A Plate Full of Tropical Morsels

Grade Level: Any

Duration: 10-15 minutes (more for preparation)

Materials: See products list below

Subjects: Home Ec (if the students will be preparing the snack foods)

Objective: When in doubt, reach the students through their stomachs. The students will gain an understanding of all the things they eat every day that originate in the tropical rainforest. Once the students realize what they'll be loosing due to rainforest destruction, they might feel motivated to become active in rainforest preservation.

Method: Many ingredients are easily found and easily prepared such as: trail mix (using chocolate pieces, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, banana chips, pineapple bits and peanuts), tropical fruit punch with citrus, (papaya, pineapple juices, etc.), or you can purchase Ben & Jerry's Rainforest Crunch Peanut Britt1e or Ice Cream. There are also Rainforest Nut Cookies that can be found in most supermarkets. Let the students taste samples of the different foods while they listen to a tape of sounds from the rainforest. (Available through Rainforest Action Network) As they eat, ask them about their favorite rainforest animal (to prepare for the "Express Yourself" activity) or ask them what they enjoyed most about your presentation (if this activity is your last for the day).

You can find recipes which use rainforest products in National Wildlife Federation's Rainforests: Tropical Treasures curriculum packet (see Resource List).