecosystems. The day before the museum visit we will go outside in the school yard and take a look at two mini-ecosystems. Ex: a rotten log, a tree, a grassy part of the lawn, an area covered by pine needles. We will identify and compare the living things and their interactions. We will describe and compare physical factors such as moisture, light, and soil type.
Moisture in plants. The students will slip a plastic bag over the leafy end of a branch picking one that is not exposed to full sunlight. They will seal the open end of the bag tightly shut with a twist tie. After three hours, they will check it before removing the bag from the branch. They will answer the question, "Where did the moisture inside the bag come from?"| Itinerary for the day of the trip . | |||
8:30-9:00 Read the book, The Great Kapok Tree,
and discuss asking these questions:
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| 9:00-9:15 Bathroom, gather notebooks and pencil | |||
| 9:15-9:25 Load bus | |||
| 9:25-9:35 Travel to museum | |||
| 9:35-9:45 Unload and gather in groups in the museum lobby | |||
| 9:45-10:45 Explore the museum. Do scavenger hunt while staying with your group | |||
| 10:45-10:55 Load bus | |||
| 10:55-11:05 Travel back to school | |||
| 11:05-11:25 Unload bus, go to bathroom, pass out lunch tickets | |||
| 11:25 Lunch |
On-site activity
Scavenger Hunt
| Answer the following questions based upon your findings in the museum. |
| 1. Which rain forest animal is quicker than the alligator? |
| 2. What family does the collared peccary belong to? |
| 3. Does a kangaroo live in a tropical rain forest? |
| 4. Name other habitats displayed in the museum. |
| 5. What is the name of the boa constrictor and would you find him in the rain forest? |
| 6. In what country is the tropical earthworm found? |
| 7. From information in the dinosaur exhibit, would there be any reason to believe that dinosaurs lived in the rain forest? Where and why? |
Post-activity
| We will have the students circulate through the centers in the classroom. |
| Center 1: The students will make a terrarium. |
| Center 2: The students will locate, label, and color rain forest locations on maps. |
| Center 3: The students will construct a mural that is typical of a rain forest. |
| Center 4: The students will make a compare/contrast chart that answers the question, "How are rain forests different from the forests in the area where we live?" They can prepare it on the computer or with paper and pencil. |
| Center 5 (their desks): The students will prepare a thank you note for the museum. |
The teacher will evaluate the work done by the students in the centers to see if the individual students reflect an understanding and knowledge of where the rain forests are located, what plant and animal life is located there, and how it compares to other regions.
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