Home Learning Suggestions As part of your topic on ‘The Amazon’, you are required to complete 6 pieces of home learning. You can select any activities from the list below or come up with your own ideas to suggest to your teacher. You can complete more during your free time on Friday afternoon if you wish. This project is for the whole summer term and must be handed in by Monday 3rd July. Diary – you spend a week exploring in the Amazon Rainforest. Find a new species of animal or bird. Describe your experience and new discovery.
Instruction – write a set of instructions to explain how to look after the new species you have discovered. Include habitat, food and what it likes to do.
Newspaper – write a newspaper report about the discovery of a new species of bird or animal in the Amazon Rainforest. Include pictures, captions and eye witness quotes.
The UK covers approx. 250,000km2. How many times could the UK fit into: A - the Amazon Basin? B – the Amazon Rainforest?
Maths
The Amazon Basin covers 7,000,000km2 of which 5,500,000km2 is the Amazon Rainforest. What percentage of the Amazon Basin is the Amazon Rainforest?
Using the links on the class Useful Links page, draw a bar graph to show the rainfall in the Amazon Rainforest from January to December. Use the bar chart to calculate mean, median, mode and range of rainfall.
Topic
Make a ‘cress head’ and decorate it to look like an Amazon adventurer. Once the cress has grown, bring it into school. Use the link on the class ‘Useful Links’ for instructions.
Find a plant you can pick (ask permission first!). Press it for a week between 2 heavy objects then stick into your book and label the parts using the correct scientific vocabulary.
Plan a trip to one of the countries covered by the Amazon Basin. Include how you would get there, where you would stay and some activities you could do during your trip. (Hint: use books and holiday brochures as well as online)
Take a family walk and take pictures of as many different animals and birds as you can. See how many types you can identify. (Be specific, eg. Blackbird, robin, poodle, etc)
Countries in the Amazon Basin are: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venez uela. Find a traditional recipe from 3 of these countries and write them up with illustrations. Challenge: are you able to make one of them at home? Take a family walk and take pictures of as many different trees and pants as you can. See how many types you can identify. (Be specific, eg. oak, spruce, daisy, etc)
English
Working Together
Discussion – write a series of arguments for and against people coming to the rainforest to spot the new species. Think about the impact on the environment of increased travel, accommodation, etc. The Amazon River is 6,400km long. How long would it take you to paddle a canoe along its length if your paddle rate is 5km per hour? Calculate: A - how many hours B – how many days it would take. Challenge: if you paddled for 7 hours per day, how long would it take? In a friendship group, compose, practice and perform a storm that might occur in the rainforest. (Check the link on ‘Useful Links’ for an example)
Set up a paper recycling point in your home. Find out different locations where you can take it to be recycled. Take photographs of the process from your home to the recycler.