In this 10 week course on the Amazon Rainforest, students will ultimately gain knowledge of deforestation, depletion of resources, and consider conservation of the Rainforest.  

Students will begin by learning where and what classifies a rainforest, then read or watch the recorded reading of a book (The Great Kapok Tree) as an introduction to the course.  They will then take a journey deep into the riches this special landscape has to offer by learning about the weather, climate, insects, animals, and resources held within its glorious greenery.  Learners will hone skills such as critical thinking, team interactions, analysis, and more while becoming aware of a world and a problem outside of their own existence.

There will be 3 research projects during the course in which learners will gain knowledge of how and what research material is trusted rather than relying on a Google search, create visual presentations, and give a formal presentation to the class via video uploads. Students will be given tutorials for creating presentations in an asynchronous setting. 

In the final classes, students will learn proper etiquette for academic discussions and conduct a whole-class discussion via flipgrid about what they have learned and their view on the conservation of the rainforest. 

Group, peer-to-peer, and teacher communication via interactive collaboration boards and the Outschool classroom platform are encouraged throughout the course.  Gentle guidance with suggestions, hints, recalling knowledge, prompting, and promoting learners to think through a question define the teaching style. The goal is for students to learn something new every time they work on material and have fun doing it. Classes are designed to be as interactive while working asynchronously as possible. We will use videos, slide presentations, virtual discussions, lectures, and games throughout the course to learn the material. Students will work on collaboration boards through platforms like Google, Padlet, Nearpod, and Outschool Groups.

All material will be given to the students by the teacher on the Outschool platform.  A google account is encouraged to make working on Google docs, slides, forms, etc, easier to access and share.  It is suggested students get a copy of The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. 

The general breakdown of each session is as follows:

-Week 1: Introduction- Brief introduction video, learners will reply to two classmates and the teacher via text comment, Tree! video and creative writing paragraph individual work
              The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry- Teacher uploaded video of read-aloud (permission granted via publisher), rewrite creative writing paragraph

-Week 2: 2 Layers- Share thoughts about reading on Nearpod, layer picture display and comment board on Padlet, final rewrite of creative writing paragraph and share in group
              Research Project 1- Google Slides and teacher video about research expectations, acceptable material, and assignment of research project topic- 2 more layers)

-Week 3: Presentation 1- Instructions on how to create Google Slides, rubric released, how-to record presentations tutorial, and presentation 1 about layers due in video format, comment on peer presentations, evaluate 1 peer presentation
              Weather and Climate- Padlet collaborative discussion of student's local weather and climate with a prediction as to the differences between the two, teacher video of Amazon rain, VR of Amazon Rainforest, reading material, climate charts and exploration, Google form of questions about weather and climate

-Week 4: Birds and Bugs-Blooket layers game, reading about pollination, exploring Blue Morpho, Toucan, and Macaw, reading and videos about birds, independent research and submission to teacher of 3 more insects and 3 more birds
             Big and Bitty Animals- Class Google Doc to list 3 rainforest animals, collaborative Padlet board of bug pictures with labels, learn about pink dolphins, Nearpod video about ecosystems, YouTube video about exploitation, class poll

-Week 5: Research Project 2- Rubric released, research a new Amazon Rainforest animal to present according to expectations and research guidelines
             Presentation 2- Present research project 2 in video format, comment on peer presentations, evaluate 2 peer presentations

-Week 6: Resources: Food, Medicine, Oil, Materials- Nearpod class collaboration brainstorm of resources of the rainforest, reading about food, info graph about medicine and group video analysis, class poll about personal material use, video about oil in Ecuador, Group share about Google image search about oil in the Amazon, Padlet board about most surprising facts learned

-Week 7: Resources, Deforestation, and Conservation- Word game, Nearpod deforestation mini-lesson, Nearpod video on forest fires, Nearpod interactive video with Google Forms answer submission, conservation definition and Padlet collaborative discussion board

-Week 8: Research Project 3- Rubric released, research and answer What is the problem? and Why is it a problem? according to the expectations and research guidelines

-Week 9:  Presentation 3- Present research project 3 in video format, comment on peer presentations, evaluate 2 or 3 peers (determined by teacher and enrollment discretion)

-Week 10: The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry, reading 2 (How has the meaning changed?) Padlet collaboration discussion board about how what has been learned relates to the Kapok Tree, Nearpod open-ended question How has the meaning of The Great Kapok Tree changed since hearing it the first time?
              Final Thoughts- Group share of final thoughts, comment on 2 or 3 peers