Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Seed Dispersal in Tropical Forests
How do seeds get around? It's not like plants can control seed dispersal—or can they? Dig deeper into the amazing mechanisms of seed dispersal observed in tropical plants through interactives, a video, and plenty of hands-on data...
Curated OER
Tropical Rainforests
Students create their own rainforest environment. This tropical rainforest lesson, introduces where rainforests are located, their real world connections, and their structural make up. It includes further resources online.
Curated OER
Edible and Medicinal Plants: Field Trip Guide
Though it's designed to guide a field trip to the New York Botanical Garden, you could take resource like this one to a local park, wilderness area, school garden, or even a weedy empty lot. Middle schoolers identify plant parts and...
Curated OER
The Tropical Rain Forest
Students use various web sites to access information about the rain forest. They use the Tropical Rainforest Interactive CD to make their own rain forest pictures and stories and learn facts about the rain forest. They use various books...
Curated OER
Tropical Forest Food Chain
Learners explore the interdependence of the animals and plants in tropical rainforests. They explore the importance of conserving biodiversity and tropical food chains. They create a tropical forest food chain and identify species that...
Curated OER
Teaching about the Rainforest - Classroom Ideas
Students are introduced to the tropical rainforest through different ways that catch their attention such as: Visit a local botanical garden or conservatory so that students can see the variety of tropical plants in the world. They...
Curated OER
Who Am I? Tropical Plants and Animals
In this science worksheet, students examine 16 detailed pictures of tropical plants and animals. Students identify each species. There is no room to write the name under the picture. It is assumed this is an oral activity, although...
Rainforest Alliance
Colombia Biodiversity
How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading about...
Curated OER
Rain Forest Terrariums
Fifth graders make rain forest terrariums in order to observe a simulated mini-environment. They place the layers and plants into container and place where it can be observed. They observe the closed water system in the container before...
Curated OER
Tropical Island
Students research information about a specific tropical island and locate it on a world map. They study details about coral reefs and other animal and plant life on the island and determine how ocean currents affect the island's climate.
Curated OER
A Hidden Beauty
Expose the beautiful mystery of bulbs as young botanists learn all about these fascinating plants. They glean information from a short text before observing actual bulbs (consider an onion), and comparing their findings with predictions....
Moorea Coral Reef Long-Term Ecological Research Program
Paper Plate Fishes
Tropical fish make great art projects! Use paper plates to design, color, and assemble round and oval-shaped fish based on photographs of actual fish found along the Moorea Coral Reef. Kids learn about different fins- including the...
California Academy of Science
Coincidental Colonization
The Galápagos Islands are an amazing place of isolated adaptation, colonized by an interesting mix of plants and animals. The class plays a game to help them understand how these organisms came to live on the island through a combination...
Curated OER
Plants and Ecosystems
The relationships within and between ecosystems can be explored. after examining an area for living and non-living things learners complete the same examination in the forest ecosystem. Students identify abiotic and biotic elements in an...
Curated OER
Why Does the Cocoa Tree Need a Tropical Rainforest to Grow?
Fourth graders explore the requirements a cocoa plant needs to survive. They research where chocolate comes from and how humans can affect the growth of cocoa trees. Students create a 3-D model of a cocoa tree and compare and contrast...
Curated OER
Saving Tropical Rainforests
In this rainforest learning exercise, students watch a video of Prince Charles wanting to save the tropical rainforest and then fill in the blanks to sentences about the video. Students complete 12 sentences.
Curated OER
Carnivorous Plants
Pupils examine how carnivorous plants get their nutrients from animals. In this food web lesson students examine how the plants attract their prey and are given many onilne sources to research.
Curated OER
Unique Plants of the Biomes
Young scholars examine how the earth is divided into different biomes that are characterized by a distinctive climate. In this earth's surface lesson students identify adaptations of plants in specific biomes.
Curated OER
Seedless Plants- Ferns- Enrichment Worksheet
In this seedless plants enrichment worksheet, student read about the history of ferns, their habitat, size, and structure. They draw a fern and label its parts including the fronds, pinnae, sorus, and rhizome.
Curated OER
Biodiversity
Students investigate the diversity of temperate forests and tropical rainforests. They catch and observe local insects, sort leaves and insects on a chart, listen to the book "A Walk in the Rainforest," and create a class bar graph that...
Curated OER
Using Venn Diagrams to Compare Two Ecosystems
Students explore the distribution of two ecosystems on a global scale; and map the distribution of tropical and temperate rain forests throughout the world. They use a Venn Diagram to describe these ecosystems and the differences between...
Curated OER
Rain Forest Adventures
Students identify and describe where tropical rain forests are located and examine the geographical correlation between rainfall and rain forest. They brainstorm what they think they know about tropical rain forests - where they're...
Curated OER
Food Webs
Students identify predator/prey relationships based on the food web of the tropical rain forest ecosystem and realize they need a food web for survival. In this food web lesson plan, students complete a role play activity being animals...