Tropical rain forests are essential to the health of the earth.
Tropical rain forests are huge contributors to the earth's water and carbon cycles. They are found between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and are the result of the distinctive climatic conditions there. The constant heat and humidity there allows trees and plants to grow year-round. More than two-thirds of all of the plant species in the world are found in tropical rain forests. Learning about these plants can be more engaging when tied to a game.
Puzzles
Make your own jigsaw puzzle with pictures of rain forest plants.
Glue colorful photos of rain forest plants to construction paper or card stock, writing the name of the plant on the back. Cut the pictures into jigsaw puzzle pieces. Or create picture-name puzzles by gluing the picture of a plant on one side of a piece of card stock and writing the name of the plant on the other side. Cut between the picture and the name with a curved or zigzag line. Create five to 10 of these and mix them up. Challenge students to put them back together to identify the plants.
Layers of the Rain Forest
Students can learn about rain forest layers by matching plants to their appropriate layer.
Once students have learned about the layers of the rain forest (floor, understory, canopy, emergent), play Layer Match. Begin by hanging two or three drawings of kapok trees onto a bulletin board to create an emergent and canopy layer. Hand out pictures of plants that belong in the various other layers of the forest. For instance, these could be lianas that grow in the canopy or banana plants or philodendrons that are found in the understory. Challenge students to place these on the bulletin board in the correct layer.
Card Games
Rain forest Go Fish is a fun way to learn about rain forest plants.
To get students familiar with the names of various rain forest plants, create playing cards that each have a picture of a plant with its name below it. Students can then play Go Fish or Concentration with the cards. To make a greater challenge, prepare a set of cards with the name of the plant on one side and the picture on the other. Lay the cards out for Concentration with half of the cards placed showing the name and the other half showing only the picture. Students must match the plant with the name.
Who Am I?
Many products, like chocolate, are made from rain forest plants.
Prepare a deck of cards, each one naming a plant from the rain forest along with its uses. Pass them out so that only the receiving student can see it. Then play Who Am I? The receiving student starts by giving the other players a clue. For example, "I am a plant that is used to make ice cream." The other students then ask yes-or-no questions about the plant, trying to identify it. Once the plant is identified, it is the next player's turn.
Tags: forest plants, rain forest, rain forest plants, name plant, rain forest, rain forests