On a typical school day during recess, children play enthusiastically for a few brief moments before returning inside for the rest of the afternoon. They fill the play area with high energy and excitement as they play soccer or play typical outdoor games. On our urban campus, where most students live nearby as well, there is sparse evidence and observation of the ecosystems around us. The rare sight of a squirrel running across the playground brings much excitement and sometimes even fear. The neighborhood that directly surrounds our campus also lacks the abundance of foliage and typical creatures often found in suburban areas. Sadly, the streets are often littered with trash and there is little to no evidence of recycling cans, plastic, glass, or paper. Oftentimes and unfortunately, it is easy for children to overlook the inherent connections they have to the environment both locally and globally. Early exposure and learning about environmental issues encourage children to become the much-needed ambassadors of our Earth’s ecosystems. Children are naturally caring and concerned about environmental issues whether they are occurring here locally in New Haven or across the globe. Children are highly motivated when the learning content is relevant to them and of high interest. As children learn more complex environmental lessons, they can draw from the deep connections that humans all have on impacting the viability of our planet. Rainforests are known as hotspots of biodiversity and play a crucial role in the health of our world globally and interpersonally. Rainforests have been destroyed and continue to be threatened by global human demand and activity resulting in deforestation and climate change. Students’ increased awareness and learning how they can have a positive impact on our environment here and faraway can help mitigate the loss of rainforests.
The goal for this unit is for students to develop statistical thinking by developing use of English oral discussion skills based on tropical rainforests and on data collected in those ecosystems. The students will gain information learned from their science-based research about the rainforest to increase content language. This interdisciplinary STEM unit is designed for sixth grade math students. However, the unit can be easily modified to meet the needs of grades three through eight students. Goals and objectives can be easily adjusted to meet grade level state standards and can also be easily modified for individual needs of students with Individual Education Plans. In this unit, students will learn about tropical rainforests through the integration of oral language, reading, math, science, and technology. This unit is also designed to encourage students to understand the impact they can have on the environment and how to live a life that is conscientious toward nature near and far.
I am a fifth and sixth grade math teacher at Family Academy of Multilingual Explorations in New Haven, Connecticut. My school is an English/Spanish dual language school. My students are predominantly Hispanic/Latino and range in English language proficiencies. The mission statement of my school is for students to develop bilingual brains through discovery. Most of my current students were part of our dual language model from kindergarten through fourth grade. After fourth grade, Spanish becomes a subject and all other content areas are taught in English from grades fifth through eighth grade. I have designed this unit to support my students to build and acquire oral language proficiency in English using content language in math and science as well as to build confidence when speaking in English. As a departmentalized grade five and grade six math teacher, I meet with my students for 45 minutes, 5 days a week. With that in mind, I anticipate that this unit will be completed in10-12 lessons.
