YOU CAN SAVE THE RAINFORESTS

A WebQuest for 6th Grade Social Studies

Introduction

"Why are the rainforests gone?" Will you someday have to answer that question? You might, unless something is done soon. Do you know that if the present rate of rainforest destruction continues, the rainforests will have nearly disappeared by the time you are 30? Even though every second an area of rainforest the size of a football field is being destroyed, you have the power to do something about it.

Task

The sixth grade social studies classes have decided to help save the rainforests as their service project this year. There are many worthwhile organizations supporting the rainforests and they all want your help. Since it is impossible to support them all, your team will have to evaluate one and decide whether it is worthwhile. Your team will have to determine if it offers some solutions that a sixth grader can help implement. Your team will then make a presentation on your findings at an assembly. After all the presentations are made, the students will vote to support one of them.

Process

1. You will be divided into groups of 4. Each group will be assigned to investigate one of the following organizations:

Songbird Foundation http://www.songbird.org/resources/resources_index.htm
Save Tahuamanu? Rainforest http://www.savebiogems.org/tahuamanu/
Jatun Sacha Foundation http://www.jatunsacha.org/english/index.html
Rainforest Action Network http://ran.org/
Rainforest Alliance http://rainforest-alliance.org/
Tropical Conservancy http://www.tc-biodiversity.org/information.htm
Rainforest Preservation Foundation http://www.saverainforest.net/

2. We will work as a class to come up with questions to be used to analyze your organization.

a. Read the following so that you can begin your task with an understanding of some of the threats that rainforests are faced with:

Young Environmentalist's Actions for Kids http://www.globalresponse.org/yea/current.html

The Consequences of Tropical Rainforest Destruction http://ds.dial.pipex.com/ctf/facts/conseq.htm

b. With this background in mind, what are some of the questions you would want to know about an organization in order to make a decision about supporting them? Write down at least three important questions that you think would be good to use in considering whether to support an organization that is trying to save the rainforest. Use this worksheet to jot down your thoughts.
c. Get together with your group and share your questions. Then come to a group consensus on the group's best four.
d. Bring these to our class discussion. We will decide as a class on the questions that will be used to create a note taking sheet to help guide each group's research.

3. Once we have made up our list of questions, each of you should look at your website quietly and fill out your note sheet. Write down what you like and don't like about it. Make notes that are sufficiently detailed that you can explain your position when you get together with the others in your group.

4. Now work with you group. Share your opinions about the organization based on your research. Your task is to arrive at a consensus as to how to present your organization as objectively as possible. What do you think your classmates need to know about this organization to decide if they should support it? Be sure to inform them of both strengths and weaknesses that you have identified. Remember, your classmates will know only what you tell them about this organization.

5. Your group should prepare a presentation for the entire 6th grade class. This may be a Power Point, a Panel Discussion, a Video, Skit or other. Remember you are informing your classmates of the worth of the organization you are representing. They will be voting based on the information you present. Use this organizer to get started. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it. If you don't have that on your computer, you can get it here.

6. It's decision time. You will be given a rubric to help you decide which organization you want us to support. Take notes as you listen to each presentation. Good decisions are informed decisions!

Evaluation

You will be evaluated both as an individual and as a team member, therefore, you will receive two grades.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Team Presentation: Visual	Students use unrelated visual aids or no visual aids.	Students occasionally use visual aids that rarely support the presentation.	Students visual aids relate to the presentation.	Students visual aids explain and reinforce the presentation.
Team Ways to Save the Rainforests	Does not include a way OR, does not explain way(s) to save the rainforests	Includes and explains 1 way to save the rainforests.	Includes and explains 2 ways to save the rainforests.	Includes and explains 3 or more ways to save the rainforests.
Team Gives Reasons in Support of the Choice	Does not give convincing reasons in support of the choice.	Gives 1 or 2 reasons which don't support the choice well, and/or irrelevant or confusing reasons.	Gives reasons in support of the choice, but overlooks important reasons.	Gives clear and accurate reasons in support of the choice.
Individual Research & Gather Information	Does not collect any information that relates to the topic.	Collects very little information--some relates to the topic.	Collects some basic information--most relates to the topic.	Collects a great deal of information--all relates to the topic.
Individual Share Equally	Always relies on others to do the work.	Rarely does the assigned work--often needs reminding.	Usually does the assigned work--rarely needs reminding.	Always does the assigned work without having to be reminded.
Individual Presentation Oral:	Student makes no eye contact and only reads from notes.	Student occasionally uses eye contact, but still reads mostly from notes.	Student maintains eye contact most of the time but frequently returns to notes.	Student maintains eye contact with audience, seldom returning to notes.

Conclusion

In the web of life, we are all connected. For lack of a cooperative effort, with many factions considering only their needs, we are jeopardizing the world's greatest storehouse of biological resources and one of the planet's critical climate control systems. It is only through development of a thoughtful, coordinated policy of management that the fate of the rainforest will be a positive one.

When you have completed this webquest, you should have a better understanding of what even one person can do to help save the rainforest. You should then be eager to share what you have learned with others to persuade them to join your favorite organization.

Credits & References

Thanks to Elaine Ortman for sharing her original lesson "You can save the Rainforest" which was the inspiration for this WebQuest.
Alachua County Schools Presentation Planner.
Tropical American Tree Farms for graphic.
Shayne Russel, Cynthia Cassidy, Teresita Doebley, David Fama for great suggestions and feedback.

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.

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