The Vanishing Rainforest - Human Impact on the environment:7-9

The Vanishing Rainforest by Richard Platt is  a good book for looking at the human impact on the environment, in particular deforestation. The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, covering over five and a half a million square kilometres. 10% of the world’s known species live in the Amazon rainforest. It is home to around 2 and a half million different insect species as well as over 40000 plant species. Yet the Amazon rainforests are under constant threat from developers. In the story a child called Remaema, describes how the way of life of her people, the Yanomami tribe, are affected as plants and animals vanish before them.  Working together with scientists, they seek a solution that will protect the forest and allow the tribe to continue living as they always have done, while benefiting from limited development.

It provides a starting to learn about the following:

  • recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways
  • explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment
  • recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.

Key scientific vocab / ideas: classification, keys, environment, fish, amphibians

Other fiction books with a similar theme:

Dear Greenpeace – Simon James                            Dinosaurs & All That Rubbish – Michael Foreman                                        

Journey to the River Sea – Eva Ibbotson              The Great Kapok Tree – Lynne Cherry                          

Window  - Jeannie  Baker                                        Where the Forest Meets the Sea – Jeannie Baker

The Whale’s Song – Dan Sheldon                          The Morning I met a whale – Michael Morpurgo      

One World – Michael Foreman                              Flotsam and Jetsam  - Tanya Landman                               

Tidy – Emily Gravett                                                Amazing Animal Journeys - Chris Packham
 
 

Temperate Rainforest in the Pacific Northwest (Age 7 to 11)

Quality AssuredCategory:SciencePublisher:Wildscreen ARK (previously ARKive)

This resource includes a ppt on the Temperate rainforests of  Pacific NW America. Home to a diverse range of species such as Brown Bear, Prickly Shark, Ground Squirels this region is under threat from logging and global warming.

The idea behind this unit is that teachers first get children to study a local habitat in the UK and then use that information for comparision with the materials within this pack. Comparing the landscapes, ecology, biodiversity  - range and number of species.

Save our home!

Quality AssuredCategory:Cross curricularPublisher:Wellcome Trust

A great resource by The Crunch - Wellcome Trust aimed at ages 8-9,  about rainforests, their location, structure and some of the animals and plants that live in them. Focusing on the Sumatran rainforests in how deforestation has occurred in order to grow oil palm plantations and how this has affected Sumatran orangutans. Children  identify foods that contain palm oil. They also consider the effect of so much palm oil in the foods readily available to us.

Beloved Burger

Quality AssuredCategory:SciencePublisher:Wellcome Trust

Part of the Crunch resources - Beloved Burger is a play looking at how an increase in the demand for meat can affect tropical rainforests far away. It explores some of the consequences for; animals and plants living in these areas, farmers and our planet

The materials are accompanied by films to show teachers how to bring this play to life. Guidance on the key characters and their position on the stage, motivation, how to get your whole class involved throughout the piece for maximum impact.

 

Newly Discovered Species (Age 7 to 11)

Quality AssuredCategory:SciencePublisher:Wildscreen ARK (previously ARKive)

Scientists are finding new species all the time. Some scientists plan expeditions to remote and unexplored places to try and discover species that have never been seen before. In tropical rainforests, scientists can discover hundreds of potential new insect species in a single tree! Most (but not all) newly discovered species are small, from microscopic bacteria to insects and other small organisms. This beautiful powerpoint from Archive encourages to think about where some of the undiscovered species of animal might be found. What is the impact of Rainforest destruction? How do scientists classify new species? In the accompanying activity the children use a dichotomous key to classify some new species of amphibians.

Grouping and Classification *suitable for home teaching*

Quality AssuredCategory:Cross curricularPublisher:Science & Plants for Schools (SAPS)

A practical resource developed by SAPS to help children develop their classification skills. Activities support children as they  sort and group items and apply these skills to make and use keys. teachers may then ask children to go outside and gather leaves to use to make their own keys. Teachers may need to support some children with the idea of developing yes / no questions. Children could then sort and classify other things such as pictures or plastic animals - creating their own keys.