Take a trip to the Colombian rainforest through the sense of touch. Here, class members discover what's inside a mystery box: wood, cinnamon, Brazil nuts, a banana, and orange. Then, the class takes a trip outside for a tree rubbing activity to observe the patterns they create and discuss the barks' similarities and differences.

Concepts

rainforests, colombia, trees, texture, sense of touch, the five senses, tree bark, patterns

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Encourage physical activity and family time; provide scholars with paper and crayons to take home and complete the tree rubbing activity
• Go on a buddy nature walk; direct one buddy to blindfold themselves as the other buddy takes them to different trees, plants, etc., to touch and guess what they are feeling 
• If tree names are unknown, search the Internet for its correct name using descriptive words 

Classroom Considerations

• This lesson is the fifth of six from the Rainforest Alliance early childhood activities
• Take classroom allergies into consideration prior to bringing in items for mystery boxes 

Pros

• The lesson sparks dialogue and gets kids outdoors 

Cons

• None