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Year 5

People of the Amazon rainforest

You can compare different types of settlement and traditional lifestyles of indigenous peoples living in the Amazon rainforest.

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New
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Year 5

People of the Amazon rainforest

You can compare different types of settlement and traditional lifestyles of indigenous peoples living in the Amazon rainforest.

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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Different types of settlements are located in the Amazon rainforest.
  2. There are similarities and differences between lifestyles in the Amazon rainforest and the UK.
  3. There are a variety of challenges facing the Indigenous peoples living in the Amazon rainforest.

Keywords

  • Ethnic group - People who are part of the same ethnic group share the same nationality, cultures and traditions.

  • Settlements - Settlements are places where groups of people live and work.

  • Colonists - Colonists are people from one country who live in a different place that is controlled by their country.

Common misconception

Pupils think all or most Indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest live traditional lifestyles.

Many indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest live a modern lifestyle and have a range of jobs.


To help you plan your year 5 geography lesson on: People of the Amazon rainforest, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Pupils could use digital mapping tools to explore Manaus and other settlements in the Amazon rainforest.
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a settlement? Select 1 answer.
a pile of tiny particles of rock
Correct answer: a place where people live and sometimes work
a river valley with steep sides
an ancient burial ground
Q2.
Order these settlements from smallest to biggest.
1 - hamlet
2 - village
3 - town
4 - city
Q3.
Which of the following would be most likely to be found in a rural area? Select 2 answers.
Correct answer: village
city
large town
Correct answer: isolated farm or house
Q4.
What is the approximate population of the UK? Select 1 answer.
6 million
22 million
Correct answer: 67 million
124 million
Q5.
What is the main cause of climate change? Select 1 answer.
small changes in the earth's orbit around the Sun
volcanic activity
changes in solar radiation
Correct answer: burning fossil fuels
Q6.
Select 1 answer. Colonisation is when...
...the rainforest is cleared for planting crops.
...countries trade goods and services with each other.
Correct answer: ...one country or nation takes over another country or part of the world.
...a new city is built.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
For how long have people lived in the Amazon rainforest?
a few years
since the start of this century
hundreds of years
Correct answer: thousands of years
Q2.
Where do most people in the Amazon rainforest live?
along the coast
Correct answer: in a few cities along major rivers
in small towns and villages
in isolated houses, deep in the rainforest
Q3.
Which of the following describe aspects of the traditional lifestyle of the Awa people?
grow crops such as wheat, potatoes and oats
Correct answer: nomadic
build houses out of brick
Correct answer: collect food from the rainforest
Q4.
Which of the following do not describe aspects of the traditional lifestyle of the Awa people?
use rainforest plants to make medicines
hunt using two metre long bows and arrows
Correct answer: buy food in supermarkets
Correct answer: drive cars
Q5.
_____________ means the complete removal of trees from the forest.
Correct answer: deforestation
afforestation
plantation
pollution
Q6.
What challenge did indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest face when the early European settlers arrived?
settlers brought diseases that indigenous peoples hadn't been exposed to before
being moved from their land
being forced into slavery
Correct answer: all of the above