Material for the lesson

 Tape

Layout of the classroom

Phase 1-2. The room setting is empty to move freely.

Phase 3. Students can use the whole classroom, the chairs and the desks for their group.

Phase 4. The room setting is empty to move freely.

Phase 1

The teacher and group stand in a circle. The teacher explains the game (Rock–paper–scissors). Each student plays freely with each other for a while.

Phase 2

The group comes to circle again. The teacher explains that they will play the same game again however there will be some rules.

–       The order is like that at the beginning everybody is a snake. Later a frog, later a monkey, later a bird.

–       If you win the rock-paper-scissors you go one animal further. If you lose you go down. The last one is always the snake.

–       Snakes can play again snakes. Different animals cannot play against each other.

–       If a student becomes a bird the game is finished for this person and waits until the rest of the class finishes it.

Before the game starts the teacher and the students come to agreement how they will recognize the snake, frog, monkey and bird. They decide together and during the whole game they repeat same movements and sounds for these animals.

Phase 3

The teacher uses masking tape; draw a large outline of a rainforest tree on the floor. It should take up as much space as you have. Be sure it has a clearly defined shape, with roots, a trunk, and a canopy shape. Also be sure there is at least a little floor space above it.

Later on the teacher makes lines that divide it into Forest Floor, Understory, Canopy and Emergent Layer.

Tips to the teacher: It can be useful to arrange the outline of the rainforest tree before the lecture.

The teacher divides the whole class into 4 groups and lets the students to discuss these 4 layers within their group. The teacher can provide a picture for the students to show these layers clearly.

The discussion ends with the question about which animals live in each level.

Phase 4

Each group comes in front of the drawn rainforest tree picture. Each student from the group gets up and announces the animal they have chosen to be.  Then, moving like that animal, they go and stand/sit/slither in the appropriate part of the tree diagram. The teacher helps them if it is necessary to choose the right level. Every group completes the activity.

Tips to the teacher: Phase 1 activity can be helpful to choose animals and pretending it.

Phase 5

The desks and the chairs will be organized back to the order they usually are.

Reflection will be on the today’s workshop especially on;

–       Is there these rainforest or rainforest trees in our countries?

–        Why animals are in the different layers?

–       Can we do something to preserve the rainforest and animals?