Conserving the Rainforest

Name: Veronica OLeary

Content Area/Subject: Health

Grade: 3rd Grade

Duration: 30 min

RATIONALE: This lesson is part of a unit on protecting the environment. This lesson focuses on the students forming opinions and
creating reasons to support their opinions on deforestation. They will be introduced to deforestation by reading the book, The Great
Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. This lesson is important because it teaches students to stand up for what they believe in, especially when
it comes to protecting the environment.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES (S):
Given text evidence from The Great Kapok Tree, the student will create an opinion on deforestation.
Given text evidence from The Great Kapok Tree, the student will create three reasons that the rainforests should not be cut
down.
ASSESSMENT:
Students will be formatively assessed on the opinion they create on the topic of deforestation and the three reasons they create
to support their opinion.
PENNSYLVANIA STANDARDS:
1.4 Writing
CC.1.4.3.G: Write opinion pieces on familiar topics or texts.
CC.1.4.3.H: Introduce the topic and state an opinion on the topic.
CC.1.4.3.I: Support an opinion with reasons.
10.2 Healthful Living
10.2.3.E: Identify environmental factors that affect health.

Pollution (e.g., air, water, noise, soil)

Waste disposal

Temperature extremes

Insects/animals
The Teacher Will

Differentiation

Materials/Technol
ogy Needed

Time
Needed

The Student Will

INTRODUCTION:
1
2

PROCEDURE:
1
2

Say, Everyone join me on

the rainbow carpet.
Say, I am going to read you
a book called The Great
Kapok Tree. You listening
job is to figure out what the
moral of the story is. Can
anyone remind us what I
mean by the moral of the
story? Call on a student.
Say, Exactly! The moral of
the story means the lesson
that the author is trying to
tell the reader. Begin the
read aloud.
Say, Can anyone tell me
what they believe the moral
of the story is?
Say, The moral of the story
is that we need to protect our
environment, especially the
rainforests. Now we are
going to go back through the
book and read the story one
page at a time. With your
carpet buddy, you are going
to figure out if there is any
text evidence to support the
idea of protecting the
rainforests. We are going to
write the text evidence here
on the board.

Sit on rainbow carpet.

Say, The lesson that the
author is trying to tell the
reader.

Students with
visual
impairments
will have a
copy of the
book to follow
along.

The Great
Kapok Tree by
Lynne Cherry

5 min

Working with
partners allows
students to
discuss their
thoughts before
sharing them
with the class.

- Chart Paper
- The Great
Kapok Tree by
Lynne Cherry
-Sticky Note

20 min

Listen and try to figure out

what the moral of the story
is.
Share various answers.
Determine what text
evidence support the idea
that they need to protect
the rainforests.
-Cutting trees will lower
the amount of oxygen.
-Many animals will die.
-If they cut one, they will
continue to cut more and
more.
-Animals could loose their
homes and come into the
nearby cities and towns.

Partners are
grouped
homogeneously
to support all
learners in the
classroom.

Read book and write what

students say on the chart
paper under text evidence.
3

-The rainforest will be less

beautiful.
-The men arent thinking
about the future.
Say, Now I am going to
Write on sticky note what
give you a sticky note. You
could be done to stop
are going to go back to your people from cutting down
seat and write what you think the rainforest.
could be done to stop people
from cutting down the
rainforest.
Say, Come back to the
Share the ideas.
carpet. You are going to
share what you think can be
done to help save the
rainforests.
Say, One thing that is very
important that can be done is
to write a letter to the
companies that are cutting
down the rainforests and tell
them why they need to stop
cutting down the rainforest.
That is what we are going to
do. I am giving you a graphic
organizer to help organize
your ideas. You are going to
work with your learning
partners to fill it out.
Say, If you are writing to
Say, Persuasive writing.
tell someone that you believe
they should stop cutting
down the rainforest, what

Students can
work together if
they are getting
stuck on ideas.

5 min, 2 min,
and 1 min
warning will be
given.
If students are
getting
frustrated, they
can change their
activity. This
allows the
student to
continue
developing
skills, but in a
less stressful
environment.

CLOSURE:
1

type of writing is that?

Say, The graphic organizer
has a space at the top to write
your opinion. Below it there
are spaces to write three
reasons that support your
opinion. Beneath each of the
reasons there is a space to
expand on your reasons.
Today we are just going to
fill in the opinion and three
reasons. When you get your
paper, you may begin to
work with your learning
partner to fill that out. Hand
out graphic organizer.
Say, You have finished
filling in the first sections of
the graphic organizer. I am
going to put you in groups of
six. Each person is going to
share their graphic organizer
to the group.
Say, Tomorrow we are
going to learn more about
what happens when we cut
down the rainforest. You are
going to research the reasons
you chose with your partner
so that you can expand on
your reasons. Remember we
are working on gathering
strong information so that we

Work with learning partner

to fill in the graphic
organizer.

Students will be
give a 2 minute
and 1 minute
warning before
finishing.

Share graphic organizer.

Allowing
students to
share allows
them to provide
ideas to others
and receive
immediate
feedback.

-Graphic
organizers

5 min

can write very persuasive

letters to the companies who
are cutting down the
rainforests.
ACCOMMODATIONS/MODIFICATIONS:
Students with visual impairments will have a copy of the book to follow along during the read aloud in the introduction of the lesson.
Students will be allowed to work with partners throughout the lesson. This allows students to discuss their thoughts before sharing
them with the class. The students are grouped homogeneously to support all learners in the classroom. When the students need to
determine what they believe can be done to stop deforestation, the students can work together if they are getting stuck on ideas. There
will be a two-minute and one-minute warning given to allow students with difficultly transitioning an idea when the time is up.
Allowing students to share allows them to provide ideas to others and receive immediate feedback.
LESSON EXTENSION:
Students will write a persuasive letter to a company that is cutting down trees in the rainforest in order to persuade them to stop cutting
down the rainforests.
PRE-ASSESSMENT:
Students will have previously learned about the importance of Reuses, Reduce, Recycle. The students will have also learned how to
write persuasive letters and research using kid friendly search engines.
CONNECTIONS BEYOND THE LESSON:
Students will be able to participate in the Tree Conservation ceremony held by the school. Each student will be given a young tree to
take home and plant. The ceremony will talk about how we can help save the Earth by planting more trees.
CITATION:
View standards. (2015). Retrieved January 27, 2015, from Pennsylvania Department of Education website:
http://pdesas.org/Standard/VerticalStandard#159748
Cherry, L. (1990). The great kapok tree: A tale of the Amazon rain forest. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Persuasive Writing Graphic Organizer

Topic:
Opinion:

Reason 1:

Reason 2:

Reason 3:

Expansion:

Expansion:

Expansion: