How It Works
An Example of Curriculum Integration
Thematic Team Portfolio, Theme 4, 2005

Cloud Forest Ecosystem I - Jenny, Esther, Robin Grades 3 and 4

Literacy

Using From Seed to Plant as a model, we concentrated much of our writing this theme on non-fiction. Students practiced moving their thoughts and their written words through a sequence, adding specific and descriptive words and phrases into paragraphs. As a final project, each student wrote their own non-fiction books titled “How a Seed Grows”, and created illustrated storyboards about pollination and photosynthesis.

• Using From Seed to Plant as a model, we concentrated much of our writing this theme on non-fiction. Students practiced moving their thoughts and their written words through a sequence, adding specific and descriptive words and phrases into paragraphs. As a final project, each student wrote their own non-fiction books titled “How a Seed Grows”, and created illustrated storyboards about pollination and photosynthesis.
• Class conversation starters: using books like A Forest in the Clouds, and Secrets of the Rainforest, students began asking questions such as “How do vines grow – up or down?” As a class, we practiced listening and speaking skills as we shared ideas, hypotheses, observations, etc. Many of these conversations led to student-driven research projects in the field.
• All students created a personalized, illustrated Cloud Forest Dictionary. As we came across “new” words, students added them to our word wall. During different parts of the week, students were able to choose which words they wanted to define and draw in their own dictionary. We practiced using these new words throughout the entire theme.
• We spent 30 minutes/week in our Special Places, where students free wrote in their journals. Often, the ideas from these experiences turned into published, creative writing pieces.
• Plant poetry!
• Students wrote, practiced and acted out a Pollination Play.
  

Mathematics

• Multiplication word problems using specific reforestation/Special Places tree species.
• Measurement: Students spent 30 minutes each week “following” two seedlings of their choice in their special places, and collected height information as well as the numbers of leaves. Students made charts and graphs to display their data, and we looked at trends among and between the various tree species.
• Measurement: Students not only learned measurement skills, but also how to conceptualize heights and lengths. We noticed early on that the students had a hard time imagining how long 20 meters was, or how high 60 meters was (they read this information when learning about different tree species.) We started small, with 1 meter increments, and had students find things in our classrooms and in nature that were “about” 1 meter long or high – no measuring tools allowed at first! Then, we extended that to 10 meters.
• Students made predictions (without using a measuring tool) about how long/tall different objects were.
  

Field Trips

• Orchid Garden: Students prepared for trip by making a KWL chart; students brought their questions to the garden and took notes while participating in a tour.
• All classes hiked the CEC Mountain Trail, which leads to the highest part of our property. During the 3-hour expedition, students observed and discussed how the variety of plant life found along the trail changed with elevation (easily seen with the bromeliad/fern/epiphyte populations). We also paid particular attention to the gaps that were found in the forest due to major tree fall, and not only examined the fallen trees themselves but also looked at the composition of “gap” plant life vs. “forest” plant life. All students spent at least 20 – 30 minutes of “quiet time” in the school forest every week, in order to have time for reflection and making connections between what they learned in class and what they were seeing around them. Often this was followed by a sharing session, where students revealed any “ah-ha” moments or realizations.

Science
All classes did most science experiments listed in the theme outline’s “Suggested Activities” and used many of the plant resource books; the following were some of our favourite and most successful:

• Flower dissection – used large flowers from the Peace Garden
• Germinated large avocado seeds in water, rooted carrots in water
• We used the native plant greenhouse for many activities related to plants, from observing leaves and stems to looking at parts of flowers.
• Students began keeping investigation journals; the scientific method was explicitly taught, and students had fun making predictions, describing the methods they used (with pictures), making a table of data gathered, and making conclusions. One very successful experiment the students did was with celery and food coloring, and celery and white flowers.
• The weekly 1-hour Land Stewardship classes with Milton were excellent, and based directly upon what we were studying in class; the students received a “mini-lesson” about a specific topic, such as germination, and then we spent time both in the greenhouse and in the forest searching for and encountering germinating seeds. We were often given materials to do a follow-up experiment in class, which extended our learning.

Art & Music

• Sang: “I’ve been working in the Rain Forest”
• Sang: “The Layers of the Rain Forest”
• Practiced basic rhythmic beats with students-made instruments, and then combined this beats into our rainforest songs
• Made paper flowers (and parts!) and their pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc.)
• Ana Ruth Suarez (Francini’s mom) visited the classes and taught students how to paint cloud forest landscapes.
• Cristian Losada visited the classes and talked to the students about how to look artistically at trees, vines, and gave a plant sketching workshop.
• All classes created a “Layers of the Cloud Forest” wall mural that combined paintings, drawings, natural objects, etc.
• Students made leaf pressings and subsequently turned them into laminated bookmarks.

Ah-Ha Moments!

• Kids began running through the forest during recess time just to find germinating seeds, or as many different types of leaf shapes as possible!
• Kids began “rescuing” fallen epiphytes from the forest floor during recess, or on hikes in the forest: they either put them back in trees or wanted to bring them to class or the greenhouse for further study!
• Kids were absolutely amazed on the Mountain Trail, when they realized that the high, beautiful cloud forest they were walking through still belonged to the CEC.
• All of a sudden, the children of the cloud forest developed vocabulary which allowed them to speak about so many things that they already “knew”! Many of the students were already familiar with the “place” of their backyard ecosystem, but did not have the knowledge or the words to make connections with what they were observing. There were so many “ah- ha!” moments during this theme – some quotes: “I always saw bees visiting flowers for food, but I did not know that the bees help the flower make seeds!”, “I had seen plants with big leaves in the forest, but I never knew they were so big because they want the sun!”