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The Salamander Room

Language: English

A young boy finds a salamander and thinks of the many things he can do to make a perfect home for it. Viewers learn that there is more to creating an animal habitat than meets the eye, as LeVar explores Jungle World, a rain forest environment created at the Bronx Zoo in New York. They also learn about scientists who use a treetop raft as a lab to study the rain forest ecosystem.

Here are activities to do after watching this episode:

Singing Frog

You will need:

  • white paper plate (best to use uncoated plates)
  • green and red paint, or markers, or crayons
  • paint brush (if paint is used)
  • green, white, black construction paper
  • scissors
  • glue

Directions:

  1. Fold a paper plate in half.
  2. Color or paint the inside of the plate red and the outside green.
  3. Use white and black paper to cut out big frog eyes and glue to the top of the plate.
  4. Use green construction paper to cut out two short and two long frog legs and glue to the sides and front bottom of the plate.
  5. Glue a green strap across the top of the frog to make a hand strap for holding.
  6. Open and close the plate to make your frog sing!
  

Life in a Bottle

You will need:

  • one 2-liter soda bottle
  • scissors
  • soil
  • gravel or small rocks
  • small plants found outdoors
  • water

Directions:

  1. Remove the label and cut the bottle in two about 4 inches from the bottom.
  2. Take the top part and cut six vertical 1” slits spaced around the bottle.
  3. Fill the base of your bottle with a layer of gravel and small rocks.
  4. With an adult take the bottom of your bottle to a wooded area near your home. Dig up a few small plants, keeping the roots together. Place these plants and soil on top of the gravel layer.
  5. Water the soil. Then place the top portion of the bottle over the plants, fitting the slits down over the base.
  6. Place in a well-lit area and observe your terrarium for several days. If it is kept in a well-lit area, your terrarium will live for a long time. You will notice that it will even “rain” and have “fog” in your terrarium much like a rain forest does.

Check out some of these books on your
next trip to the library:

  • The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale Of The Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry
  • Chipmunk Song by Joanne Ryder
  • Frogs, Toads, Lizards and Salamanders by Nancy Winslow Parker and Joan Richards Wright

READING RAINBOW has a resource library that includes teacher guide materials as well as reading programs for use in the public libraries. You can download these resources from GPN at:
www.gpnresources.com

If you would like more information about READING RAINBOW or if you would like to learn more about other educational products please visit the GPN web site.

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