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Quest 1: "Down in the Rainforest" Rhyme and Discussion
Down in the Rainforest - download rhyme as PDF here
Chorus:
Down in the Rainforest,
1,2,3,
We are the explorers,
What can we see?
Uh-Oh – trees!
A giant canopy of trees!
Stretching high into the sky,
And making air to breathe.
(Deep breaths in and out)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – a jaguar!
A spotty, furry jaguar!
Hunting for his breakfast,
Crouching in the trees.
(Growl, growl)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – a macaw!
A blue and yellow macaw!
With figs and nuts in his hooked bill,
Swooping through the air.
(Caw, caw)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – a monkey!
A big black Howler Monkey!
Hanging upside down,
And eating fruits and leaves.
(Howl, howl)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – bees!
Blue perfumed orchid bees!
Buzzing around the brazil nut flowers,
To make more seeds and trees.
(Buzz, buzz)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – an anteater!
A giant long-nosed anteater!
Sniffing and scooping up the ants,
And scoffing them greedily.
(Sniff, sniff)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – frogs!
Poison-dart frogs!
Strawberry, Golden, Green and Black,
In a star-lit canopy.
(Croak, croak)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – bats!
Hairy-nosed bats!
Listening with big ears in the night,
To catch ants and spiders for tea!
(High- pitched click, click,click)
CHORUS
Uh-Oh – a snake!
A stripy coral pipesnake!
Slithering downwards to hide in his burrow,
But leaving his tail poking out!
(Hiss, hiss)
CHORUS
Oh No! Machines!
Men with big machines!
Slashing and burning down the trees,
No more food or air to breathe ........
No more jaguars!
No more macaws!
No more monkeys!
No more bees!
No more anteaters!
No more frogs!
No more bats!
No more snakes!
Down in the Rainforest,
1,2,3,
We are the explorers…..
But there’s nothing left to see!
Group size: Small Group/Whole Class
Process:
The children are sat in a circle and the teacher explains to them that they are going to become explorers in the rainforest. The teacher talks briefly with the children about woodlands which they may have visited and what they have seen there. Using this as a context the teacher then describes in simple terms the location of the rainforests and the similarities and differences between these and the woodland environment with which the children may already be familiar.
The teacher then introduces the chorus of the "Down in The Rainforest" rhyme to the children . They repeat it so that they will be able to join in with the refrain when the rhyme is recited.
The teacher has a large Storysack or box containing a model of a tree, a toy machine and soft toys/stick puppets produced from the templates below to represent all the creatures mentioned in the rhyme. Each object is taken out of the sack as the rhyme progresses and placed on a nearby table or small mat in the centre of the circle. The children are encouraged to join in with the appropriate animal noises at the end of each verse. During the last verse the tree will be cut down by a machine, then each animal returned to the sack as the rhyme reaches its conclusion.
The teacher now begins a discussion with the children about the story. Has the story made them feel happy or sad? Do they think that it is a good thing that the rainforests are being chopped down? Explain in simple terms why this is happening, i.e:
- Trees are being cut down to make furniture.
- Land is being cleared for grazing cattle to make beef products such as burgers.
- Animals are being hunted for their horns, fur, skins or tusks.
- Animals such as snakes, chimps and parrots are being hunted to be sold as pets.
The teacher then asks the children what they think they can do to help. Some suggestions might be:
- Find out more about the rainforest through the rainforest quests.
- Try not to use too much paper.
- Recycle paper and card.
- Ask our parents and carers to give help to the people who live in the rainforest so that they can look after the trees and animals for the future.
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