Education: Classroom Activity
Tree of Life
(Grades 3-6)
This activity was adapted from a Classroom Kit that San Diego area teachers may check out from the San Diego Zoo's Education Department.
• Objective:
Students will be able to identify two tropical
rain forest animals and two ways that rain
forests benefit wildlife.
• Summary: Through literature,
students will learn about plants and animals
of the tropical rain forest and the threats
to this habitat.
• Time: 45 minutes
• Subjects: Language arts,
science
• Grade level: 3-6
Materials needed
• The
Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
• Lined paper and pencil
for each student
Method
1. Read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
aloud to the class, omitting the last page.
2. Have students write "Decision Sheet"
at the top of their paper. Then have students
make two columns on their paper, with the left-hand
column labeled "Name of creature speaking,"
and the right-hand column labeled "Creature’s
message to the man."
3. Explain that you’re going to reread the
story as students write the names of the creatures
in the left-hand column on the Decision Sheet.
As in the first reading, omit the last page of
the story.
4. When you have read the book the second time,
have students complete the right-hand column of
the Decision Sheet. Encourage your students to
work with partners or in small groups, helping
each other recall the message each creature had
for the man.
5. Ask the class the following questions:
• What
plants and animals live in the tropical rain
forest?
• What are the names of some
of the animals you saw in the book?
• What are the names of some
of the plants you saw in the book? (The kapok
tree is the only plant named. See if the students
can identify any others.)
• How would you describe
the animals that depend on the plants?
• What is The Great Kapok
Tree really about?
6. Have each student write an ending for The Great Kapok Tree. When they are finished, read the author’s last page aloud. Encourage students to discuss how their endings compare to Lynne Cherry’s.
Teacher background
Tropical rain forests make up about six percent of the Earth’s total surface, yet their trees produce almost 25 percent of the oxygen we breathe. All tropical rain forests occur near the equator. Constant sunlight, abundant water, and a warm climate make tropical rain forests natural greenhouses that support thousands of plant and animal species. In fact, scientists believe that more than half the species on Earth live in tropical rain forests.
Tropical rain forests are vital to the health of our planet. They rid the atmosphere of carbon dioxide and replenish it with oxygen. Approximately one-fourth of the world’s medicines include ingredients that come from tropical rain forest plants.
Unfortunately, through logging, mining, settling, farming, and cattle-grazing, people have destroyed more than half the tropical forests that once thrived. Recycling aluminum and plastic helps, because both of these products contain elements that come from tropical rain forests. Reducing our demand for these products reduces stress on tropical rain forests. For more conservation ideas visit Helping Wildlife.
