1. The Amazing Amazon 1. Question
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The Amazing Amazon 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Question
What do the Amazon Rainforest and your sneakers have in common?
Safari Montage Clip: Evolution of Rainforest Plants and Animals
The Amazon provides the Earth with a diverse variety of plants and animals. People have found that those plants and animals can benefit them physically by providing ingredients for medicines, although these benefits come with an economic price.
Image Source: tropical-rainforest-plants.com
How does the Amazon rainforest meet the economic wants of people throughout the world?

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2. Information Sources 1 2 3 4 5 6
At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits, vegetables, spices, and nuts.
Research the goods that are derived from the rainforest and how they are used in our world economy today.
World Book Student: Amazon rain forest
PBS Online: Journey into Amazonia
PBS Learning Media: Amazon Rain forest
Write your response to the question “What goods are created from the rainforest and how are they used in the world today?” on your worksheet.
Image Source: Microsoft Clip Art
Reading guide:
I can do this on my own.
Challenge me!

3. 3. Student Activity
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Even though the Amazon Rain forest provides resources for human beings to survive, there is disagreement about saving the land. A large part of this disagreement has to do with how people satisfy their economic wants, specifically in nations like the United States and those where the rain forests are located like Brazil and Peru.
The Amazon is mostly located in the country of Brazil. How can that country use the rain forest for economic, political and social means?
National Geographic Kids – Interactive
Culture Grams: Economic characteristics of Brazil
CIA World Factbook:  Brazil’s economy
Saving the Amazon
Use the graphic organizer to research the economic, political and social characteristics of Brazil and how the country can help its people with resources from the rain forest.
Reading guide:
I can do this on my own.
Challenge me!

4. 4. Assessment Activity Write a response letter to the government.
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4. Assessment Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6
Watch at least one of the videos to prepare for your assessment:
NBC Learn Video – As Brazil Grows, the Amazon Rainforest Shrinks
NBC Learn Video – Kallari and the Chocolate Factory: Saving the Amazon Rainforest
NBC Learn Video – Life in the Amazon
Imagine you own 1000 acres of land in the Amazon Rain forest. The Brazilian government has written you a letter asking how you use your land so they can compile a database for environmentalists eager to know if conservation efforts are working.
Write a response letter to the government.
Explain how you are using your land to meet your economic wants.
Will you be able to sustain using your land in this way? Justify why you made the choice you did and think about the short and long term effects of your choice.
Remember to use your resources to justify how you are using your land in an effective way.
Make sure to change all text in red.
Image Source: by subscription

5. 5. Enrichment Activities
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5. Enrichment Activities 1 2 3 4 5 6
Watch a Brain Pop Video
Hang out in a virtual tree house…
Play Amazon Explorer
Do you want to save the rainforest? The Rainforest Alliance sponsors conservation efforts in South American countries. Read about these efforts – can your school help?
Create a proposal to give to the Student Council at your school.
What types of fundraisers could you do to sponsor a portion of the rainforest?
Image Source: clipart.com by subscription

6. 6. Teacher Support Materials1 2 3 4 5 6
BCPS Curriculum AIM 05, Students will analyze the issue of deforestation of the Amazon rain forest in order to explain the trade-offs of using resources to pursue economic opportunities versus preserving the environment. KSI-A, analyze ways in which the Amazon rain forest is used to meet economic wants Maryland State Curriculum 7.4.A.2. Analyze how scarcity of economic resources affects economic choices in contemporary world regions R1.3.4 Uses understanding of the meaning, coherence, validity, and relevancy of ideas to guide comprehension and make connections within and across texts. Common Core State Standards Reading: 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. Writing: 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. Standards for the 21st Century Learner Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g. textual, visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning Use strategies to draw conclusions from information and apply knowledge to curricular areas, real-world situations, and further investigations. Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students 3.0: Use a variety of technologies for learning and collaboration.
Time Frame: minute class periods
Differentiation:
Databases provided have text features to assist in reading (audio read-aloud, embedded dictionaries)
Videos include closed captioning for student to follow along
Learning Styles:
Field Dependent, Field Independent, Visual, Auditory, Tactile, Reflective, Global
AVID Strategies:
inquiry based learning, 6+1 writing traits, composition tool
Notes to the teacher:
Consult with your School Library Media Specialist to implement this Slam Dunk Lesson.
Students can turn in activities by saving Microsoft documents and copying it to your school’s student drive(directions on each worksheet)
Safari Montage clip on slide 1 should be shown to entire class. A login is required and the movie title is called “Eyewitness: Rain forest (jungle)”. View only chapter 2.
Last updated: July 2013 Created by Jamie Higgins Shaull Department Chair – Social Studies/Library Media Intern BCPS Slam Dunk Research Model, Copyright 2012, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD, all rights reserved. The models may be used for educational, non-profit school use only. All other uses, transmissions, and duplications are prohibited unless permission is granted expressly. This lesson is based on Jamie McKenzie’s Slam Dunk Lesson module.