Tropical Rainforests: Review

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Let's review what you have learned so far!

(If you need a reminder, visit the Related Lessons in the right-hand sidebar.)

Most tropical rainforests can be found near the equator (this is the imaginary line that divides the earth in half). Rainforests can be found in parts of North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. See the map below for a reminder of the rainforest locations on earth:

_{Image by Terpischores, via Wikimedia Commons, is licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license.}

The climate in the rainforest is wet, humid, and hot! The rainforest gets rain nearly every day! The amount of rain the rainforest gets makes it very humid.

Rainforests are divided into four layers. The layer at the top is the emergent layer. This is the layer that gets the most sun, and where the tallest trees grow above all the other trees.

The layer below the emergent layer is the canopy layer. The canopy layer gets less sunlight than the emergent layer, but plants still grow well here. You will see lots of vines on the trees in the canopy layer.

The next layer is the understory layer. This layer doesn't get much sunlight. Young trees, palms, and other small plants grow in this layer.

The bottom layer is the rainforest floor. Very little grows here because of the lack of sunlight. The rainforest floor is usually covered in fallen leaves and fruit.

Tropical rainforests are home to many different types of plants. You will find tall trees, palms, vines, lily pads, ferns, flowers, and many other plants in the rainforest. Some of the plants that can be found in the rainforest are pictured below:

Lots of different types of animals can be found in the rainforest as well! If you took a trip to the rainforest, you would see sloths, monkeys, frogs, insects, arachnids, lizards, jaguars, bats, birds, and much more! Check out the pictures below of the animals that can be found in the rainforest:

You also learned that the rainforest is in great danger! The rainforest is home to half the earth's plant and animal species. Without the rainforest, we would lose half of our planet's species.

Deforestation for farm land is a major problem the rainforest faces. Deforestation occurs when people cut down the trees for land or products.

A common method of deforestation is the slash and burn method. This happens when people cut down the trees and burn the rest of the land.

Another problem the rainforest faces is the hunting, selling, and collecting of rainforest plants and animals. This has a negative effect on the rainforest's plant and animal population. It is important to preserve the rainforest to keep the plants and animals found there from becoming extinct (no longer existing)!

Fantastic! You have reviewed all of the material covered in all of the rainforest lessons. Move on to the next section to prepare for the final project!