The Rainforest

What is an ecosystem?
Multi-day Lesson
 Day One
What is an Ecosystem and where are they?
 Ecosystems are dynamic interactions between plants, animals,
and microorganisms and their environment working together as a
functional unit.  Ecosystems will fail if they do not remain in
balance.  No community can handle more organisms than its
water, food and shelter can accommodate.  Regions are often
balanced by natural phenomena such as fire, disease, and the
number of predators.  Each organism has its own niche, or role, to
play. 
    Ecosystems vary in size. They can be as small as a puddle or as
large as the Earth itself. Any group of living and nonliving things
interacting with each other can be considered as an ecosystem.

 Ecosystems that are large like the Rainforest are found in different
parts of the world
 Rainforest Locations
 The tropical rainforest only covers a very small part of the earth,
and that area is getting smaller every day.
The green below represents the rainforest that is left.
 What are the living and
nonliving components of the
rainforest
 The scientific definition of living (anything that is
or has ever been alive) and nonliving (anything
that is not now nor has ever been alive). For
example a tree is living and a tractor is non
living.
 Lets think of some different examples of living
and non living things.
 Rainforest
Know Want to know Learned
 Day Two
Rainforest Facts
 An area of a rainforest the size of a
football field is being destroyed each
second. Giant bamboo plants can
grow up to 9 inches a day. The trees
of a tropical rainforest are so
densely packed that rain falling on
the canopy can take as long as 10
minutes to reach the ground. In the
moist rainforests of South America,
sloths move so slowly that algae are
able to grow in their fur.
 Facts continued
 Some rainforest monkeys are omnivores, eating both
animals and plants. More than 2,000 different species
of butterflies are found in the rainforests of South
America. The forests of Central Africa are home to
more than 8,000 different species of plants. Flying
animals of Asian rainforests include frogs, squirrels
and snakes. 80% of the flowers in the Australian
rainforests are not found anywhere else in the world.
Bats are essential for the pollination of many tropical
foodstuffs such as bananas and mangoes. 1 out of 4
ingredients in our medicine is from
 Day Three
Great websites about the Rainforest that will
allow you to find and research an animal or
plant of your choice.
 http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/
 http://kids.ran.org/kidscorner/
 http://www.rainforestweb.org/
 http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/projects/fourth/rainforests/main.html

  
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/animals/Rfbiomeanimals
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/animals/Rfbiomeanimal
 http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rainforest.htm
 Day Four
Review of California State Standards-Fourth Grade Science

 Let’s have a group discussion on the following:

1. Living organisms depend on one another and on their environment for survival
2. Ecosystems can be characterized by their living and nonliving components
3. Some kinds of plants and animals survive well, less well, and not at all in a particular environment
 Give an example and its relationship of how a plant or animal depends on another and its environment (rainforest) for survival
 Day Four
Review of California State Standards-Fourth Grade Science

 What are some characteristics of living and nonliving components

in a rainforest?
 List a few animals and plants that
a. survive well in the rainforest
b. somewhat survive in the rainforest
c. cannot survive at all in the rainforest
 Day Four
Review of California State Standards-Fourth Grade Science

 Work on your FINAL PROJECT

a. choose an animal or plant that lives in the rainforest
b. use the Internet to research your animal or plant
c. include graphs, photos, diagrams, tables, charts, etc.
d. report is 2 pages
 Day Five
Presentation of FINAL PROJECTS

 Each student will present their final project

 Something to think about:

Will your plant or animal survive in other ecosystems such as
grasslands, tundra, or ocean? Why or why not?

 Entire class will work together to display student presentations on

wall decorating with and using rainforest pictures

GREAT JOB!