As mentioned in the previous post, The U.S. embassy in Ecuador holds an English immersion camp for scholarship high school students. A group of fellow PCVs are charged with presenting backgroud information on the rainforest for the 2016 camp. Here is the lesson plan, which may give you ideas for your own camp.
Objective: SWBAT, using the information presented in the lesson, tell the class two impressions of the rainforest and write a message about their favorite aspects of the rainforest on a postcard to a friend.
Time: 1.5 hours
Materials: rainforest animal cutouts and labels; Rainforest Alliance slideshow (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/multimedia/brazil-kids ) “Visit to Boa Vista” (printed if there isn’t computer access) and teacher’s script (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/education/documents/brazil-script.pdf); masking tape; theme postcards; KWL sheet and suggested questions Download this resource.
Preparation
Hang “Visit to Boa Vista” images on the wall so that teacher and students can tour the room as the lesson proceeds. If a computer is available, you can show the slide presentation on the Rainforest Alliance website.
Presentation
Warm up: Students form groups of five. Each group receives an envelope containing three images of rainforest animals cut in pieces. The groups will put the images together and then find the correct name of their animals among the labels on the teacher’s desk.
Introduction: Elicit KWL questions and responses from students. Use the teacher’s guide (link above) to help students get started.
Next, the teacher guides the class on the tour of the Boa Vista rainforest and community. The script comprises facts about the Brazilian rainforest, its animals and plants, the people who live there, and the current threats to the environment. As you move through the slides, ask students for their impressions. Many of the students may have family or friends in the Ecuadorian Amazonian region or have visited it themselves. Ask student to share their experiences.
Production
When the tour is complete, ask students, working in groups of three, to choose three impressions or things they learned about the rainforest. Each group will present their choices orally to the class. The teacher can record these on the KWL chart for reference during later activities.
Finally, students select a rainforest postcard from the teacher that they would like to send to family or friends. They should write three sentences in English. I would suggest that students write their messages on scrap paper first so that the teacher can edit them before they transcribe the messages to the postcards.
Additional related activities: food/cooking lesson using rainforest products like cacao or an art session where students can draw their favorite rainforest animals.
