Amy Birch

Birch’s “Rainforest Technology” will allow her second-grade students at Mary McPherson Elementary to investigate and report about a rainforest animal, using one of the five classroom computers or an Apple iPad purchased with the ING grant funds to research information. Students will then present their Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to parents using the classroom document camera/projector and REDCAT Speaker system at a class produced Rainforest Exhibition. Guests will also get to eat foods from the rainforest. As a culmination of the project, students will visit the Boise Zoo to look at all of the rainforest animals that the class researched. Overall, students will learn technology skills and broaden their knowledge base about the world. The environmental implications coinciding with rainforest deforestation and how it affects an animal’s habitat will also be taught to ensure the students understand the full circle of the animal’s lifecycle. The students will even write letters to the President of the United States of America asking for help to save the rainforest. Birch resides in Kuna.