Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Grey, and I'm so excited that you've decided to join me to learn geography today.

Today's lesson is in our unit of "Ice and glaciers: How are old places affected by a warming planet?" And the title of today's lesson is "The Arctic Tundra." By the end of the lesson, you will be able to describe the Arctic tundra, and explain what life is like there.

There are some key words that we'll come across in today's lesson.

They are: tundra, permafrost, and adaptation.

Tundra is a vast treeless region, a large scale global ecosystem.

Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen.

And adaptation is a process of change over time, a feature of a living thing that enables it to exist in a particular environment.

Today's lesson on the Arctic tundra is split into two learning cycles.

The first, what is the Arctic tundra? And the second, what is life like in the Arctic tundra? So let's take a look at our first learning cycle.

What is the Arctic tundra? The Arctic tundra is a biome, located at high latitudes, in the northern hemisphere.

The tundra is a treeless landscape due to extreme climatic conditions.

If you have a look at the world map there, can you identify where the Arctic tundra is? Have a look at the key.

What colour is the tundra? It's orange.

Then you can see that the tundra is all around the Arctic circle at the top there, in the northern hemisphere.

Can you see it? A quick check for us now then.

True or false? Trees are found in the tundra.

Is that true or false? So, pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back, and let's see how you got on.

Okay.

How did you get on? True or false? Trees are found in the tundra.

That is false.

The tundra is a treeless landscape due to extreme climatic conditions.

Did you get that right? Well done.

Now the climate of the Arctic tundra is extreme, particularly away from the coast.

The temperatures are extremely cold, and there is very little precipitation, less than 25 centimetres per year, which actually makes it a cold desert.

If you look at the image there, you can see the extreme environment.

The Arctic tundra has extreme seasons.

Inside the Arctic Circle, the tundra experiences 24 hours of darkness, known as polar night.

In the summer, the sun does not set, known as midnight sun.

In some places, this phenomena lasts for weeks or months.

Now, permafrost is permanently frozen ground found beneath the tundra surface.

The top layer of soil, called the active layer, thaws during summer, but there is still frozen ground beneath.

This prevents deep rooted plant growth, which is why trees cannot survive here.

So the ground is permanently frozen, and that top layer of soil does melt, it thaws during the summer, but underneath it, the ground is still frozen, so no roots can get really far down.

So those deep rooted plants that need the roots to be deep, like trees, can't survive there.

Another check for us now then, what is the uppermost soil in the tundra called, which thaws in summer? Is it A, cold layer, B, active layer, or C, refreeze layer? Pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back, and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? What is the uppermost soil in the tundra called which thaws in the summer? That is called the active layer.

Did you get that right? Well done.

Now, due to extreme conditions in the Arctic tundra, only hardy plants can grow.

Examples include mosses, lichens, low shrubs, and grasses.

Plants have adaptations, such as shallow roots and small leaves to conserve water.

Because of those extreme conditions, only particular types of plants with particular adaptations are able to survive.

Now they need those shallow roots because the roots aren't able to go down because of the permafrost, and that small leaves to be able to keep hold of their water because there isn't very much precipitation.

Right.

So we're onto our first task of the lesson now then.

Fill in the table to describe the climate of the Arctic tundra.

So we've got a table there, and we've got some information, which is some gaps, and you need to fill it in.

The first one is temperature.

So what's the temperature like in the Arctic tundra? The next one is precipitation.

So what's the precipitation like in the Arctic tundra? Then we move on to sunshine hours in the winter.

What's that like in the Arctic tundra? And then sunshine hours in the summer.

What's that like in the Arctic tundra? So, pause the video, write down your answer to each of those points, and then come back, and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Fill in the table to describe the climate of the Arctic tundra.

So for temperature, it is extremely cold.

It can be below minus 30 degrees in the winter.

For precipitation, they get less than 25 centimetres per year, and that makes it a cold desert.

For sunshine hours in the winter, that's known as polar night, when we get 24 hours of darkness inside the Arctic Circle.

For sunshine hours in the summer, that's known as midnight sun, the sun doesn't set, and that can last for weeks or months.

How did you get on with that task? Did you manage to fill in everything in the table? Well done.

Okay, so we finished our first learning cycle now, on what is the Arctic tundra, and now we're gonna move on to our second learning cycle, which is what is life like in the Arctic tundra? So despite harsh conditions, some animals have adapted to live in the Arctic tundra.

I wonder what animals have adapted to live there? The Arctic fox, caribou, or reindeer, and the polar bear.

So let's have a look at each of those animals in turn, and see how they've adapted to be able to live in the Arctic tundra.

So the Arctic fox has many adaptations.

There's an image there of the Arctic fox.

They've got small ears to reduce heat loss.

Obviously it's very, very cold there, so they need to do everything they can to keep their warmth.

(Mrs Grey coughing) They have fur-covered soles for warmth.

So another adaptation there to keep them warm because it's so cold.

They also camouflage white in the winter, and brown in the summer.

So keeping them safe by camouflaging different colours, white in the winter and brown in the summer.

And the polar bear's also got many adaptations.

Do you know any adaptations that a polar bear has? They have an excellent sense of smell for hunting seals.

They have thick fur, and a fat layer for warmth.

So here's another animal that's adapted in some way to live in the very cold conditions.

And they have large paws for walking on snow and swimming.

Look at all the adaptations that the polar bear's got there.

Now let's have a look at the caribou, the reindeer.

They've also got many adaptations.

They have thick fur and fat for warmth as well.

So again, another adaptation that an animal's got to keep them warm.

They migrate seasonally to find vegetation.

So, we've already learned that the Arctic tundra doesn't have a lot of vegetation, because of the permafrost, and so the caribou have to migrate to be able to find vegetation to eat.

And they have large hooves for digging through the snow to be able to find food.

So lots of adaptations again there that those animals have got to be able to survive in the Arctic tundra.

Another check for us now then.

True or false? Animals in the Arctic are camouflaged white all year round.

Animals in the Arctic are camouflaged white all year round.

Is that true or is that false? So pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back, and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? Animals in the Arctic are camouflaged white all year round.

That is false.

The Arctic fox camouflages white in the winter, but brown in the summer.

Did you get that right? Well done.

Now the Arctic tundra is also home to indigenous peoples, including the Inuit, who have adapted their lifestyle to suit the environment.

Now Sam asks, "How is their lifestyle adapted to suit the environment?" Brilliant question, Sam.

(sniffing) So they hunt and fish for food.

Insulated shelters, known as igloos, are built as temporary homes for hunters in the winter, and traditional knowledge helps them survive in the extreme cold.

Another check for us now then.

How have indigenous groups adapted their lifestyle to enable them to survive in the Arctic environment? A, hunting and fishing.

B, building insulated shelters.

C, growing wheat for flour.

So have a read through that question again.

Have a look at the answers, pause the video, write down your answer, and then come back, and let's see how you got on.

(sniffing) Okay, how did you get on? How have indigenous groups adapted their lifestyle to enable them to survive in the Arctic environment? And that's A and B, hunting and fishing, and building insulated shelters.

Did you get those? Well done.

Now, modern human activity, such as oil drilling, that threatens the fragile ecosystems of the tundra.

Drilling for oil damages habitats and increases the risk of pollution.

That then means that regrowth of vegetation is slow due to the tundra's cold climate and frozen soils.

And longer term changes result, as animals are highly adapted and migration routes are disrupted.

That causes a lot of problems. Climate change, caused by the burning of oil and gas, also threatens the environment of the tundra.

Burning oil and gas creates greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, and methane.

(sniffing) Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap heat.

That leads to rising global temperatures, and rising temperatures cause the Arctic permafrost to thaw, which releases even more greenhouse gases.

And then we have the greenhouse gas problem again, and that's like a bit of a cycle.

So we're onto our final task of the lesson now then.

Question one, annotate the images to show how these animals have adapted to living in the tundra.

Hint, say how each feature is special and useful.

So how is each of the special features that the animals have got useful? So you've got three pictures there.

You've got the Arctic fox, the polar bear, and the caribou.

So you need to annotate them to tell us how they've adapted, and see how each of those adaptations is useful.

(Mrs Grey clearing throat) Question two, write a short news story to fit this headline, "Environmentalists protest at plans to drill for oil in the Arctic Tundra." So you're gonna write a short news story to fit that headline.

You've got two questions to answer there, two tasks to complete.

So pause the video, read through them again, write down your answers, and then come back, and let's see how you got on.

Okay, how did you get on? So the first thing was to annotate the images to show how these animals have adapted to living in the tundra.

Your answer might include, so here we've got the Arctic fox.

You may have said, they've got small ears which reduce heat loss, which is important when the climate is so cold.

The Arctic fox also has a thick fur coat, which insulates against the wind and low temperatures.

And the Arctic fox camouflages white in the winter, and brown in the summer.

So they're less likely to be spotted by their predators.

Did you get all of those? Let's have a look at the next one.

So here we've got the polar bear.

The polar bear has an excellent sense of smell.

This is important for hunting seals.

The polar bear also has thick fur, and a fat layer, which keeps them warm.

The polar bear's also got large paws.

This allows for walking on snow and swimming.

Let's have a look at the last one then, the caribou.

The caribou have thick fur and fat, which keeps them warm.

The caribou also migrates seasonally to find vegetation.

And caribou have large hooves for digging through snow to find food.

Did you get all of those adaptations? Well done.

So your second question was to write a news story, and this is what your news story might have looked like, and might include.

(throat clearing) "Yesterday, a group of environmentalists blocked the entrance to prevent construction vehicles entering the site of a new drilling project in the Arctic tundra.

They object to plans to drill for oil because of the climate changing gases trapped in the permafrost.

"Spills are a risk, but the biggest impact will be when the oil is burned," said one young woman.

"Methane released in a thaw of the frozen ground could lead to big consequences for the planet." Other concerns raised relate to wildlife, including whether migration roots may be blocked, or habitats lost.

"Plants grow so slowly here that even footprints remain for years in this fragile environment," the group's spokeswoman added." So that's just an example of what you might have included.

Is that the sort of thing that you wrote? Okay, so we're at the end of our lesson now on the Arctic tundra.

Let's have a little look at what we've learned today.

The tundra is a treeless landscape, found at high latitudes in the northern hemisphere.

In the winter, Arctic tundra experiences 24 hours of darkness, for weeks or months.

Permafrost, and a dry extremely cold climate, limit plant growth.

Animals, such as the Arctic fox and the polar bear, are well adapted to the extreme conditions of the Arctic Tundra.

Indigenous peoples have adapted their lifestyle to survive in this extreme environment.

And the tundra environment is facing big changes, with rising temperatures as a result of climate change.

Thank you for joining me for today's lesson on the Arctic Tundra.

I've really enjoyed it, and I hope you have to.

I'll see you next time.