Amazonia at the National Zoological Park

The National Zoological Park
Smithsonian Institution
3001 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20008
(202) 673-4800 (Recorded Info)
(202) 673-4989 (Group Tours)

Instructional Unit:
Tropical Rain Forests

Curriculum Unit:
Grade 3
Science

Objectives:
1. Students will identify animals that live in a rain forest.
2. Students will learn about the parts of the rain forest.
3. Students will describe the basic elements of Amazon stilt houses and the purposes of those elements.
4. Students will create a mural with animals, plants, and houses of the Amazon rain forest.

Pre-Visit Activities:
Note: Teacher must request from the National Zoological Park: Passport to Amazonia: A Self-Guide for Teachers, Grades K-3

1. Students will prepare a K-W-L chart to determine what they already "K now" about tropical rain forests, what they "W ould Like to Know", and at the end of the unit, what they have "L earned".
2. An introduction to the unit will be provide with the teacher reading aloud The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. Using the story as a basis, the children will discuss how plants and animals in a biome are inter-related. The teacher will introduce vocabulary specific to the study of the tropical rain forest.
3. Two to three weeks before the trip, the class will be given the materials and time to gather information on the tropical rain forest, with specific topics including:

Worldwide locations of tropical rain forests
Its structure and plant forms
The peoples who live in it and the types of house they build
The animals which inhabit the rain forest
What products are harvested form it
Why it is endangered

4. This information will be used by the students to create their own reports with a paragraph or two on each topic. During this time period the teacher will also show the video, Totally Tropical Rain Forest and/or the videodisc, Rain Forests, both produced by the National Geographic Society, as additional resources for the entire class.
5. The class will then view the episode of Reading Rainbow featuring the book, The Salamander Room. As this episode begins in "Jungle World", a simulated rain forest at the Bronx Zoo, it provides an appropriate entry into a discussion of the field trip to Amazonia at the National Zoological Park.

On-Site Activities:
1. The children will be divided into groups of two or three with one adult being responsible for four or five children. The children will be given a worksheet package to use a guide during the visit. The lower level of the exhibit is divided into four sections and the children will be rotated between those sections. The entire group of students will be divided into fourths with each fourth beginning the exploration in a different area. As time restrictions exist due to the popularity of the exhibit, each group will be responsible for completing in writing the one section of the booklet corresponding to the first area they visit. At the other three areas, the students will use the booklets as a guide for observing and gathering information, but will not take the time to write the answers. (Written answers will be shared upon return to school.)
2. After completing sections one through four downstairs, the students will proceed to the upper level. Here they will complete activities five through nine of the worksheet packet. As students complete the activities they will have time to browse and continue observing animal life, visit the restrooms, or visit the book shop. Approximately ten minutes before the end of the allotted time, the students will gather with a guide for an opportunity to ask any questions they might have.

Follow-Up Activities:
1. Upon return to the school, the class will discuss the field trip, including the following:

What activities did you like best and why?
What activities did you find the most difficult? Why?
Do you think Amazonia accurately simulates a tropical rain forest?
Were you able to gather information for your report that you had not found in one of our sources at school?
What did you find interesting that you would like to learn more about?
What was the most surprising thing that you learned?

2. The information gathered and recorded by each group will be shared and all children will have the opportunity to complete any section of their booklet that was not completed at the exhibit.
3. During the following week, students will have the opportunity to complete their reports, incorporating information gathered at Amazonia. The class will also create a large mural using a variety of art media to depict the tropical rain forest. A background of plants, a river, and stilt houses will be a cooperative class effort and each child will be responsible for creating at least one insect, and either one mammal or one bird to add to the mural.
4. The students will review the K-W-L chart created at the beginning of the unit and complete the last section adding what they have learned to the chart.
5. Evaluation will be based upon the individual student reports, the accuracy of the animals depicted in the mural, and participation in class discussions.

Appendices:
Worksheet for Amazon Exhibition

Bibliography:
Books:
Baker, Jeannie. Where the Forest Meets the Sea. Greenwillow Books, 1987.
Cannon, Janell. Stellaluna. Harcourt, 1993.
Cherry, Lynne. The Great Kapok Tree. Harcourt, 1990.
Cobb, Vicki. This Place is Wet. Walker Publishing, 1988.
Dorros, Arthur. Rain Forest Secrets. Scholastic, 1990.
George, Jean Craighead. One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest. Silver Burdett, 1987.
Stone, Lynn M. Rain Forests. Rourke, 1989.
Taylor, Barbara. Rain Forest. Dorling Kindersley, 1992.

Periodicals:
International Wildlife.
Kids Discover.
National Geographic.
Ranger Rick
Zoogoer.

Other Media:
National Geographic. Totally Tropical Rain Forest. 1994. Videotape.
National Geographic. Rain Forest. 1993. Videodisk.
Nature Recordings. Jungle: The Rainy Season, Vol. V. 1987. Audio cassette.
Reading Rainbow. The Salamander Room. 1993. Videotape.
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