The Products of the Rainforest
Description:
This lesson introduces the many plants of the rainforest. It explores the human uses of the rainforest resources for food, medicine and products.
Goals & Objectives:
The student will explain how rainforest products affect our daily lives.
Materials & Sources:
1)Have these products available:
* household items (i.e., rubber items like balloons, erasers, gloves)
*spices (i.e., allspice, black pepper, ginger)
*fruits and vegetables (i.e., banana, mango, grapefruit
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2)Handout with a list of products Websites: http://www.pbs.org/tal/costa_rica/variety.html http://www.mobot.org/education/05actforkidsnfamilies/onlineactivites/tropicalfeast/tropfeast.html http://www.rainforestalliance.org/resources/daily
Procedures:
Motivation: Ask students to consider the following: If students do not live in the tropics, what does the rainforest have to do with them? If they live in a house or apartment, wash their hair, eat fruits and vegetables, need medicines, chew gun or wear sneakers, chances are they use products that originated in the tropical rainforest.The teacher will explain the variety of products, which include: foods, woods, rubber, important drugs and medicines.
Presentation: The teacher will show actual products of the rainforest and pictures of plants where the product originated. The teacher will explain that tropical plants have been used to treat many illnesses of the world's population. Tropical plants also give us products such as surgical gloves, balloons, band-aids, sporting goods, sneakers and chewing gum. Food such as, bananas, rice, avocadoes, lemons, limes, oranges, cashews, and tea are products from the rainforest. In addition, spices such as, black pepper, chili, cinnamon, ginger and vanilla originated in the rainforest.
Practice: Give each child a copy of a worksheet which lists rainforest products. Have the child write a short description of how he or his family uses each rainforest product. Student will choose five products which are the most important to him or her. Student should work with partners to compare and contrast their choices. Have students research web sites to answer the following questions and record their answers on the worksheet:
1) What part of the plant do your products come from?
2) Do/did the native people use your products/How?
3) How/when was your product discovered?
4) Do your products grow anywhere else now?
5) Are their any substitutes for the products?
Assessment:
Ask each student to choose an item from the list and promote it as product of the rainforest. The student is to name the item, describe it, draw it, and describe why a consumer would want to use it. Students will make an oral presentation of their "ads".
Sources:
