Need ideas for elementary school activities

[daemom]

Specfically something to do with rainforest activities. I need this for a family event at our school and need a couple of things for K-2 and a couple of things for 3-5. The only thing I've come up with is to let the kids make rainsticks with paper towel tubes. Any other ideas?

 

[JoyG]

Read The Great Kapok tree by Lynne Cherry. That's a great book about the rainforest. Goggle that book and you'll probably find a million activities.

 

[TinkNH]

http://www.abcteach.com/directory/theme_units/habitats/rain_forest/
http://www.theteacherscorner.net/thematicunits/rainforest.htm
http://hometown.aol.com/mellettk/Webpage/Thematic-Units-Lessons.html

Those links go to some theme units on rainforests, and a site with links to such...hope that helps sopme. I know I did rainforests when i was teaching but the brain is rusty and I cannot remember any specific activity

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Putting on my Girl Scout hat... I was also just at the Rainforest Cafe today...trying to remember ideas...

Make a map, flag, song, of your Rainforest area. It is nice to make things but also fun to find out where the Rainforests are in the world.

Give "rainforest names" to the grades like a place, animal, insect.

Kids love trees, animals & insects of the rainforest. How about a game associated with a Rainforest species? Panda's, frogs, etc...
Or an learning activity of sound or something?

Perhaps connecting an animal/insect with a sound or place?
How about touch?

Memory tests? Which animal goes in which Rainforest?

Anyway...have fun! That is just off the top of head.

 

[Cindy B]

My childs did a rainforest unit in the first grade. The teacher got rain sounding cassette tapes/CDs, and had the child listen with headphones. The students then identified the sounds that they could hear.

This cassette/CD had nature sounds and animal sounds in it.. similiar to the nature CDs you can buy at Target and such.

The student got to a quiet corner of the classroom and put on the headphones. There was a worksheet of what the student heard so they were listening and writing at the same time. I can't exactly remember what hte worksheet had but my daughter loved the assignment.

 

[daemom]

Thank you all so much for these wonderful ideas! I'm printing these out and checking out these sites too! Thanks again--I really appreciate it!

 

[AprilShowers]

At camp one year we made our own thunderstorm in the gym. It was really cool.

Let me see if I can remember this. It was with sounds only. Obviously no rain, but it was fun!
They divided the kids up into groups and we were sitting in bleachers. The first group started rubbing their hands together, it made a neat kind of "windy" (I think if my memory serves me) sound.
Then the second group started snapping their fingers to simulate raindrops hitting the ground sounded real cool.
The third group started slapping flat hands on thigs (raining harder now)

The whole time the other two groups are still making their noises!

Next comes the thunder! Fourth group stomps their feet on the bleachers. Now we're having fun!

Now you have a full blown rainstorm!

Then you start to back them off in the opposite direction as if the storm is leaving the area. The thunder stops gradually, then the hands on thighs stop and all you have are finger clicks and rubbing hands, now stop the finger clicks and last but not least rubbing hands are left then all is quiet in the gym.

Clear as mud?
It really was cool!