Concept Map: "The 5 Layers of the Rainforest"
The
5 Layers of the Rainforest
I. Forest
Floor
(Bottom layer)
Less than 1% of the light actually hits the forest
floor, making it extremely difficult for any kind of plant to grow. The
rainforest floor is very dark and empty with lots of worms, termites and fungi.
The termites are great food for the Giant Anteater.
A. Almost
no plants
B. Shady
C. Decomposers
live in soil
1. Worms,
termites, and fungi
D. Giant
Anteater
II. Shrub
Layer
(2nd layer)
The shrub layer is often included in the understory
layer, but it has distinct differences that separate it from the forest floor
and understory, such as a lack of trees and a presence of sun and plants.
A. Shrubs
and ferns
B. Very
little sun
III. Understory
(3rd layer)
Plants grow in the understory, but because there is
very little sunlight these plants have to grow large leaves to reach the
sunlight. Many insects live in the understory, and therefore many frogs do too.
A. Little
sun
B. Upper
canopy tree trunks, shrubs, and bushes
C. 60
ft trees
D. Red-eyed
tree frogs and jaguars
IV. Canopy
(4th layer)
This is the primary layer of the rainforest. It has the
most food and the most animals. The trees here have an abundance of smooth,
oval leaves. This is the layer that houses toucans, frogs, and snakes.
A. Snakes,
toucans, tree frogs
B. 60-130
ft trees
C. Wide,
oval leaves
1. Collect
rain and sunshine
2. Block
sunshine from lower layers
V. Emergent
Layer
(Top layer)
The tallest trees are in the emergent layer, some
reaching 200 feet high and 16 feet around. Most of the trees are hardwood
evergreens. There is a lot of sunlight here as well as many animals, like
monkeys, bats, and butterflies.
A. 100-240
ft trees
B. Small,
pointed leaves
C. 30
ft roots
D. Eagles,
monkeys, bats, butterflies
Common Core
Standard
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7
Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text
with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart,
diagram, model, graph, or table).
I like your organizational style for your concept map. It was visually appealing and made a lot of sense for your topic.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the 5 layers of the rainforest were good! You organized them well. Although the standards are broad, you improvised well and made it work!
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you used the concept map itself as a lesson to teach children about concept maps and diagrams. Your map also looked very neat and cool. Children would really like it.
ReplyDeleteI love visual examples as well! I especially like how you would ask the students to create their own concept maps on the lessons. The visual model where the students would draw their rainforest level and putting them together at the end would be a great visual!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the groups focusing on a specific level. The kids would love to get up and "teach" their classmates. The visual model sounds so cute!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you laid out your concept map and making the class create a concept map of their own or the separate groups. Both really great ideas. The concept map you have is very easy to read and nice to look at.
ReplyDeleteI like how you organized your links and coordinated the two pictures; one being for the trees and then the butterfly being for the animals of the rainforest.
ReplyDeleteYou looked very exciting presenting your project.
ReplyDeleteGreat organizational ideas for your plan, especially since the Rain Forrest has so many levels and subsystems. The visual model you suggested is actually something my teacher did for my class in middle school.
ReplyDeleteOlivia, I like your idea about teaching your students how to create their own concept map. This is a great way to break up information and organize their thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on researching the standard and applying it to your lesson. You mentioned several different ways to help students obtain the information. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you tied the lesson to the CCSS even though it was a bit difficult. One thing I think that might have made the concept map a little more helpful was if you had the layers divided into a hierarchy. Overall, your presentation was very good!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you split up the five levels. You had great ideas about splitting the class up and being interactive. I loved the visual model! Great idea! I am a visual learner and I think that is such a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteThe concept map looks good since you visually show the layers of the rainforest using your map structure. There may be too little information to teach one layer a day. It is good for them to get the chance to make their own rainforest layers. Planting trees would be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a great lesson to teach a middle school class. How can the class apply this knowledge to outside sources such as at home, or where those animals and/or plants can be found within their area?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I used to love learning about the rain forest in school.
ReplyDeleteGood job of explaining your CCR and how it's a little vague but can easily be worked into your lesson. Visual modeling would be good too and anything hands on with planting trees or going outside in the woods. Maybe have someone in Forestry come speak to them about something they can do to help with global warming.
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed your presentation and how you displayed the different layers of the rainforrest. I also like your idea for the activity and how interactive it was.
ReplyDeleteI thought Dr. Beedle's idea of actually planting plants or making their own model of the layers of the rain forest would be so much fun for kids! You could use a shoebox and do all of the layers with real dirt and plants
ReplyDelete