Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

I'm Miss Reid and welcome to another geography lesson on Biomes.

Let's have a look at our key question for today.

Our key question for today is, "What is the taiga?" Well in this lesson, we are going to be learning about the climatic factors and the location of the taiga.

We'll also learn about the flora, the plants, and the fauna, the animals that are present there.

For today's lesson you'll need an exercise book or a piece of paper, you'll need a pencil and you'll need your brain.

Please take a moment now to clear away any distractions, including turning off any notifications for apps or conversations that you have running in the background if you know how to.

Finally if you can, try to find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed during the lesson.

Pause the video now so you can get the things you need.

Great.

Now you have everything you need, let's carry on.

So we are Geographers.

Remember that geographers are a type of scientist who study the earth.

That means that they study the land, the physical features, and the people who live within the land, and that's the human features.

So today we're going to be asking, "Where can we find the taiga?" We'll ask, "What are the features of the taiga?" And "What flora and fauna can be found in the taiga?" First let's recap on the locations and the names of the seven continents.

I'm going to say, "Where is a continent?" And I want you to point to it.

So where is North America? Put your finger on it.

Did you put your finger on the light green continent? Very well done.

Okay.

Where is South America? Put your finger on it.

You should have put your finger on the dark green continent.

Where is Europe? Put your finger on it.

That's right, It's that dark red continent.

Where is Africa? Indeed, It's the yellow continent.

Where is Antarctica? Put your finger on it.

That's right, It's that dark blue continent.

Where is Asia? Put your finger on it.

That's great, It's the light red continent.

And finally, where is Oceania? That's right, It's the purple continent.

So, a question for you.

Do you remember why isn't the Arctic a continent? Shout out your answer if you can remember.

That's exactly right, because there is no land under the Arctic ice sheet.

Okay, here's a recap.

Can you name all seven continents? Pause the video now while you name all seven continents.

Did you remember all seven? Let's go through them.

North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania.

Give yourself a pat on the back if you remembered all of those.

Let's move on.

So where can we find the taiga? Well, here's the map that we've been studying, showing us the location of the Biomes across the world.

We have learned that there is huge diversity across continental Biomes due to that proximity to the equator.

Today, we're focusing on the taiga.

We're also going to look at mountain forests as this is a version or a mountainous version of the taiga.

Can you find the taiga on the key? I've underlined it to help you have a closer look.

You should have pointed to this dark green colour.

Can you find the mountain forest? I've underlined it to help you put your finger on it.

That's right, It's here.

It's a slightly lighter blue, green colour.

Well done everyone.

So, now we know what colour the taiga and the mountain forests are.

I'm going to ask you to do a task.

I want you to point to the places on the map where you can find the taiga.

Pause the video while you point all of the places where you can find the taiga.

Did you manage to say the names of the continents in which you can find the taiga? Pause the video now and say the names of the continents.

Maybe you even know the countries in which you can find the taiga.

Let's check through the answers.

We'll zoom in again.

So the taiga can be found in Canada, you can see that label appear.

In Iceland.

Of course Canada is in North America.

Iceland is in Europe.

Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

That's in Europe.

And Russia.

And remember Russia covers Europe and Asia, or spans those two continents.

Did you find all of those places? This include the taiga and were you able to shout out the names of the continents? Excellent work.

Okay.

Now I want you to find all of the places on the map, where we find the mountain forest.

Shout out the names of the continents as you read them, or as you point to the places.

Pause the video now and complete that task.

Were you able to say the names of the continents where you found the mountain forests? Let's have a closer look and see where they are.

So Canada and North America includes a mountain forest, and this is where the Rocky mountains are in North America.

In South America, we have another mountain forest, and this is where the Andes Mountains are.

We can also find a mountain forest on the border of China and Nepal, where we find the Himalayas.

And in Europe we find a mountain forest where we find the Alps in Europe.

Were you able to find all of those mountain forests? Give yourself a pat on the back, well done.

Let's move on.

So here's this image again.

And this image is really helpful in helping us to understand that the further away a land masses from the equator, the colder the climate will be.

And this is because of the Earth's curved shape.

At the equator, the sun's light hits the earth surface directly.

However, the further we go from the equator, the more the sun's light is distributed and so less heat energy the land receives.

Here's a question for you.

You need to choose the correct option.

Where does the sun's light hit the earth at the most direct angle? A, the equator.

B, 30 degrees North.

C, 30 degrees South.

Pause the video now and choose either A, B or C as the correct answer.

Let's take a look at the correct answer.

It is of course the equator, the sun's light hits the equator at the most direct angle.

Pause the video now so you can tick or fix your answer.

Great work everyone, let's move on.

So now we're thinking about the features of the taiga.

So the key features are, the temperature ranges from minus 54 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius.

It has a low average temperature, that means it's cold for most of the year.

It has high precipitation, which is seen as snow in the winter.

Most of the trees are evergreen.

Remember that evergreen trees don't lose their leaves and they remain green all year round.

It's the largest terrestrial, which means land biome.

It has long cold winters and short mild summers.

Fires are common in the summer, and this promotes new growth.

Well, you see, forest fires remove old trees, making room for new growth.

And the ash that's left from the fires also makes the ground more fertile.

Fertile means that it promotes growth.

Answer the question.

Why are forest fires beneficial in the taiga? Keywords you can use are old trees, new growth, ash, fertile.

Pause the video now so you can complete that task.

Let's have a look at my answer so you can compare yours to mine.

I said, "Forest fires are beneficial in the taiga because they remove old trees and make room for new growth, while the ash makes the ground more fertile." Pause the video now so you can tick or fix your answer.

Let's move on.

So the most common type of tree found in a taiga is the conifer tree.

Conifers or cone bearing trees have evolved to have needles rather than leaves.

Needles have a lower wind resistance than big flat leaves, so they're less likely to make the tree fall over during a big storm.

They also retain more water.

Conifers are also known as evergreens and they don't drop their leaves or their needles in winter.

The name evergreen describes an important adaptation of the conifers that they are always green.

Here's a task for you.

You need to complete the sentence writing the correct words in the gaps.

"Evergreen means that the trees drop their leaves and they remain all year round." Pause the video now and complete the sentence, writing the correct words in the gaps.

Let's see how you did.

"Evergreen means that the trees don't drop their leaves and they remain green all year round." You might have written, "Evergreen means that trees do not drop their leaves," and that would have been okay as well.

Pause the video now so you can tick or fix your sentence.

Well done everyone.

So what fauna can be found in the taiga? Remember, fauna means the animals.

Well, just like the Tundra, the cold climate of the taiga makes it a difficult place for many animals to live.

Many have thick coats of fur to protect them against the cold such as the grizzly bear, while others hibernate during the winter such as squirrels.

Animal populations are mainly seed eating squirrels, small mammals like moles and larger wandering animals, such as deer, moose and elk.

The main predators in the taiga are grizzly bears, wolves, and eagles.

Now, hibernate means that the animal spends the winter in a dormant or sleeping state.

I've got a task for you.

I want you to sketch one of the animals or an animal that you know lives in the taiga.

And I want you to label it with how it's adapted to living in the taiga.

For example, I've got an immature of the grizzly bear, and I'm going to label it with thick fur coat for warmth, powerful paws for killing prey, sharp claws for killing prey.

You can choose one of the animals on this screen, or you can choose an animal that you know lives in the taiga.

You might ask a parent or carer to help you to do some research about the animals in the taiga.

Pause the video now so you can complete that task.

I wonder which animal you drew.

I'd love to see it.

I'm going to show you how you can show me if you'd like to.

So we're at the end of today's lesson and a really big well done on all of the fantastic learning you've achieved today.

If you're able to, please take a picture of your work and ask your parents or carer to share it with your teacher so they can see all of the fantastic things you've learned today.

And if you'd like, ask a parent or carer to send a picture of your work, to @OakNational on Twitter so that I can see your lovely work too and those animals that you've sketched.

That's all that's left for me today.

Thank you for working so hard.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your learning today.