Student Sample Post

RED TEAM: Emma, Ava, Nicholas, Aiden, Michael 

RAINFORESTS

1. Important features we found were that they are very dense, warm, and wet forests. The plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen.  These plants are also very important to people in other ways; many are used in new drugs that fight disease and illness."

2. Plant that live in the rainforest include:, Bengal Bamboo, Bougainvillea, Curare, Coconut Tree, Durian, Jambu, Kapok Tree, Mangrove Forests, Strangler Figs, and Toiling

3. Animals that live in the rainforest include: butterflies, jaguars, ocelots, lizards, iguanas, hummingbirds, frogs, gorillas, hippopotamus, monkeys, tigers, tree kangaroos, and more!

4. An example of how plants survive in the rainforest is the Lianas."Lianas are climbing woody vines that drape rainforest trees. They have adapted to life in the rainforest by having their roots in the ground and climbing high into the tree canopy to reach available sunlight.  Many lianas start life in the rainforest canopy and send roots down to the ground."

Another example is bark. "In drier, temperate deciduous forests a thick bark helps to limit moisture evaporation from the tree's trunk. Since this is not a concern in the high humidity of tropical rainforests, most trees have a thin, smooth bark. The smoothness of the bark may also make it difficult for other plants to grow on their surface."

5. We learned that animals survive in the rainforest "because there are so many animals competing for food, many animals have adapted by learning to eat a particular food eaten by no other animal."  An example of an animal surviving in the rainforest is the sloth. "The sloth uses camouflage to survive in the rainforest. It moves very, very slowly and spends most of its time hanging upside down from trees. Blue-green algae grows on its fur giving the sloth a greenish color and making it more difficult for predators to spot."

FUN FACT: The map below shows the location of the world's tropical rainforests.  Rainforests cover only a small part of the earth's surface - about 6%, yet they are home to over half the species of plants and animals in the world. 

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/rainforest/animals/Rfbiomeanimals.shtml
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/rnfrst_plant_page.htm
http://www.srl.caltech.edu/personnel/krubal/rainforest/Edit560s6/www/where.html
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/rforestA.html
http://www.mbgnet.net/sets/rforest/index.htm

Instructions

Good Afternoon, class! Today your assignment is to work with your assigned teams to explain why different habitats host different animals and plants.

TEAMS:

BLUE TEAM: Desert Habitat

GREEN TEAM: Arctic Habitat

RED TEAM: Rainforest Habitat

YELLOW TEAM: Saltwater Habitat

Instructions:
1. You will be assigned into teams of 5 students
2. You will research and analyze new information about your assigned habitat, using the internet.
3. Your team will be required to find the following information:
-Important features of your assigned habitat
-Plants that live in your assigned habitat
-Animals that live in your assigned habitat
-How plants survive in your assigned habitat
-How animals survive in your assigned habitat
4. After you have found all the information to answer the questions listed above, you will post your findings on our class blog.
5. You should include any pictures, videos, diagrams, etc that you find that are related to your topic.
6. Also, be sure to post the links to the websites where you find your information.
7. WORK TOGETHER AS A TEAM!!!! 
8. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Click the green link next to your team name below. These will help you get started learning about your habitat:
BLUE TEAM: DESERT
GREEN TEAM: ARCTIC
RED TEAM: RAINFOREST
YELLOW TEAM: SALT WATER

2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Emphasis is on the diversity of living things in each of a variety of different habitats.