2. Tour the Amazon Rainforest A Virtual Field Trip Created for Primary Students Please read along with your teacher and follow the directions or arrows. You will have time to explore this site on your own, AFTER you have reviewed it with the class. You will be asked to write about what you have learned when you are finished, so PAY ATTENTION! How to Get There What is the Amazon Rainforest? Layers and Animals Assignment & References Next Created by Deb Freiburger 2007

3. Before you can go to the Amazon Rain Forest, you must figure out how to get there. First, find out where we live. We live in Chester, New Hampshire. New Hampshire is part of the United States. The United States is in the continent of North America. Try to find New Hampshire and click on it. continent NextBack

4. Here is a map of the world, click on the continent you think we live on. AUSTRALIA Next Back

5. The Amazon Rain Forest is on the continent of South America. Find and click on South America. Back

6. South America South America is the fourth largest continent on earth. It has 14 different countries in it and over 355 million people! The South Americans are famous for their parties, their music, their dances, and their food. The two major languages spoken in South America are Portuguese and Spanish, although many other languages are spoken. Brazil is South America’s largest country, it cover’s almost half of the continent. It is almost the same size as the United States (without Alaska). Click here http://www.yourchildlearns.com/south_america_map.htm to see a map of South America. Try to find Brazil. http://www.yourchildlearns.com/south_america_map.htm NextBack

7. You found the Amazon Rain Forest! The Amazon jungle (rain forest) is the Earth’s largest rain forest. It covers half of Brazil. MILLIONS of animals live in the forest including the world’s biggest rodents, snakes and insects. rodents NextBack Home

8. What is the Amazon Rainforest? Rain forests are very dense, warm, wet forests. Trees grow hundreds of feet high. Smaller trees and shrubs cover the ground. Thick vines wind around tree trunks and branches and hang like ropes. Rain falls all year round. The Amazon is a tropical rainforest because it is located near the equator. dense equatordense equator Click here to see how much rain the Amazon rainforest gets. http://www.eduweb.com/rain/rain-east.html Why is the rain forest important? Millions of plants and animals live in the rain forest. The plants of the rain forest generate much of the Earth's oxygen. These plants are also very important to people in other ways; many are used in new drugs that fight disease and illness. oxygen NextBack Home

9. What are the layers of the rain forest? Each layer of the rain forest is a special place for different animals. From the tips of tress to the forest floor, each layer of the forest has a name. Click on the star at each layer in the picture to learn more about it and the animals that live there. NextBack

10. Emergent Layer The Emergent layer is where trees (that can be up to 200 feet tall) rise up and over the rest of the forest. It is the windiest area of the rain forest. The animals that live up in the emergent layer must have good balance! The branches of emergent trees are often thin, so animals living here are small and light. Some of the animals you can find here are Blue Morpho Butterflies, Harpy Eagles, Macaws, monkeys, parakeets, and vultures. Blue Macaw Click to hear it. Macaws have very powerful beaks to crack open nuts. There are many kinds of colorful macaws in the rain forest. Blue Morpho Butterflies are very fast fliers. They are easy to see, but hard to catch. Click below to see a video clip of a butterfly farm. At the new site…click on the movie camera http://www.chaacreek.com/tours-activities/onsite/butterfly-farm/ Back Blue Morpho Next

11.  Harpy Eagles are considered to be one of the world’s largest and most powerful eagles. Their talons can be the size of a grizzly’s claws, but still they can only fly with prey (food) that can weigh up to about one half of their body weight. talons talons Harpy Eagles are also found in the emergent layer. Mark Purdy, the Education Programs Coordinator of The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey gave permission to this Virtual Field Trip to watch a video of baby Harpy chicks hatching and being fed. If you would like to see the bird hatching or being fed, click on the yellow egg. Back Harpy Eagle Next

12. The Canopy The canopy is like the leaky roof of the rain forest. The trees are very close together, stopping most of the rain from hitting the forest floor. There are still gaps of sun and nice breezes through this layer. This is where most of the animals in the rainforest live. Some of the animals you can find in the canopy are iguanas, monkeys, snakes, sloths, and bats. Green Iguana Sloths spend their time hanging upside down. They have very strong hooked claws. They move very slowly, and only go down to the forest floor once a week to go to the bathroom. Sloth Iguanas are good climbers with sharp claws to hold onto branches. They can grow to be as large as a man, but get scared very easily and run away. NextBack

13. The bill of the Toucan is actually hollow and very lightweight. It uses it to reach fruits at the ends of small branches that it would not be able to reach without it! Click to hear the Toucan. Toucan Howler's have a huge roar or howl that can be heard three miles away. The only mammal louder than a howler monkey is the gigantic blue whale! Click to hear the howler monkey Howler Monkey BackNext

14. Vampire Bats (and many other bats) can be found in the Understory level of the rain forest. Vampire Bats DO bite and suck the blood out of mammals, but not humans. They bite, then lick up the blood that trickles out. To learn more and see a video clip, click on the bat picture. Vampire Bats The Understory The understory level of the rain forest is dark and shadowy. The leaves of the canopy are so close together that only a tiny bit of sun shines through. The trees in the understory are not very tall. Some trees will grow to become part of the canopy, but most understory trees never grow taller than about 15 feet. Some of the animals found in the understory are bats, wild cats, owls, monkeys, snakes, frogs, and lizards. NextBack

15. Blue Poison Dart Frog The blue poison dart frog uses its colors to warn predators of its toxic skin. If an animal eats the blue poison dart frog it will become very sick. Blue poison dart frogs are poisonous due to their diet. They eat ants and other small insects that have toxins in their bodies. The frogs can eat these insects without getting sick. Click to hear the Blue Poison Dart Frog.predatorstoxic The Jaguar is the largest cat in the Amazon Rain Forest. A male jaguar can be six feet long and weigh 250-300 pounds. That’s as much as a Patriots football player! Jaguars are good climbers. They often hide in the trees ready to pounce on deer, wild pigs, or other animals.pounce Click to hear the Jaguar. Back Blue Poison Dart Frog Jaguar Next

16. The Forest Floor The bottom layer of the rain forest is the forest floor. This layer is very dark and quiet. The ground is covered with decomposing leaves. Small ferns and bushes grow among the giant trunks of the canopy trees. Some of the animals found on the forest floor are snakes, anteaters, armadillos, ocelots, frogs, and tapirs. decomposing The Giant Armadillo can reach 130 pounds, but most weigh between 40 and 70 pounds. It lives in burrows near water and is nocturnal. It eats termites and ants. It is cousins with the Anteater. They both have very long tongues.burrowsnocturnal The Giant Anteater eats it’s food without any teeth. It uses it’s sticky tongue to get food. The anteater's tongue is long and skinny. It can reach out 2 feet long. It can go out and in 150 times per minute. Click to hear the anteater. NextBack Giant Armadillo Giant Anteater

17. The Ocelot eats many types of small animals like monkeys, rodents, lizards, birds, snakes, and frogs. The ocelot is a nocturnal animal. Most Ocelots live away from other Ocelots because they like to live alone. Click to hear the Ocelot. The Brazilian Tapir is another type of animal that likes to live alone. It is a herbivore and lives near water, and can swim quite well. It runs away at the first sign of danger, but is able to defend itself by biting. The tapir's greatest enemy is the powerful jaguar.herbivore Ocelot Brazilian Tapir NextBack Home

18. You have completed your virtual field trip! Hopefully you had fun! You have learned where the Amazon Rain Forest is, what the different layers in the rainforest are, and what kinds of animals live there. Now its time to show what you have learned. You will pick your favorite layer of the rain forest and animal that lives there, then write a postcard to me telling me all about it. Click below to start your postcard. http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/postcard/ You don’t have to stop learning about the rain forest just because this trip is done. You can explore more animals, insects, plants, and how to conserve the rain forest on your own. Check out books in the library or ask your parents for permission to do your own research online. Share with your teacher any interesting information you find! BackNext ASSIGNMENT

19. Websites and Resources Pictures and Information http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/345.htmhttp://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/345.htm tapir info and pic http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/345.htm http://www.chaacreek.com/tours-activities/onsite/butterfly-farm/http://www.chaacreek.com/tours-activities/onsite/butterfly-farm/ morpho butterfly movie http://www.chaacreek.com/tours-activities/onsite/butterfly-farm/ http://en.wikipedia.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/ armadillo, anteater, ocelot, macaw, toucan http://en.wikipedia.org/ http://www.eduweb.com/rain/rainfall.htmlhttp://www.eduweb.com/rain/rainfall.html rainfall comparison http://www.eduweb.com/rain/rainfall.html http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/common-vampire-bat.htmlhttp://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/common-vampire-bat.html bat information http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/common-vampire-bat.html http://www.yourchildlearns.com/south_america_map.htmhttp://www.yourchildlearns.com/south_america_map.htm interactive map of South America http://www.yourchildlearns.com/south_america_map.htm http://www.pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/life.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/life.html jaguar and bat info http://www.pbs.org/journeyintoamazonia/life.html http://www.rain-tree.com/images.htmhttp://www.rain-tree.com/images.htm layers of the forest pic http://www.rain-tree.com/images.htm http://Maps.comhttp://Maps.com map world map http://Maps.com http://Mapquest.comhttp://Mapquest.com North America map http://Mapquest.com http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/goplaces/article/0,28376,642482,00.htmlhttp://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/goplaces/article/0,28376,642482,00.html Brazil map http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/kids/hh/goplaces/article/0,28376,642482,00.html http://www.ai.mit.edu/lab/olympics/98/images/jaguar.jpghttp://www.ai.mit.edu/lab/olympics/98/images/jaguar.jpg jaguar pic http://www.ai.mit.edu/lab/olympics/98/images/jaguar.jpg http://www.earthsbirthday.org/explore/kids/photoshowlermonkey.htmhttp://www.earthsbirthday.org/explore/kids/photoshowlermonkey.htm howler monkey pic http://www.earthsbirthday.org/explore/kids/photoshowlermonkey.htm http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/laurie_vitt/Iguana.jpg/view.htmlhttp://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/laurie_vitt/Iguana.jpg/view.html iguana pic http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/laurie_vitt/Iguana.jpg/view.html Magic Tree House Research Guide to the Rain Forest, by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne Rain Forest, DK Eye Wonder http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/postcardhttp://www.readwritethink.org/materials/postcard assignment- postcard http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/postcard Sound Clips and Movies http://www.pawsonline.info/feline_sounds.htmhttp://www.pawsonline.info/feline_sounds.htm ocelot sound wav http://www.pawsonline.info/feline_sounds.htm http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/graphics-sitemap.htmlhttp://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/graphics-sitemap.html spider and frog animation http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/graphics-sitemap.html http://home.att.net/~kittycatfurballssounds/misc.htmlhttp://home.att.net/~kittycatfurballssounds/misc.html anteater sound wav http://home.att.net/~kittycatfurballssounds/misc.html http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/watersounds.shtmlhttp://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/watersounds.shtml rain, water, wind sound wav http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/watersounds.shtml http://www.peregrinefund.org/whats_hevideo.asphttp://www.peregrinefund.org/whats_hevideo.asp harpy eagle video http://www.peregrinefund.org/whats_hevideo.asp http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildplaces/amazon/sounds.cfmhttp://www.worldwildlife.org/wildplaces/amazon/sounds.cfm frog wav http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildplaces/amazon/sounds.cfm http://www.naturesongs.com/http://www.naturesongs.com/ keel-bill toucan sound clip - copyrighted http://www.naturesongs.com/ Home

20. Rain Forest Vocabulary (definitions provided by http://wordcentral.com/)http://wordcentral.com/ burrow- a hole or tunnel in the ground made by a rabbit, fox, or similar animal for habitation and refuge. Back to page 15Back to page 15 continent- one of the great divisions of land (as North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, or Antarctica) on the globe Back to page 2Back to page 2 decomposing- to break down through chemical change : rot Back to page 15Back to page 15 dense- marked by closeness or crowding together of parts ( dense forest ) Back to page 7Back to page 7 Equator- an imaginary circle around the middle of the earth equally distant from the north pole and the south pole Back to page 7Back to page 7 herbivore- a plant-eating animal Back to page 16Back to page 16 nocturnal- active at night Back to page 15Back to page 15 Oxygen- the air we breathe Back to page 7Back to page 7 Pounce- to swoop down on and seize something Back to page 14Back to page 14 Predators- an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals Back to page 14Back to page 14 Rodent- any of an order of fairly small mammals (as mice, rats, or beavers) that have sharp front teeth used for gnawing Back to page 6Back to page 6 talons- the claws of an animal and especially of a bird of prey Back to page 10Back to page 10 toxic- poisonous Back to page 14Back to page 14