From the Amazon, Congo, and Daintree Rainforests, to the canopy layers and biodiversity, get ready to learn about rainforests in this fun, hands-on unit study featuring an epic rainforest project!
Did you know rainforests cover around 6% of the Earth’s surface but are home to about half of the world’s wildlife? Or that there are more species of fish in the Amazon than in the entire Atlantic Ocean?
There is so much beautiful diversity in rainforests, making it a wonderful topic for kids of all ages to explore!
Below, you can see the 10 topics from our Exploring Rainforest Family Unit Study, including how we incorporate the learning into a diorama rainforest project.
What is a Family Unit Study?
But first… what exactly is a Family Unit Study?
This unit study, like all of our ever-growing library of unit studies, takes one big topic—Rainforests—and breaks it down into ten manageable, bite-sized learning topics. This format gives you the freedom to dive into learning at a pace that works for your family.
Perhaps you do one area per day, perhaps one per week. Whatever suits your fancy! You can learn and explore from start to finish in about one hour per bite-sized learning topic.
Each of the ten topics included with a unit study contains everything you need for that topic, including:
- a curated YouTube video,
- suggested information to read,
- a “what’s happening” section,
- an interesting fact,
- a discussion question,
- literacy and math extension questions,
- and an ultimate-can’t-be-beat hands-on activity!
Dive in and watch the sparks of wonder ignite. Watch the child-led learning take off. Watch what happens when children are engaged in what they are learning!
Get a FREE Family Unit Study Sample
Want to see what our unit studies are like? You can download a sample from the Stars and Constellations Family Unit Study right here:
Hands-On Learning with a Rainforest Project!
Here are some of the hands-on learning activities you and your little ones will enjoy as you learn about rainforests and build your diorama rainforest project with the Exploring Rainforests Family Unit Study:
Topic One: What is a Rainforest?
A rainforest is a unique ecosystem different from other forests because of the high amount of rainfall it gets each year. It must receive 60 inches of rainfall per year to be classified as a rainforest. A rainforest is a very tall and very dense jungle with a hot and humid climate.
Hands-On Activity: To start this unit study, we will begin by prepping our rainforest project. We will adding to this diorama throughout the unit study as we learn more about the three layers and the types of plants and animals that call each layer home.
Topic Two: Tropical vs. Temperate
There are two main classifications of rainforests: temperate rainforests and tropical rainforests. The main difference is where they are located in the world. Tropical rainforests are located very close to the equator, so they are hot. Temperate rainforests are located further north or south of the equator. Temperate rainforests have different types of trees, plants, and animals than tropical rainforests.
Hands-On Activity: Let’s compare the two main types of rainforests! In this hands-on activity, as we learn about rainforests, we will compare tropical and temperate rainforests using a Venn diagram.
Topic Three: Top Layer—Canopy
The canopy is the top layer of the rainforest. Sometimes, this layer is split into two, classifying the very top of this layer as the emergent layer. For this unit study, we will classify both together as the canopy layer.
Hands-On Activity: After learning all about the canopy, it’s time to add some details to the top box of your rainforest project! Be sure to add lots of leaves, fruit in the trees, and make some animals as well. Scarlet macaws, toucans, monkeys, and sloths all reside in the canopy layer.
Topic Four: Middle Layer—Understory
The understory layer of the rainforest is very dark and humid, as the canopy layer blocks out much of the sunlight. Trees and plants that live in the understory need big, broad leaves to catch the little bits of sun that make it through the canopy layer. They also tend to have very large and very fragrant flowers to attract pollinators.
Hands-On Activity: The understory is home to many different animals. Many animals that require camouflage for hunting, such as jaguars and snakes, like this layer’s low light. Amphibians love how humid this layer is, so it is speckled with brightly colored tree frogs as well. Gorillas also like to hang around in this layer! For this hands-on activity, we’ll add some details to the middle layer of your rainforest project.
Topic Five: Bottom Layer—Forest Floor
When we talk about the forest floor, we are referring to the actual dirt ground. This is why elephants and jaguars are classified as living in the understory layer–there are no flying elephants and jaguars in the rainforest! The forest floor is extremely dark, which makes it very hard for any plants to grow. Instead, the forest floor is covered in decomposing leaves and fungi.
Hands-On Activity: Termites and worms love the forest floor and play an important role in helping to break down all of the leaves and foliage. These nutrients then go straight to the trees that are all the way up in the canopy layer through their roots. Let’s complete the forest floor layer of your rainforest project!
Topic Six: Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants, animals, and any living things in one area. Rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, with millions of species calling rainforests home. Specifically, the rainforests in the Amazon are the most biodiverse areas in the world!
Hands-On Activity: For this activity, we will make a biodiverse rainforest pyramid by categorizing the producers, herbivores, and carnivores included with the printable. If one of these animals were to disappear from the rainforest, how might it affect other plants and animals in the pyramid?
Topic Seven: Amazon Rainforest
The biggest and most biodiverse rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest in South America. The Amazon river—the largest river system in the world—runs through this rainforest. There are so many unique animals that live in this rainforest!
Hands-On Activity: One of the amazing animals that lives in the Amazon rainforest is the jaguar. For this activity, we will make a poster all about jaguars—drawing a big picture of a jaguar and filling it with interesting facts.
Topic Eight: Indigenous People
The Amazon Rainforest is not only home to plants and animals—people live there too! Nowadays, most of these people live similarly to how you and I live. An indigenous group known as the Yanomamo has been in the Amazon for thousands and thousands of years.
Hands-On Activity: The Yanomamo group lives in villages throughout the Amazon rainforest. They live in a very interesting structure called a Shabono. For this activity, you will make a shabono using popsicle sticks.
Topic Nine: Congo Rainforest
The second largest rainforest in the world is the Congo Rainforest in Africa. It is a tropical rainforest similar in many ways to the Amazon rainforest. The Congo Rainforest is home to many unique animals.
Hands-On Activity: One endangered animal that lives in the Congo Rainforest is the African forest elephant. For this activity, we will make an elephant construction paper craft and learn about how elephants use their trunks.
Topic Ten: Daintree Rainforest
Australia is a very unique continent with some very unique animals! So it makes sense that the Daintree Rainforest in Australia is full of amazing plants and animals. This rainforest is also the oldest rainforest in the world!
Hands-On Activity: The Daintree Rainforest has a section classified as an Important Bird Area as it is home to many endangered and at-risk birds. One endangered bird that lives in this rainforest is the Cassowary. We’ll learn all about this special bird in this topic’s hands-on activity!
And there you have it, the 10 bite-sized learning topics that make up our great big Exploring Rainforests Unit Study! I hope you will pop on over to check it out and consider purchasing it for you and yours:
Exploring Rainforests Family Unit Study
https://shop.tstest18.techsurgeons.com/products/family-unit-study-rainforest
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Thank you so much for reading!
xo
Sarah
