South America

Idea Lab students have been learning about the continent of South America!  We started off the unit by learning about flags and symbolism, and we created flags to represent ourselves and get to know each other.  

Here are some of the flags that we made!

Then, we began our exploration of the South American continent. Students were able to explore freely on the continent while given some online resources with active links in various areas of South America. After exploring, students had to share their learning. 


To zoom in a bit more, each student chose a different country in South America to learn about and share some facts.

We zoomed in even more and started learning about the Amazon Rainforest! Students learned about the different layers of the rainforest and did some sorting and classifying of animals in the different layers.


After learning about the rainforest in general, we started to examine some of the exotic plants and animals carefully. Students had to choose plants and animals that they wanted to learn more about, create a smaller version of them, and tell us about them.

After learning about some of the plants and animals, students had to create a 3D model of the Amazon Rainforest demonstrating their knowledge of the different layers and the plants and animals that would be in that particular layer.

Students began learning about deforestation that is occurring and threatening this great ecosystem. Students shared many ways that deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest could be harmful to the plants, animals, and people living there, as well as beyond. After learning that deforestation harms us all-- not just the plants and animals living there, students were given the challenge to create an educational video teaching others about the harmful effects and consequences of rainforest deforestation. Students are still working on this project, and we will share your student's finished product with you upon completion.


Learning about South America has been interesting and fun for us! We will keep you posted on our continued learning this year.