Children created this rainforest mural by painting kapok and palm trees, cutting out vines, and coloring rainforest animals, which we labeled.
BOOKS:
Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker
Rainforest Colors by Susan Canizares
Who Lives in the Rainforest by Susan Canizares
Verdi by Janell Canon
Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth by Eric Carle
The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
The Shaman’s Apprentice by Lynne Cherry
Rain Forest by Helen Cowcher
Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley
Here is the Tropical Rainforest by Madeline Dunphy
Step Inside the Rainforest by Meish Goldish
Nature’s Green Umbrella by Gail Gibbons
The Rainforest Counts by Lisa McCourt
A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Joy Pratt
Rain Forest Ride by Scholastic
BOOKS:
Poems and Songs:
"Rainforest Animals"
by Meish Goldish
Where can you find a toucan?
In the rainforest you can!
High up on a limb is where it
Can be seen with the monkey and parrot.
Squirrles leaping from tree to tree,
While bats go flying free.
There's a bee, mosquito, and moth.
Look up, there's a hanging sloth!
Down on the rainforest floor
Are big and small creatures galore.
The antelope, deer, and hog,
Plus termites and ants on a log.
Every day, hour by hour,
Butterflies float on a flower.
Lizards and snakes also play
In rainforest plants all day.
Ocelots, jaguars, leopards-
The rainforest is a popular address.
"There are Four Layers in the Rainforest" ("If You're Happy and You Know It" tune)
There are four layers in the rainforest.
Four layers.
There are four layers in the rainforest.
Four layers.
Forest floor, understory,canopy, emergent.
There are four stories in the rainforest.
Four layers.
"Colors of the Rainforest"
by Miss Renee
Deep in the rainforest
Is a kapok tree so high.
Look very closely.
What do you spy?
A blue morpho butterfly flying by.
A brown monkey swinging towards the sky.
A yellow snake gliding
A green frog hopping
A red parrot squawking
And a black bat hiding.
“The Animals in the Rainforest”
(“The Wheels on the Bus” tune)
The parrots in the rainforest go
Squawk, squawk, squawk.
Squawk, squawk, squawk.
Squawk, squawk, squawk.
The parrots in the rainforest go
Squawk, squawk, squawk.
All day long.
…frogs go ribbit
…pythons go ssss…
…jaguars go roar…
Math:
1. Pattern Block Snakes- Children create pattern block snakes by laying pattern blocks on black paper.
2. Measurement- Children measure a play doh snake using unifex cubes. Another twist is how many unifex cubes do we need to fill in a Blue Morpho butterfly's wings.
3. Number Identification and Counting- Create parrot workmats with numbers written on each parrots beak. Children place the correct number of feathers on each parrot according to the number on its beak.
SCIENCE:
1. Rainsticks- Color paper towel tubes with markers. Fill with rice or beans. Cover each end with wax paper and fasten a rubberbands around ends.
2. Rainforest Taste Test- Serve different foods found in the rainforest such as bananas, mangos, papayas, and chocolate. Graph which was the children's favorite.
3. Rainforest Terranium- Fill a plastic cup 3/4th full of potting soil. Plant small plant in cup, making sure roots are covered. Place a 2nd cup atop the first cup so that the tops touch and tape together. Place by sunlight. As water evaporates, it will condense at top and then "rain" back down on the plant.
4. Rainforest Sounds- Students close their eyes. Play sounds of rainforest on c.d. or computer (sounds can be found at http://www.christiananswers.net/kids/sounds.html) Students try to guess what they hear.
5. Rainforest Animal Videos: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/animals-pets-kids/bugs-kids/leafcutter-ant-kids.html
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/kids/animals-pets-kids/amphibians-kids/frog-poison-dart-kids.html
Art:
1. Rainstick- Children paint paper towel roll. Fill with beans. Cover each end with wax paper and close with rubberband.
2. Paper plate parrot- Use construction paper circle for head and one paper plate for body. Children color and cut out eye, beak, and tail patterns. Glue feathers on to body.
3. Sloth- Children color and cut out sloth pattern and then glue on green yarn to represent the algae that grows on it during the rainy season.
4. Morpho Butterfly- Cut out butterfly pattern and cover it's wings with blue tissue paper squares.I paint a mixture of diluted glue and blue glitter over it to make the butterfly shimmer.
5. Jaquar- Children cut out jaquar pattern and make its spots using black paint and their fingertips.
6. Monkey Hanging on Handprint Palm Tree- Trace handprint on green paper and cut out. Glue to popsicle stick "trunk"
7. Rainforest Animals Class Quilt- Each child colors a picture of a rainforest animal. Cut out and glue on felt square. Staple squares together to form a quilt.