Rainforests

Introduction This work is set in an overall theme for the term, South and Central America. This includes some of the history before Columbus, the Aztecs and the Incas for example, and then includes an outline of the discovery of the continent by the Spanish and the Portuguese - all with the help of guided books andinternet research. Some of the reasons and also some of the means of conquest were investigated. In addition, the class made a wall map including borders, rivers and habitat types to be found. In this way we began to study the rain forest.

Objectives with examples The science lessons had the following aims:
 * To identify some species found in rainforests in South and Central America, helped by reading some traditional tales from the amazon region, and by using [];
 * To understand a little of the ways species are adapted to such habitats, comparing them with animals we had studied while following the 'Hot and Cold' theme last term (which had covered ideas such as insulation, conduction, measuring);
 * To discern the layering found in rainforests and inhabited by different species, beginning to explain some reasons;
 * To understand the importance of rainforests for the planet, and to consider how they are used and abused by people we used several internet sites, some information texts and also this book by Bear Grylls which, although set in Indonesia, still describes both the rainforest and some of the pressures on it. 'Running Wild' could also have been used, although the themes in that book are quite old for Year Four.