This article presents results from a study of 36 pupils (8-10 years of age) in face-to-face conversations with their teachers about water as an environmental phenomenon based on a photograph of a rainforest. The teachers' rather vague goal was to have the pupils talk about the water cycle. The sessions were audio-recorded and analyzed with respect…

Rainforest reptiles and amphibians are a vibrantly colored, multimedia art experience. To complete the entire project one may need to dedicate many class periods to production, yet in each aspect of the project a new and important skill, concept, or element is being taught or reinforced. This project incorporates the study of warm and cool color…

As part of a Teachers' International Professional Development (TIPD) group, ten primary science teachers, including Advanced Skills Teachers (ASTs), local authority consultants and science coordinators, representing seven schools in Islington, London, were invited to visit the island of Dominica in the Caribbean. The aim of the trip was to: (1)…

In this work, we describe youth outreach activities carried out under the Chair for Women in Science and Engineering for Ontario (CWSE-ON) program. Specifically, we outline our design and implementation of robotics workshops to introduce and engage middle and secondary school students in engineering and computer science. Toward the goal of…

Presented is a summary of scientific knowledge about the rainforest environment, a tropical ecosystem in danger of extermination. Topics include the current state of tropical rainforests, the causes of rainforest destruction, and alternatives of rainforest destruction. (BT)

In this paper I discuss how taking a particular literary theory--the implied reader--serves to offer a focus for the teacher's initial reading of a text and provides a formative assessment tool. Iser's Implied Reader theory is discussed, after which a picture book, "Where the Forest Meets the Sea" by Jeannie Baker, is analysed from this…

With a market of nearly $5 billion a year, the banana is the world's most popular fruit, and the most important food crop after rice, wheat, and maize. Banana businesses are economic pillars in many tropical countries, providing millions of jobs for rural residents. But, for much of its history, the banana industry was notorious for destructive…

This article describes how Helmdon Primary School is transformed in a memorable learning experience. It started out as a simple idea, a whole-school art exhibition centred on the theme of a tropical rainforest. The focal point was to be a life-sized rainforest created using a variety of media in the school hall. The school wanted the children to…

Two activities for grades 3 through 8 explore species adaptation and forestry issues in the North American rainforests. In one activity, students create imaginary species of plants or animals that are adapted for life in an ancient temperate rainforest. In the second activity, students role play groups affected by plans to log an area of the…

Describes a program for teaching about tropical rainforests in a concrete way using what's outside the door. This activity uses an eastern deciduous hardwood forest as an example. Step-by-step instructions include introductory activities, plus descriptions of stations in the forest to be visited. Resources include books, audio-visual materials,…

During the summer of 1993, some 10,000 people, young and old, joined logging road blockades to protest the clear-cutting of old-growth temperate rainforest in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the summer, more than 900 protestors had been arrested for acts of civil disobedience in refusing to leave the road. In subsequent…

In this unit, designed for use with grades three through eight, students explore the biology and peoples of Latin American rainforests and the problems caused by the interactions of people with this environment. The featured activities integrate art, science, language, and social studies. Fourteen lessons, arranged in sequential order, comprise…

The MLE Learning Center, a publicly funded day care center and after-school program in Brooklyn, New York, helps children develop awareness of a global community by using local resources to teach the children about the rainforest. (LB)

This discussion focuses on potential solutions to the degradation of rainforests in Southeast Asia caused by indiscriminate logging, inappropriate road-construction techniques, forest fires, and the encroachment upon watersheds by both agricultural concerns and peasant farmers. Vignettes illustrate the impact of this degradation upon the animals,…

This digest provides four guideposts for tropical rainforest education: (1) structure; (2) location and climate; (3) importance; and (4) conservation of resources. Research is cited and background information provided about the layers of life and the adaptations of life within the tropical rain forest. Aspects of life within and near rain forests…