Lower Key Stage 2 Rainforests - NEW LOOK

Creatures of the Rainforest

Enjoy a meal at a ‘Rainforest Café’ and through sharing a meal, learn about the food resources available in the rainforest for the creatures and peoples who live there.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To become familiar with life in the rainforest and understand what food resources are available in the rainforest, for the creatures and peoples who live there.

Children will:

• Become familiar with life in the rainforest, especially the food and resources available.
• Share a meal together, made up of foods originating from the rainforests.
• Understand what food resources are available for the creatures and peoples who live in rainforests.

• Cards from Who Am I? resource

• Foods and drink from resources originating in tropical rainforests
• Sticky tape
• Blank cards

An hour of rainforest music -YouTube clip
10 foods and products that come from the Amazonian Rainforest from wwf.org.uk
Foods from the rainforest and recipes from folklife.si.edu
What eats what in the rainforest from addiesrainforest.weebly.com
Rainforest video - YouTube clip
Ray Mears in the rainforest -YouTube clip
Howler monkey calls -YouTube clip

Make group dioramas of the understory layer and the forest floor of the rainforest, including the creatures found in these layers.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To research, and become familiar with, the creatures living in the lower layers of the rainforest.
• To make group dioramas of understory layer and forest floor of the rainforest in shoe boxes, including the creatures found in these layers.

Children will:

• Research, and become familiar with, the creatures living in the lower layers of the rainforest.
• Make group dioramas of understory layer and forest floor of the rainforest in shoe boxes, including the creatures found in these layers.

• How to make a Rainforest diorama

• Tubes
• Shoe boxes
• Scissors
• Pipe cleaners

Forest floor detailed information from stri.si.edu
Forest floor information from mongabay.com
Information on each rainforest layer from caltech.edu
The forest floor and understory layer -YouTube clip

Make group dioramas of the emergent and canopy layers of the rainforest, including the creatures found in these layers.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To research, and become familiar with, the creatures living in the upper layers of the rainforest.
• To make group dioramas of canopy and emergent layers of the rainforest in shoe boxes, including the creatures found in these layers.

Children will:

• Research, and become familiar with, the creatures living in the upper layers of the rainforest
• Make group dioramas of canopy and emergent layers of the rainforest in shoe boxes, including the creatures found in these layers

• How to make a Rainforest diorama

• Tubes
• Shoe boxes
• Pipe cleaners
• Play-dough

Information on each rainforest layer from caltech.edu
Characteristics of rainforests -YouTube clip
Facts about the emergent layer of thee rainforest from tropical-rainforest-facts.com
Facts about the canopy layer of the rainforest from tropical-rainforest-facts.com
How to make a play-dough frog -YouTube clip

Research how rainforest creatures have adapted to life in their forest layer; produce a class book of ‘I Spy’ Creatures of the Rainforest to accompany your group dioramas.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To develop their understanding of the rainforest layers by researching the conditions and resources experienced by creatures living there.
• To identify and research how rainforest creatures have adapted to life in their forest layer.
• To produce class book of ‘I spy’ Creatures of the Rainforest to accompany the group dioramas.

Children will:

• Become familiar with the conditions and resources experienced by creatures living in the rainforest.
• Identify how rainforest creatures have adapted to life in their forest layer.
• Produce class book of ‘I spy’ Creatures of the Rainforest to accompany the group dioramas.

• I spy sheet

• Internet and research books
• Lego people

What eats what in the rainforest from weebly.com
Facts about the emergent layer of thee rainforest from tropical-rainforest-facts.com
Facts about the canopy layer of the rainforest from tropical-rainforest-facts.com

If possible experience a manmade rainforest at first hand in order to understand better why manmade rainforests are so important and to empathise with indigenous peoples of the rainforest; look closely at and draw the vegetation of the biome.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To experience at first hand a manmade rainforest, including vegetation and wildlife
• To gain understanding of global response to preservation of the rainforests by discussing the question “Why are manmade rainforests so important?”
• To understand and empathise with indigenous peoples of a rainforest by having a glimpse into the temperatures, vegetation and wildlife they experience.
• To look closely at the vegetation of the Rainforest Centre, by undertaking life drawing.

Children will:

• Experience at first hand a manmade rainforest, including vegetation and wildlife.
• Gain understanding of global response to preservation of the rainforests by discussing the question “Why are manmade rainforests so important?”.
• Understand and empathise with indigenous peoples of a rainforest, by having a glimpse into the temperatures, vegetation and wildlife they experience.
• Look closely at the vegetation of the rainforest, by undertaking life drawing.

This session does not need any provided resources.

• Sketch books and pencils
• Camera
• Risk assessments for visit

Official website of The Eden Project from edenproject.com
The Living Rainforest from livingrainforest.org
Amazonia - indoor tropical rainforest from discoveramazonia.co.uk
Rainforest adventure from rainforestadventure.co.uk
Natural History Museum from web.archive.org
Oxford University Museum of Natural History from oum.ox.ac.uk
The Manchester Museum from museum.manchester.ac.uk
London Zoo rainforest information from zsl.org
Chester zoo rainforest trail from chesterzoo.org
Newquay zoo from newquayzoo.org.uk
Edinburgh butterfly and rainforest centre from edinburgh-butterfly-world.co.uk