Rainforest Ecologist Activity Book
This book features five hands-on activities designed for 8-to 12-year-olds.
Each activity includes one 30-to 60-minute project and extensions. Activities
can be used in any order. Also included are objectives and learning
outcomes, assessment questions, ideas for a presentation or exhibit
and topics for further investigation.
Table of Contents
Nutty Investigations /ACTIVITY ONE
Watch a video about ecologist Janalee Caldwell, then strength-test and
fat-test different nuts.
Learning outcomes: Youth develop an understanding of the work of a scientist,
learn to use simple equipment to gather data, and are able to collect,
organize, represent and interpret data.
Frogs Up Close And Personal /ACTIVITY TWO
Design a background to make your poison frog disappear...or stand out.
Learning outcomes: Youth develop an understanding of the characteristics
of living things and of diversity and adaptation in organisms.
Build a Tree /ACTIVITY THREE
Design and build a tree that will stand alone.
Learning outcomes: Youth develop an understanding of technological design
and of the form and function of living things.
Rainforest in Your Room /ACTIVITY FOUR
Add plants and creatures to your trees to create a diverse rain forest
community.
Learning outcomes: Youth develop an understanding of living things and
environments.
Life in a Nutshell /ACTIVITY FIVE
Develop from egg to larva to adult in a Brazil nut capsule game.
Learning outcomes: Youth learn that different animals progress through
the life cycle at different rates and develop an understanding of populations
and ecosystems.
Pulling It All Together
Create a story about a scientist who studies the rain forest.
Learning Outcomes: Youth draw on what they have learned in the activities
to construct their own understanding of what it means to be a scientist.
New Wonders
Here are some ideas you might like to use for projects or exhibits.
Learning Outcomes: Youth develop an understanding of diversity and adaptation
in organisms, and of science as a human endeavor.
Permission is given
to educators to reproduce these pages for classroom and training purposes
only.