An imaginative cross curriculum unit for levels 2-4 Useful Book Resources Life in the Rainforest … Lucy Baker Jungle Sounds … Rebecca Emberly Portraits of the Rain Forest … Adrian Forsyth Handbook of Amazon Parrots … A.E. Decoteau Amazon Indians … Paul Henley Useful Films from the National Film Library Jungle (C3626) Video Rainforest Family (B4791) Video World of the Rainforest (574.5) Filmstrip) Life of the Rubber Gatherers (918.113) Filmstrip Useful Internet Sites - all live linked Brazil at: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/south_america/brazil/environment.htm Amazon Interactive at: http://www.eduweb.com/amazon.html Setting the Scene: Atlas and Study Skills Have pupils find Port of Spain in Trinidad and Rio de Janeiro Have pupils find out what country Rio is in. What group of islands does Trinidad belong to? Using rulers and the scale of the atlas, have pupils find distance in kilometres (as crow flies) from Port of Spain to Rio. Find the Tranz Amazonian Highway and locate Obidos on the Amazon River. Using the atlas, have pupils find yearly rainfall of the Amazon Jungle region and the summer and winter temperatures. What is the height above sea level of Obidos. Find the latitude and longitude of Rio and Obidos. Introducing the Scenario Your class are on a holiday of a lifetime and are flying from Port of Spain to Rio. Suddenly their plane develops engine trouble. The pilot is force to make a crash landing in the jungle about 50 kilometres west of Obidos on the Amazon. Miraculously the canopy of the Rainforest cushions the fall to allow all the children and the pilot to survive. There are some injuries, but with first aid and care, they will survive. The unit is about survival, adventure and eventual rescue. Activity One - Dramatic re-enactment Have groups plan and then act out a drama of the plane crash. The drama starts when the pilot announces that there is engine trouble and they will have to attempt a crash landing in the jungle. The drama should include the emergency drill in the plane It concludes with the children and pilot climbing their way down from the canopy of the jungle to the ground. • Have groups act out their dramas to the rest of the class. Activity Two - Final letters and wills There is a ten to fifteen minute interval between the announcement of the forced landing and the pupils having to assume the crash position. • Have pupils write a last letter to their families and /or friends. • Write a 'quick last will • Click here for the next page of the adventure Do you have a lesson you would like to share with other teachers? Simply email us an attached Word, Works or PDF file and we will add it to our library. Don't forget to include your name and school so we can acknowledge your work. Click on the email icon below.