Lesson Plan: Magpies Monday

Alaskan Rainforest?!
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Understand that Alaska has a temperate rainforest.
Understand the factors that make up the temperate rainforest.
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
Be able to identify some of the factors that distinguish the temperate rainforest.
Be able to compare tropical rainforest trees and temperate rainforest trees.

Materials Needed
Poster board with table for tropical and temperate rainforests, yarn and/or rope (~210 feet for
tropical tree and ~308 feet for temperate tree), measuring tape, bean bags or cones.

9:30-9:50 Morning Game

9:50-10:45 Tropical or Temperate?

Begin by asking the students what they think of when they hear the word rainforest.
Write down their answers and ask them what they think the difference would be between
an Alaskan or temperate rainforest and a tropical rainforest.
Bring out the poster board with the table on it separating the tropical rainforest and the
temperate rainforest. The students will have to separate different pictures that are
associated with either the tropical rainforest or the temperate rainforest (i.e. plants,
weather, temperature, etc.).
Once all the pictures have been sorted the students will then all go outside where we will
compare tropical versus temperate trees.
Have the students run what they believe are the length of the tallest tropical trees in the
rainforest and place some sort of marker where they are standing.
Then have them take another rope or length of yarn and make it into a circle to guess how
wide they believe the base of the trunk would be.
Next roll out the yarn or rope (the length should be measured/approximated prior to the
activity) and have them run it out the correct length (up to 200 ft. for the tropical Kapok
tree).
Have them all compare their guesses with the actual length to see how close or far they
were.
Bring out some more yarn to create the proper diameter (should be ~9 to 10 feet) and
have them compare their guess with the actual answer.
 Leave everything as is and do the same thing for the Alaska state tree Sitka Spruce (if not
enough rope or yarn is available then simply mark out the proper length of the tropical
tree and use the same rope for the temperate rainforest tree).
Have them guess the length (height) of the tree and leave a marker and guess the diameter
of its base.
Next have them roll out the yarn or rope to the proper length (should be
measured/approximated ahead of time) and have them compare their guesses with the
actual size as well as compare the tropical Kapok tree with the Sitka Spruce (up to 300
feet tall and 8 feet in diameter).

10:45-11:00 Weather

11:00-11:30 Snack, Free Library Time, and Daily Routine

11:45-12:25 Tree Hike

Students will go on a hike through a trail in the woods and guess the heights of the boreal
forest trees we see.
Bring a tape measure in order to measure the height of some trees (including those that
have fallen) and how big around some of these trees are in order to compare it to the
temperate and tropical rainforest.

12:25-12:30 Clean Up, Gear Up and Get Picked Up!

Academic Standards: SA1.1, SA.1.2, SC1.2, SC2.1

Benchmarks: I.A.2.c&d., III.B.1.c