2. Intro
Welcome to the Rainforest. You have been hired as a
Rainforest Animal Expert. Over half of all plant and
animal species live in the rainforest. Save the
Rainforest Project needs your help to tell these
companies about so many of these wonderful
creatures and why the rainforest is important to these
animals. Your job over the next month will be to
research and develop a written report, visual project,
and be prepared for an oral presentation about an
animal that lives in the rainforest. You will need to
explain why your animal needs the rainforest to
survive.
3. Task
First start by naming the layer of the
Rainforest your animal lives in. Figure out if it
comes out day or night, and see what they
tend to like to eat. Each animal has
enemies, name them, and how the animal
could protect themselves. Describe how your
animal looks, and what makes them special.
Name things that are unique about
them, and how people could be of danger to
the animal.
4. Process
First you will pick an animal to begin to research. You will need to keep track of
all the information you gather in your Social Studies notebook. Once you have
the name of your animal, you will begin to look for information in different
sources. You will need to keep track of where you found your information by
writing the author, title, and copyright date for each source of information. You
will need to find information from at least one book source, a CD-ROM, and a
website. We will work in the Library Media Center for five class periods and will
have class time too. You will take notes on all the questions listed above in your
Social Studies Notebook and any other information on your animal that you think
is interesting. Once you have finished gathering information, you will need to
write a sloppy copy of your report that will be handed in to your teacher to edit.
Your teacher will go over the edited copy with you, then you will work on the
final draft. This may be done at home or in the computer center. At home you
will work on the visual project of your choice that shows some detail about how
your animal lives. Practice your oral presentation with your family. You may use
index cards to help you. You may also use computer lab time to work on your
computer project. Bring in both written report and visual project on May 31st.
Each of you will be doing your oral presentations one day that week.
5. Evaluation
Completes and Hands in written Presents an Spends time and Behavior for
hands in both a report that is well- informative oral creates and age- Project
written report and presented with a presentation to the appropriate project
visual assignment cover and has class on assigned animal
drawings or pictures
1 Students never Has no cover or Student does not Project is not related Student has to be
hands in a project or illustrations and the present material to the rainforest removed from
report written report is not from written report classroom during
readable any portion of
the project
2 Student is late with Has no cover or Student leaves out Project is incomplete Student does not
both assignments illustrations and the information from follow teacher
report is messy written report directions and is
spoken to 3 or
more times
3 Student hands in Has no cover or Student covers all Project is finished Student remains
only one, not both limited illustrations information from relatively quiet
written report and is spoken to
by the teacher 1-
2 times
4 Student hands in Has cover and well Student covers all Project is creative Student listens
both assignments illustrated, neatly material from and age-appropriate and follows
on the date they are written or typed written report and directions
due report adds many more without teacher
details interaction
7. Conclusion
Once the month long project is completed,
the students will have learned not only about
their own Rainforest animal and also about
many more animals that live in the rainforest.
They will hopefully have a better
appreciation for why Rainforests need to be
saved and not destroyed since so many
creatures rely on this tropical ecosystem.
