SAVE THE RAINFOREST
WHERE IT'S HOT, HOT, HOT

SO, COME ON, LETS GET HOT, HOT, HOT AND HAVE SOME FUN AS WE LEARN ABOUT A FAR WAY PLACE THAT IS IMPORTANT TO OUR PLANET EARTH.

SOME RAINFOREST FACTS:
The rainforests are special forests because it is always raining. Because it is so hot and rainy, there are many colorful plants. This deep forest is also the home for many animals that only can be found in the rainforest.
If you flew over the rainforest you would see the canopy of tall trees. The steamy forest is called the Amazon and it is near the equator, which makes it HOT, HOT, HOT.

Facts to teach children about the rainforest…
1. Three layers of the rainforest
   *Canopy: is called the "forest above the forest" is the top layer; heavy growth area; butterflies, birds, monkeys, tree frogs and snakes move slowly but efficiently in search of vegetation.
   *Understory: young trees, ferns, shrubs; very little vegetation because so little light can get through; temperatures are cooler; insects and plants struggle to survive.
   *Forest Floor is the bottom layer of the rainforest, very thin tropical soil, large mammals like jaguars, African Gorillas live on the forest floor.
2. Location of the Rainforest: Tropical rainforests are located near the equator where temperature stays about 80 degrees all year long; largest is in Brazil.
3. Tribal People:
   Indians or indigenous people live in the rainforest; they live in small groups and live off the land; they build their homes out of palm trees and palm leaves.
4. Importance of rainforest to Mother Earth: Rainforest canopies absorbs carbon dioxide, which is gas in the atmosphere. When the rainforest is burned and cleaned, the carbon is released. This makes the weather much hotter and is called the Greenhouse effect.
5. Why save the rainforest? When people burn down the trees in the rainforest, the soil dries very quickly, and when it rains, it washes away the soil. All the animals that depend on the plants and vegetation can not get their food and the ecosystem becomes destroyed.
6. Life in the Rainforest: Birds such as toucans, hummingbirds, parakeets; snakes like the python, boas and eels; a variety of insects and frogs as well as many mammals like monkeys, jaguars, lions make their homes in the rainforest.