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    Rainforests: An Activity Guide for Ages 6–9
    Rainforests: An Activity Guide for Ages 6–9
    Rainforests: An Activity Guide for Ages 6–9
    Ebook263 pages2 hours

    Rainforests: An Activity Guide for Ages 6–9

    By Nancy F. Castaldo

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    About this ebook

    North America boasts a surprising number of rainforests, including El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, Olympic National Forest in Washington State, Chugach and Tongass National Forests in Alaska, and the forests in Hawaii, which are home to an enormous variety of plants and animals. Rainforests: An Activity Guide takes kids through the common layers of the rainforest, from the forest floor to above the enclosed canopy. Their journey continues through the different types of rainforests as they are introduced to plants, animals, and people around the world, including those from the temperate rainforests of North America to the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. Rainforest-inspired activities include making a West African yam festival gourd rattle, building a model of an Alaskan totem pole, and creating a Japanese Wayang-kuilt, or shadow puppet. Kids are encouraged to make a difference and become active supporters of the rainforests no matter where they live.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChicago Review Press
    Release dateJun 1, 2003
    ISBN9781613742662
    Rainforests: An Activity Guide for Ages 6–9

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      Book preview

      Rainforests - Nancy F. Castaldo

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Castaldo, Nancy F. (Nancy Fusco), 1962-

      Rainforests : an activity guide for ages 6-9 / Nancy F. Castaldo.— 1st ed.

          p. cm.

      Summary: Provides facts and activities that explore tropical and temperate ancient forests, discusses how individuals can help preserve them, and describes well-known and unfamiliar creatures of the rainforest.

      Includes bibliographical references (p. 114).

      ISBN 1-55652-476-5

      1. Rain forests—Study and teaching—Activity programs—Juvenile literature. 2. Rain forest ecology—Study and teaching—Activity programs—Juvenile literature. [1. Rain forests. 2. Rain forest ecology. 3. Ecology.] I. Title.

      QH86 .C365 2003

      577.34—dc21

      2002152661

      Cover and interior design: Monica Baziuk

      Cover and interior illustration: B. Kulak

      © 2003 by Nancy F. Castaldo

      All rights reserved First edition

      Published by Chicago Review Press, Incorporated

      814 North Franklin Street

      Chicago, Illinois 60610

      ISBN 978-1-55652-476-9

      Printed in the United States of America

      5 4 3 2

      For those who dream of faraway forests and those who fight for their survival.

      CONTENTS

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      1. The Forest Floor

      Give Me the Dirt

      Make a Fern Print T-Shirt

      Cook Up Some Fiddleheads

      Spy on a Spider

      2. The Understory

      Houseplant Trading Cards

      Rainforest Bottle Terrarium

      Sizing Up Rainforest Snakes

      Draw the Wowla

      3. The Canopy

      Make Rainforest GORP

      Create a Pineapple Pond

      Draw Who Lives in the Pond

      Play the Orchid Game

      4. At the Top

      Compare Buildings and Buttresses

      Design a Bird Mask

      Build a Hummingbird Feeder Station

      5. Journey to Africa

      Record Your Findings in a Jungle Journal

      CookFufu

      Make a Yam Festival Gourd Rattle

      Mood Ring Challenge

      6. South American Jungles

      How Slow Is a Sloth?

      Plant a Butterfly Garden

      Make Mexican Hot Chocolate

      Rainforest Expedition

      7. South Asian and Malaysian Rainforests

      Pack for Borneo Game

      Communicate with Message Sticks

      Make a Wayang Klitik Puppet

      Construct a Jungle Book Theater

      To Camouflage or Not to Camouflage?

      8. Island Rainforests of the Pacific and Caribbean

      String an Aloha Maui Lei

      Play the Mongoose on the Loose Game

      Write a Coqui Sound Poem

      9. Temperate Rainforests of the Pacific Northwest

      Debate Whoooo Goes There?

      How Old Are Yew?

      Make Your Own Totem Pole

      Celebrate with a Potlatch

      10. Don’t Bungle the Jungle

      Help Save Tropical Hardwoods

      Slow Down Global Warming

      Wild Bird Trade: Here’s How You Can Help

      Help Save the Rainforest Tribes

      Rainforest Resources

      Favorite Books, Videos, and Web Sites

      Rainforest Organizations

      Places to Visit in the United States

      International Rainforest Experiences

      Rainforest Events Calendar

      Rainforest Challenges

      Index

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Many thanks to my dad for giving me the names of the trees, and to my mom for opening my mind to these marvelous forests. Thanks to Dolores Mannix for sharing her love and knowledge of the rainforests of South America, architect Geoff Miles for teaching me about the architecture of buttresses, and Kevin Russell, founder of the Rainforest Awareness Project, for his insights on the Borneo rainforests. Special thanks to Lisa Rosenthal and Cynthia Sherry for their enthusiasm and support. And always to Dean and Lucie for their constant love and encouragement.

      INTRODUCTION

      In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.

      —Aristotle

      The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote these words over 2,000 years ago. And although Aristotle may never have traveled to a rainforest, his words certainly resound in the minds of all who have experienced these truly marvelous places. Rainforests are the oldest kind of forest. They have been growing on our planet for millions of years. They are home to the largest concentration of animals, birds, and insects on earth. In fact, some rainforest creatures haven’t even been named yet! Rainforests give our world enormous amounts of oxygen and store two-thirds of its fresh water. They give us medicines, spices, fruits, nuts, and chocolate. What could be more marvelous?

      Most rainforests are near the equator. Those are called tropical rainforests. Others are farther away from the equator and are called temperate rainforests. These are found in places such as the Pacific Northwest of the United States and in parts of New Zealand. Both types of rainforests have a tremendous amount of rainfall each year and the same layers, including the forest floor, understory, canopy, and emergent. But they differ greatly in the variety of plants and animals they support.

      Rainforests is written for everyone who marvels at these rainforests, whether or not you have visited one. Alone or in groups, you will enjoy the activities that explore these tropical and temperate ancient forests. You will also discover how you can help preserve them. You’ll learn about creatures you may never have heard of and also about some familiar favorites. Facts will pop out in Rainforest Reflection sidebars, and ideas for more fun appear in Rainforest Challenges at the end of the book. Most of all, you will discover a new frontier that you’ll want to explore again and again. So turn the page and start getting wild about rainforests!

      1

      THE FOREST FLOOR

      Have you ever taken a hike in the woods? Think about what you see and hear there. The ground under your feet might be rocky or covered with leaves. Sunlight might be streaming down through the leaves of the trees to the ground at your feet. You may find deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the fall, and evergreen trees, which stay green all through the winter. You could wrap your arms around most of the tree trunks you see. It might be quiet on your hike or you might hear a bird or two. Now imagine you have traveled to a rainforest. The word rainforest was created in 1903 to describe forests that grow in constantly wet conditions. In rainforests the rainfall is more than 80 inches (2 m) a year.

      You would find many differences between a rainforest and other forests that grow in drier or more temperate conditions. Rainforests are made up of many more layers than the temperate forests that might be near your home. The first layer of the rainforest is called the forest floor, and it’s the first layer that we’ll explore. As you step into this layer, the first thing you might notice is the darkness. You will probably also find that it’s very humid. There are very few plants in this layer of the rainforest because only a small amount of sunlight is able to filter down through the upper layers. Soon, however, you will see that the forest floor is actually teeming with life. Let’s find out about the creatures and plants that call this dark and humid layer home.

      Decomposers

      Almost everything that dies in the rainforest ends up on the forest floor. The fallen leaves and dead animals that end up there become food for an abundance of insects, bacteria, and fungi that help to decompose, or break down, these things into soil. Together with the humidity of the forest they make the forest floor an efficient decomposing machine. In fact, an ordinary leaf that would take up to a year to decompose on the floor of a temperate forest near your home could completely decompose and disappear on the floor of a tropical rainforest within six weeks.

      Give Me the Dirt

      All that is decomposed gives life to other organisms. It becomes soil that provides nutrients for plant life. It becomes food for critters such as worms. How do you think the dirt in your neighborhood is made? It also comes from decomposing plant and animal matter. The decomposition just happens a lot slower than in the rainforest. You can see the process in action by creating your own container for compost or decomposing material.

      What You Need

      A grown-up to assist

      Garbage pail (either plastic or metal)

      Drill

      Soil or peat moss

      Grass clippings

      Shredded newspapers

      Water

      Shovel

      What You Do

      1. Ask a grown-up to drill many large holes all around the pail. This will allow air to get into the compost. The bacteria and fungi that will be working to break down the matter into soil need the oxygen from the air just as we do.

      2. Place a layer of soil or peat moss in the bottom of the pail. Sprinkle with water.

      3. Next, add a layer of grass clippings or shredded newspaper. Water. Repeat the layers until you have filled the container at least halfway.

      4. Stir the contents of the pail about every two weeks. Add enough water periodically so that the layers do not dry out. Keeping the layers moist will make the container like the forest floor. It will also keep the container from becoming too smelly. After about a month or two you will have some dark, rich soil to add to your garden.

      The Worms Go In and the Worms Go Out

      Worms, worms, worms. It seems like worms are everywhere, doesn’t it? They really are. Earthworms, the worms that we’re most familiar with, belong to a group of worms known as segmented worms. There are over 9,000 species of segmented worms in the world, and that is only a fraction of all the worms that are in the world. You probably see the most worms after a rain has drawn them out of the soil. They slither along on driveways and roadways, in puddles and on sidewalks. More worms are in the soil, out of view. There can actually be millions of worms living in your backyard.

      Many of the worms in the rainforest do the same thing that the earthworms do in your backyard. They ingest, or take in, dirt as they move through the soil and excrete, or eliminate, it after it’s finely ground in their gizzard and lime from their stomachs is added to it. If you want to find worms at work, use a stick to poke around moist areas of decaying leaves in the evening. You might catch a worm pulling the leaves into its burrow. The leaves, flowers, and other plant matter that it pulls into its burrow help enrich the soil as these items decay.

      Rainforest Reflection

      The tiny earthworms you find in your backyard are just a fraction of the size of some tropical earthworms, which may grow up to six feet (1.8 m) in length. Imagine an earthworm as tall as a man. Now that’s something to hook a fish with!

      Funky Fungi

      Have you ever eaten a mushroom? Mushrooms are a type of fungus. Fungi are the mega-decomposers of the forest floor. Many mushrooms in the rainforest grow on top of rotting leaves, but there are also other types of fungus that grow

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