Exploring Biomes

# EXPLORING BIOMES The Abundant Life of Central America’s Tropical Forests **Learning Age**: 9 - 14 **Subject Links:** Geography, Earth Science, Biology, Animal Biology, Life Science, Natural Science **Learning Objectives** *1. Describe what makes a rainforest unique*{.info} *2. Compare rainforests and savannas in terms of their climate, wildlife and vegetation*{.info} *3. Label the structure of a rainforest and identify adaptations that enable animals to thrive within their preferred layer*{.info} **Playlist Overview** This collection of 360° videos is designed to help your students learn about the rainforest biome and its characteristic climate and wildlife. Using these VR activities to enhance your core lessons, your students can discover the adaptations of animals who dwell in the jungle, experience the favorable climate that supports them, and recognize why this ecosystem is a hot spot for biodiversity. **Keywords:** Rainforest, tropical, jungle, biome, ecosystem, habitat, savanna, adaptation, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, rainfall **VR Resources:** These resources are all 360° videos and durations are stated below. - **Movie: Central America: Where Jungle Meets Ocean** *(9m 12s)* - **Movie: Virtual Safari** *(5m 38s)* **Please note, videos from our WildWorld subscription are high quality and some files may be large. Please allow ample time to download.** *Tip: While in the headset, encourage your students to look up and all around them!* **Optional Additional Materials:** - **Movie Booklet: Central America - Where Jungle Meets Ocean** **Before Your Experience** Before venturing into their immersive tour of Central America’s biomes, check your students’ prior knowledge of tropical forests and biomes in general. The following questions can be discussed in a group or as an individual task: Ask your students: - Can you describe what a rainforest is like? *(wet, warm areas with tall trees, large amount of rainfall, variety of different animal species)* - Where in the world are tropical rainforests found? *(close to the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn)* - If rainforests are areas with lots of rain and large numbers of animals, what do we call a region with very low rainfall and sandy, rocky landscapes? *(desert)* **Suggested Activities** Here are some activity ideas to get you started using these VR resources in your classroom. These differentiated activities can be adapted for different learning ages and abilities. # Core Knowledge{.objective .objective1} This activity asks students to describe the habitats of specific animals and how they interact with them. Before your students watch this movie, divide them into groups and give each group an animal to focus on in the video. Choose from the following list: *brown pelican, American crocodile, spiny-tailed iguana, brown-throated sloth, coati, agouti, South American tapir, olive ridley sea turtle, California sea lion and mobula ray.* Then, students should watch the following video in their Class VR headsets: - **Central America: Where Jungle Meets Ocean** *Tip: Remind students that they will need to pay special attention to their animal in the video, describing where it chooses to live and feed.* Students should then write down as much detailed information as they can about their animal on a sheet of paper, without naming the animal itself, but including their own name at the top. Encourage them to describe the environment and observations on the animal’s feeding, movement or sheltering habits (not its appearance). The teacher can then collect all the finished papers, shuffle them up and re-distribute the pages amongst the class, challenging students to correctly guess the animal described. To support this activity, you can provide the **Movie Booklet: Where Jungle Meets Ocean**. # Demonstrating Understanding{.objective .objective2} In this activity, students will be asked to compare two biomes – the rainforest and the savanna – on their VR video journey. a) First, ask students to watch the **Central America: Where Jungle Meets Ocean** video. Allow some time for the class to make notes describing the characteristics of the wildlife, climate and vegetation. *Tip: Focus students on making notes about the distinct conditions experienced in the biome. In addition to the types of animals that thrive there, they might consider plant coverage, weather patterns and water availability.* b) Next, ask students to watch the **Movie: Virtual Safari** video. After another short break to write their observations as before, allocate the students to small groups to share what they noticed with their peers. Together, they should use what they have learned to analyze which biome has the advantage under a range of categories, in a “Battle of the Biomes” debate. Their task is to distinguish between a rainforest and a savanna, and which is the greater in each of the following metrics: - *Climate: Level of rainfall, temperature and sources of water* - *Vegetation: Amount of ground vegetation, shelter and tree cover* - *Wildlife: Variety of species (biodiversity), size of animals* Ask students to present their findings as a poster on a large sheet of paper or card. They can structure their work with the categories centered in the middle and the words Rainforest and Savanna written in large letters on each side. *Tip: Advise students to use colored arrows to represent which they think is higher or lower, and to annotate with short remarks like thick tree coverage, small mammals or very hot.* # Extended Learning{.objective .objective3} In this creative activity, your students can develop a more detailed understanding of the rainforest biome. Before getting your students into the headset to watch the video, tell them that the goal of this activity is to focus on identifying the four different layers of the rainforest canopy. You can write these on the board; Emergent Layer, Canopy Layer, Understory Layer, Forest Floor. Explain that each layer has its own conditions, and native animal and plant species possess unique adaptations that enable them to thrive at the specific level that they inhabit. Then, ask students to watch the **Central America: Where Jungle Meets Ocean** video in their headsets. Using a large piece of paper in portrait orientation, students should section the page horizontally into four, labeling the sections: Emergent Layer, Canopy Layer, Understory Layer and Forest Floor. Students can then draw large trees and branches of varying sizes to create the structure of their rainforest habitat. They should note that only the tallest trees reach the emergent layer, the canopy is where the majority of treetops predominate, and the understory is the lower part of the trees near to the ground. They should then add detailed descriptions of how specific conditions such as light intensity, humidity and temperature, vary between each layer. *Tip: You can provide the* **Movie Booklet: Where Jungle Meets Ocean** *to remind students of the animals inhabiting the Central American rainforest. If lesson time permits, they can draw some of the animals in their preferred territory to complete their rainforest habitat.* **Cross-Curricular Links** **Music** Ask students how they imagine a rainforest would sound. They can work together to create a rich, rainforest soundscape. Possible suggestions to include are distinctive bird calls, deep frog croaks, and scurrying insects or rain for percussion. Students can use instruments, sampled recordings, or even vocal mimicry to accomplish this! **Social Studies** Ask students to research Indigenous peoples who live in or around the rainforest. They can work in small groups to create a case study about their settlements, customs, and the ways they live in harmony with their environment. Students should also explore how their lives are impacted by deforestation. # Activity Guide **Download the Activity Guide** [](https://avnfs.com/Dgo9o_is3kWxEWc_Aod8gUXJM4WZ-d9Etvkd_VAm-tA?size=2440992&type=application%2Fpdf&name=Exploring+Biomes-Wildworld+Activity+Sheet.pdf)