Rainforest Menagerie
Objective:
To classify various rainforest animals into their appropriate invertebrate and vertebrate groups. To understand the characteristics and features of each group and distinguish amongst them.
Materials:
Various pictures of rainforest animals from old magazines or photocopies.
Lesson:
Rested after the long flight, our scientists waste no time in exploring the rainforest. They have spent several days and nights examining and observing the many species of animals located throughout the forests layers. After taking hundreds of pictures and countless notes, they are all gathered back at their lab to study the pictures and research their data. For example, our scientists will put all vertebrates into their appropriate category: fish, reptile, amphibian, bird, or mammal. They will then analyze various survival techniques, unique adaptations, unusual body appendages, and symbiotic relationships in the rainforest. The majority of their work will be with the invertebrates, though. With millions of species of insects alone, our scientists will be very busy classifying these animals.
