Third Grade Curriculum: Ghana
Go into almost any backpack in your school and you will find empty chocolate wrappers or chocolate treats waiting to be eaten. Chocolate is a favorite candy of children all over the world. Where does all this chocolate come from? Who produces the ingredients for this treat? Students will explore the forests of Ghana and find that chocolate isn't the only interesting thing found underneath the canopy. Students will learn about the wealth of biodiversity that thrives within the forests and cacao farms of Ghana’s Western Region.
Lessons
Lesson 1: Dependence and Interdependence
Key Concept: In every environment plants and animals depend on each other for food and shelter, protection and community. The survival of different species depends on the health of ecological systems that may be near or far away. The complex relationships within one ecosystem can be hurt when one of the components is threatened or one of the species becomes extinct.
Essential Question: Why can't one live without the other?
Lesson 2: Surviving in Our Ecosystems
Key Concept: Each species has different survival needs. The balance of each ecosystem is a delicate web of interdependence and every species of plant or animal is affected by changes in that balance. Knowing how we, as humans, are the same and/or different than other species informs us of our role in the larger ecosystem.
Essential Question: What do we need to live in the trees?
Lesson 3: If the Forest Could Talk
Key Concept: Insects are essential elements of any ecosystem as they serve as pollinators for plants. Insects may be regarded as a nuisance to humans, but if they all disappeared every ecosystem would feel the impact of this loss.
Essential Question: What if the forest could talk?
Lesson 4: How Can We Keep Our Forests Intact and Have Our Chocolate Too?
Key Concept: By using different methods of growing and harvesting rainforest foods, we can sustain its biodiversity.
Essential Question: How can we keep our forests intact and have our chocolate too?
About Our Curricula
The Rainforest Alliance curricula are unique in that it teaches language arts, math, science, social studies and the arts while addressing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics, and the Next Generation Science Standards.
- Learn more about how our curricula adhere to these standards.
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