Rainforests Rainforest ecosystems are located near the equator. The weather in a rainforest is warm and humid (moisture in the air) all year long; it rains more than any other area. Rainforests produce a majority of Earth’s oxygen supply.
Rainforests are known for having many living things. There are thousands of different species of animals and plants. Creatures thrive in the climates of the rainforest. The rainforest includes a variety of animals: monkeys, tree frogs, jaguars, different species of birds, and an abundance of a variety of insects.
There are three layers of the rainforest. The top layer is the canopy of the rainforest. This layer has mature (grown) trees and branches. The canopy blocks much of the sun. The next layer is called the understory. This layer includes bushes and growing trees. It is home to many different birds, reptiles and small animals. The last layer is the forest floor. This layer includes shrubs, vines, leaf clutter, and is home to insects and other animals including large predators.
Rainforests are important to our earth because they produce oxygen and are the homes to many plants and animals.

Questions

Write two facts about rainforests.

What does the word thrive mean in paragraph #2?

What is the main idea of the text?

What is the author’s purpose of this text?

Why is the rainforest important to the earth, and how can we protect it?

Before ending this lesson, take a moment to review an informative research essay you have written. you’ve probably already written a conclusion to the essay. but is it the best conclusion it can be? does it properly summarize the main subtopics of your essay? does it state in one or two sentences the “so what” of your topic. if your topic was abraham lincoln, your essay shouldn’t be just about abraham lincoln. it should answer, “so what about abraham lincoln? ” take five or ten minutes, and looking only at that single paragraph, revise your conclusion

Read the excerpt from act 1 of a doll's house. helmer: nora! [goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.] the same little featherhead! suppose, now, that i borrowed fifty pounds today, and you spent it all in the christmas week, and then on new year's eve a slate fell on my head and killed me, and— nora: [putting her hands over his mouth]. oh! don't say such horrid things. helmer: still, suppose that happened, —what then? nora: if that were to happen, i don't suppose i should care whether i owed money or not. helmer: yes, but what about the people who had lent it? nora: they? who would bother about them? i should not know who they were. helmer: that is like a woman! but seriously, nora, you know what i think about that. no debt, no borrowing. there can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. we two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle. nora: [moving towards the stove]. as you , torvald. how does the interaction between helmer and nora advance the plot? nora realizes that helmer will completely disapprove of her having borrowed money, so she has to continue to keep it a secret from him. nora realizes that she and helmer have the same ideas about financial issues, and the conversation brings them closer together later in the play. helmer realizes that nora is more responsible with money than he originally thought, and he trusts her more with finances later in the play. nora realizes that helmer knows a lot more about borrowing and lending, and she will seek his input later when she needs it.

Lens quotation: "character is what you are in the dark." -dwight lyman moody