Rain Forest Products Learning About Products That Come from the Rain Forest
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Rain Forest Products Learning about products that come from the rain forest Grades 3-6 Objectives Students will identify products made from resources found in a tropical rain forest. MATERIALS Students will be able to discuss the impact of rainforest deforestation on their lives. rain forest products brought in by students Background information More than half (some say up to 90%) of all plant and animal species on Earth are found in Key Words rain forests. tropical rain forest One-fourth of all medicine in use today is derived from plants. 70% of the plants containing compounds useful in cancer treatment are found only in rainforests, yet Standards less than 1% of tropical rainforest plants have been thoroughly studied for their chemical compounds. SCI.4.2.4 Each year, an area the size of New York (over 30,000 square miles) of tropical rain forest is SCI.4.2.5 destroyed. At the present rate of destruction (about one acre per second), the remaining rain forest SCI.4.2.6 could be depleted in this century. SCI.6.3.2 Procedure Give each student a copy of the list entitled “Rain Forest Products.” Ask students to look for and bring in empty jars/boxes from home that contained these products or to clip pictures of these products from magazines. Assemble the pictures on a bulletin board or make a display of the items collected. Discuss the importance of the rain forest products. How would our lives be different if the rain forests had been destroyed before these products had been discovered? What could we be losing now that the rain forests are disappearing at the rate of 60 acres per minute? Recommended Assessment Assess students based on participation in discussion and contribution to display. Extensions Students could also use the sheet as a survey to check off how many of these items are found in their home. The results of the survey could be tallied and posted in the classroom. Decorate your classroom to look like a rain forest. Cut out tree trunks and large leaves and post them on the wall. Hang “vines” of twisted brown paper from the ceiling. Create “epiphytes” from construction paper. Rain forest products Products originating in or currently found growing in tropical rain forests Houseplants Woods Spices and Flavors African violet (furniture, doors, floors, paneling, Allspice Begonia cabinets, carvings, toys, models) Black pepper Bromeliads Balsa Cardamom Christmas cactus Mahogany Cayenne Croton Rosewood Chili pepper Dracena Sandalwood Chocolate or cocoa Fiddle leaf fig Teak Cinnamon Orchids Cloves Philodendron Canes and Fibers Ginger Prayer plant Bamboo (furniture, crafts) Mace Rubber plant Jute (rope, twine, burlap) Nutmeg Snake plant (Sansevieria) Kapok (insulation, stuffing) Paprika Umbrella tree (Schefflera) Ramie (knit materials) Turmeric Rattan (furniture, wicker, cane Vanilla chair seats) Gums and resins Chicle (chewing gum) Fruits and Vegetables Other food products Copal (varnish, printing ink) Avocado Brazil nuts Rubber (balloons, erasers, foam Banana Cashew nuts rubber, balls, rubber bands, gloves, Grapefruit Coconut hoses, shoes, tires) Guava Coffee Heart of palm Cola Lemon Corn Oils Lime Macadamia nuts Bay (bay rum lotion) Mango Peanuts Camphor (insect repellent, lotion) Orange Rice Coconut (baked goods, lotion, soap) Papaya Sesame seeds Lime (food flavoring, candles, soap, Passion fruit Sugar bath oil) Pepper Tapioca Palm (snack food, baked goods) Pineapple Tea Patchouli (perfume, soap) Plantain Rosewood (soap, candles, perfume) Potato Sweet potato Tangerine Tomato Yam .