Rain-Forest

Ms. Ratlfiff's Kindergarten Student's Rainforest Drawings

Here is the Tropical Rainforest

Here is the rain

that fills the river,

which is home to the caiman

that fights the jaguar

who stalks the peccaries

that eat the figs,

which are dropped by the monkeys

that flee from the eagle

who hunts the sloth

that hangs from the tree,

which holds the bromeliad

that shelters the frog

who bathes in the rain

that drizzles and pours

and may fall everyday

in this lush and wet world:

Here is the tropical rain forest

Kindergarten students in Ms. Ratliff's class, at Christa McAuliffe Elementary in the Shawnee Mission School District, demonstrated their understanding of the flora and fauna from the poem, Here is theTropical Rainforest.

They explored the elements of dance; and then applied those elements to creating their own unique Rainforest dance.

Using their critical thinking skills, they chose attributes of the particular flora and fauna in the poem and then communicated through movement and dance that understanding.

The movement choices students made demonstrated their level of understanding for each of the characters in the poem.

The structure of the poem resembles the familiar poem, This is the House that Jack Built, which presents the concept of interdependence. In Here is the Tropical Rainforest each character is connected and interdependent. Each character plays a part, without each one, the system collapses.

Rainforest Illustrations

At the conclusion of the residency, the students presented to me a book of illustrations of the tropical rainforest. As you will see, their lovely drawings reflect various characters from the poem and in some cases their connection to the environment.