Ken Lowther/Cindy Honma

Tom McCall Upper Elementary School

Project for Fifth Grade Science Rainforest Habitat Unit

Suggestions:

1) Start training the students on movie-making from the very first week of school. This is a huge undertaking!

2) Be sure to watch each group rehearse so you can verify they are giving correct information and help them re-write as needed.

3) Schedule each group for at least two filming days and 3 editing days.

4) Try to find an empty room you can use for filming. Otherwise, filming must take place at lunch, or you must engage the rest of the class elsewhere while the students filming use the classroom.

5) Filming in hallways is very challenging!

Lesson Plan: Save Our Rainforest Home (movies)

Context: Students should have a solid background on the rainforest environment before this lesson begins. It will require that they understand the conditions under which rainforest inhabitants live, and threats to their current environment and continued existence. At least half the students will need to know how to surf the Internet or research in books to find the information they need.

Objective: By the end of this lesson, students will demonstrate their understanding of the rainforest habitat, and its inhabitants (including their lifestyle, characteristics and major threats to their way of life) through presenting their knowledge via a skit or short movie about a fictional encounter between the inhabitants and another party (friend or foe).

Benchmarks (Oregon Department of Education for Fifth Grade):

a. Science:

Life Science:

1. Describe relationship between characteristics of specific habitats and the organisms that live there.

2. Describe how adaptations help a species survive.

3. Describe changes to the environment that have caused the population of some species to change.

Earth and Space Science:

1. Recognize that the supply of many resources is limited, and that resources can be extended through recycling and decreased use.

b. Social Studies

Geography:

1. Understand how physical environments are affected by human activities.

2. Understand how human activities are affected by the physical environment.

c. Language Arts:

Reading

1. Listen to, read, and understand a wide variety of informational and narrative text, including classic and contemporary literature, poetry, magazines, newspapers, reference materials and online information.

2. Use features of informational texts, such as formats, graphics, diagrams, illustrations, charts, maps, and organizational devices to find information and support understanding.

Writing:

1. Write for different purposes and to a specific audience or person, adjusting tone and style as appropriate.

2. Write research reports about ideas, issues or events.

Speaking:

1. Develop a focus and point of view that are appropriate to audience and purpose.

2. Organize information to clarify and support spoken ideas with evidence and examples.

3. Engage the audience with appropriate verbal cues --- volume, pitch, phrasing, pace, and modulation; facial expressions, gestures; and eye contact

Listening:

1. Ask relevant questions that seek information not already discussed.

2. Make inferences or draw conclusions based on an oral report.

d. The Arts:

1. Use experiences, imagination, observations, essential elements and organizational principles to achieve a desired effect when creating, presenting and/or performing works of art.

e. Career-Related Learning Standards:

Communication:

1. Locate, process, and convey information using traditional and technological tools.

2. Listen attentively and summarize key elements of verbal and non-verbal communications.

Teamwork:

1. Demonstrate skills that improve team effectiveness (e.g., negotiation, compromise, consensus building, conflict management, shared decision-making and goal-setting.)

Preparation/Materials:

1. Have available: laptops, books for research

2. Checklist of information they must include

3. construction paper, make-up, glue, paint, scissors

Activities (Day 1):

1	Introduction/Set: Class, you’ve really learned a lot about the Rainforest already. I’m now going to give you a chance to consolidate all that great info into one fun project!
5	Sharing Objectives: In your teams, you’ll be preparing a script for a skit or movie about the Rainforest. This skit or movie must cover the information I have listed on the checklist I will pass out. For this assignment, each group must choose: Manager: This person makes sure everyone is doing their jobs. Scribe: It is the responsibility for your scribe to check off each thing as you cover that. Cameraperson: This person is the only person in your group allowed to use the camcorder. Film Editors: Please select one or two people who will do the editing of your movie. Sound Specialists: If you want music or sound effects, assign one or two people to do this. Your team must decide whether to perform your skit live to the class or create an iMovie to show the class. Either way, I can’t wait to see what you decide to do. Here’s what your skits need to be about: You and your team will be playing indigenous creatures, plants and/or humans living in the Rainforest. You are creating a movie or play for a special to be broadcast on PBS to educate the public on what destroying the Rainforest will do to your way of life. I encourage you to become river dolphins, piranhas, howler monkeys, bats, anacondas, jaguars, sloths, frogs, harpy eagles, Kapayo people or some indigenous group --- whatever you wish. You need to have a good mix of animals and people. If you want to make the movie for a big corporation who is trying to mow down the Rainforest, or politicians who are deciding whether or not to approve such action, great! You make up a great story to go with your skit. Your team will need to make costumes or use make-up to “become” that animal or indigenous person. Think about what you might say to someone who knows nothing about the Rainforest, and what it means to you. You’ll have today to plan and write your scripts, and start your costumes, props and if needed, scenery. Then you have one day to finish writing and preparing, one day to rehearse or film your skit, and one day to polish it or edit the film. On Day 5, we’ll all look at each other’s work and cheer each other on. Rules: 1.Please use the books and laptops as you did for the layer research. 2.Everyone needs to help write the script for your skit/movie. 3. Every person needs to perform in the skit or movie. 4. Do not forget to use the checklist I give you. Your team must submit this checklist to me along with your script when you perform. 5. You might want to divide up the work. Have 3 or 4 people making the scenery and/or costumes while the rest work on the script.
45	Students work on skits/movies.
5	Closure: You should have most of your skit sketched out so you can begin filming or rehearsing tomorrow. Please clean up your areas and stash your work in the designated area on the bookshelves. Tomorrow, please plan to finish up your prep work and start working on the performing.