Organism Adaptations to Water Availability in the Cloud Forest

Grade Level: 6-8

Introduction: Students will be given examples of plant species from the tropical montane cloud forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica to examine and two scientific questions based on those plants. Students will then create original hypotheses regarding the habitat of the plant and adaptations the species have evolved in response to water availability. Rainfall data from the forest, as well as information collected from Canopy In The Clouds media will allow students to create conclusions to the scientific questions and determine the validity of their hypotheses.

Objectives: Students will be able to 1) describe the differences in water availability between sites in the cloud forest 2) identify adaptations that organisms have made to water availability 3) draw conclusions regarding the adaptations organisms have made to water availability and their location in the cloud forest. 

National Science Standards: Populations and Ecosystems, Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms, Scientific Inquiry

Time: 75 minutes – one double period or two single periods (10 min for opening activity, 20 minutes for graph creation, 5 minutes for hypothesis writing, 25 minutes for viewing Canopy In The Clouds media, and 15 min for closing conclusion writing)

Related Plans:

1. Water Cycle
2. Understanding Seasonality
3. Organism Adaptation to Water Availability
4. Plant Transpiration
5. Independent Study of Water in the Environment