Building a Rainforest: Project Approach

I student taught in an inclusive program that bases their instruction methods on the Reggio-Emelia philosophy. To know more about project-based learning, check out my prezi! This is an example of how I implement project-based learning in the classroom:

The students were interested in learning about the rainforest, so we decided to make it into a project. I started by leading the class through creating a web of their initial knowledge. (In the picture, you will see multiple colors of writing on the web. each color represents a different date that the information was added. This allows students to visually see their learning).

 

Then, we began researching the various aspects of a rainforest. Books from the local library informed the students about the native species of animals, conservation efforts, the culture of the people who live there, the layers of the rainforest, and how some of the foodstuffs that we buy at the local grocery are grown in the rainforest. Only a few of the students expressed that they had tried rainforest food, so we taste tested Jungle Fruits and graphed which was the favorite. This let us experience part of the rainforest first hand while working on our early math skills. We also created a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the rainforest with the students' home town, measured student heights compared to a gorilla, and explored the musical instruments of rainforest natives.

 

A couple of students were very interested in how tall the trees were; their inquiry led them to discover that the rainforest is tall enough to have layers. They took their findings and spent a week collaborating on a  Model of the Layers to show their classmates what they had learned. They again relied heavily on the non-fiction literature available in the classroom. 

 

In order to bring their knowledge of the rainforest to life, the students began to construct a model rainforest in the Dramatic Play Center complete with a waterfall, vines, and native fauna. To get a better understanding of the animals, we observed them in their natural habitat via videos on the Smartboard. This led to more questions, like "What do boa constrictors eat?" and "Is an Okapi a type of zebra?" They also got to see some of the exciting fauna of the rainforest. Particularly, several students became very interested in the very large (and very stinky) Rafflesia, so they created and added the flower to the rainforest.