Kindergarten Rainforest Books and Diorama.

by | Apr 22, 2014 | Family & Motherhood

Adalinc to Life
Kindergarten Rainforest Books and Diorama Project
Mr. Yoda’s kindergarten class was studying forests and he decided to focus on Rainforests. Here is a list of books we found at the library and his project at the end.

The World Around Us:  What is a Forest?  Heinemann Read and Learn Series

We liked this book as it was an easy non-fiction introduction into forests.  The topics were broken down into questions such as: What is a Forest like in spring or fall?  What does a forest feel like?  What does a forest sound like?  How big is a forest? What animals live in a forest?  It was a quick easy intro into vocabulary as well showing the differences between a temperate and tropical rainforest. 
Kids 3-7.

Rainforest Animals (Animal Verse) illustrated by Paul Hess

A beautifully, colourful illustrated book with a rhyming text introducing children to some animals found in a rainforest.  Great for kids 2-5.

Over in the Jungle: A Rainforest Rhyme by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jeanette Canyon

This isn’t just another Rainforest Rhyme book, it is a feast for the eyes and ears.  It has a predictable counting text that children love.  They will learn counting to ten as well as animals that live in a rainforest.  Each page is a work of art by the illustrator who constructs each page using polymer clay. What is created are beautiful relief images and an array of textures that leave you lingering on each page to marvel at the little details.  If you are studying Oceans the same author and illustrator have created Over in the Ocean: In a Coral Reef as well.  Great for kids 3-8.

There are also iPad apps with the same titles as the books.  My kids love them.
We’re Roaming in the Rainforest: An Amazon Adventure by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson (Barefoot Books)
A very colourful, rhyming book for kids aged 3-8.  If you go to this site you will find a guide for educators, parents and community groups.  The activities are listed for Kindergarten and grade one students. Here is the link: Activities for We’re Roaming in the Rainforest

A is for Anaconda: A Rainforest Alphabet by Anthony D. Fredericks and illustrated by Laura Regan

This book is part of the Sleeping Bear Press books about exploring planet earth.  The book takes young readers through the alphabet while they discover animals and plants of the rainforest as well as what makes a rainforest so valuable to the earth and how to save it.  The in- depth discussion of each topic I found to be a little much for my Kindergartener, however, the 4 line stanzas of each letter sufficient as an introduction.  This book would be helpful to an older student learner about the Rainforest grade 2-4.  

If I Ran the Rainforest by Bonnie Worth illustrated by Aristides Ruiz.  A Cat in the Hat Series Book

In true Cat in the Hat rhyming fashion a book all about tropical rain forests.

Rainforests:  An Activity Guide for Ages 6-9 by Nancy F. Castaldo

I found this one at the library and I thought it would be good for future reference.  This book is a wealth of info and various activities.  I will just give a few as examples: How to build a Rainforest Bottle Terrarium, play the orchid game, design a bird mask, how slow is a sloth?  I would definitely include this book for reference for those studying at home and I think a lot of the activities could be used with younger children. Kids can also learn about geography and the people who live in rain forests.
DIORAMA CONSTRUCTION

Mr. Yoda decided he wanted to make a diorama of a rainforest.  I found the animals for his project at
FirstPalette.com where you can find lots of kids crafts ideas and Printables.

Supplies we used:

Construction paper
Empty box
Scissors
Paint
Tissue Paper
Glue
Markers
First he coloured all the animals he wanted to include for his diorama. Then he began with painting the inside of the box.
Then he cut out brown construction paper to make the very tall trees and glued them into the back of the box then he glued green tissue paper to the top (supposed to be the canopy section of the rainforest).  I tried to convince him to extend some of the trees above the box but when Mr. Yoda has an idea in his head of what he wants his project to look like well it is his project so I just let it be.  
 


Next he started placing animals in the box that one might find in the canopy.

Then he cut out blue construction paper to make a pond on the rainforest floor for drinking water and more tissue paper around the pond as that is where some animals might be hiding and find living on the rainforest floor.
Mr. Yoda was very proud of his diorama and presented it in his Kindergarten class.  I hope you found the book recommendations helpful and if you have any other book suggests I would love to hear them.
Enjoy and Cheers as always,
Bonnie