Introduction

Saving the Amazon rainforest is a great topic for introducing students to some basic principles of ecology and environmental conservation and how to an activist in their community. This four-day unit could easily tie directly into a larger Earth science curriculum.
 * Introduction **

We chose to build our unit around having the students conduct research in groups, design a project that outlines their findings using their choice of media, and present their findings to the class.

Given that our students have self-selected to attend a communications and humanities magnet program, we believe that the majority of the students will have strong verbal/linguistic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence, and this project is designed to draw heavily on these types of intelligence. However it will draw on all the other intelligences: musical/rhythmic, bodily/kinesthetic, intrapersonal, visual/spatial, naturalist, and logical/mathematical.

Examples of how these intelligences will be addressed are below. · **Musical/Rhythmic: ** When students enter the classroom for the first day of the unit, rainforest sounds of waterfalls, animal cries, bird calls, and thunderstorms taken from online resources will be fill the air. By using environmental sounds, this will set the atmosphere and help create not only a mood, but better engage the students, making them feel like they are there. · **Bodily/Kinesthetic: ** By using the interactive “clicker” tool, students will take a quiz with results projected. This will be used as introduction to the unit to see what they know and don’t know about the rainforest, the problems it is facing, and how it impacts the world, their community, and them. Such technology is engaging, motivating, fun, and requires them to physically learn. · **Visual/Spatial: ** By using Google Earth, the students will be able to see the vastness of the Amazon River Basin in comparison to the rest of the world. · **Naturalist: ** This project is designed specifically for student be aware of the importance of the rainforest, why it’s endangered, and how they can contribute to it’s conservation. · **Interpersonal: **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Collaboration in working group to research and create and present their project. ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Logical/Mathematical: **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> To create their final product, the students need to organize their research findings and ideas logically to present a coherent final project. ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Verbal/linguistic: **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Students final oral presentation/explanation of their public awareness project to the class will engage their verbal linguistic skills. ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Intrapersonal. **<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> Throughout the project students will be expected to think about their contributions to the group and complete an online self assessment.

We will also offer the students their choice of several options for their final project. This enables them to choose the one that best fits their learning style preferences.

Their options include creating a: ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">  <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">video, ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">podcast, ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">PowerPoint ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">poster, flyer, or brochure, or  ·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">  <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">blog.

The final product is a public awareness tool designed to raise awareness of the problem of rainforest depletion and use persuasive language to spur other to get involved. The project must include at least five reasons saving the Amazon rainforest is important and at least five things that they and their peers can do to help save it.

Our unit will be based on the principles of meaningful learning that Jonassen, Howland, Marra & Crismond outline in //Meaningful Learning with Technology// (2008). The unit also incorporates Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

It will engage students, utilizing multiple intelligences, in active, constructive, goal-oriented, authentic, and cooperative tasks. The students will actively research the topic, exploring online resources including text, images, and videos.

They will construct a final project presenting their findings, using their choice of several mediums, and present their findings to the class. They will be driven by the goal of discovering why the tropical rainforest is important and what they can do personally to help save the rainforest, which also connects the learning to their authentic real-world experiences. And it will be collaborative, as they will be working in groups and presenting their final project to the whole class. <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif';"> <span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">To integrate technology into a science curriculum unit on rainforests based around an exploratory team-project for 50 seventh-grade students (35 girls and 15 boys) enrolled in a communications and humanities magnet program at Summerwood Middle School in Salisbury on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The students will research the importance of and the threats to the Amazon rainforest and ways students can limit their own impact on the rainforest.
 * <span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Aim **

<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Technology is an extremely helpful tool that can enable students to become more engaged with the curriculum. We are having our students use technology to research the importance of the rainforest and the ways that people are impacting the rainforest, and then present their findings to their teachers and peers using formats that will appeal to students enrolled in a communication and humanities magnet school program.
 * <span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Rationale **<span style="font-size: 20pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

We believe these activities will help the students to be highly engaged with the subject matter, and will help them to find concrete ways that they can help save the rainforest. Students who are interested in the field of communications and humanities should be involved in an active learning environment where the students work on in-depth projects requiring the use of technology, research, analytical, and communication skills.

In addition to supporting students' learning about the rainforest, their use of technology in this unit will also improve their own technological skills, which will help them in future schoolwork and also help them once they enter the workforce.