Lesson video

My name's Miss Gilyeat, and I'm going to be your geography teacher for today.

Today's lesson is called The Steppe Feeding the World.

So our lesson outcome for today is that you can explain why temperate grasslands are well suited for farming and why the steppe is important to Russia.

We've got three keywords for today's lesson.

The first keyword is chernozem, which is a rich dark soil full of nutrients and found in temperate grasslands.

An export is selling goods or products to other countries.

Steppe is a large flat area of land with grass and few trees found in regions with dry climates and cold winters.

These key words are involved throughout the lesson if you need to refer back to them.

So we've got two learning cycles.

First of all, we're gonna learn about why are temperate grasslands called breadbaskets and how important is the steppe to Russia? Now, temperate grasslands are dry grassy plains found on several continents and are known by different names depending on the region.

Okay.

So in North America, they're called the prairie.

In South America, the American pampas.

In Australia, downs; and in Eurasia, steppe.

So we're gonna look at the characteristics of what the steppe is like.

So it's semi-arid with low rainfall.

There are hot summers, cold winters, and large temperature variations.

It's dominated by grasses with few or no trees.

And often you'll find grazing animals such as horses, antelope, bison, burrowing rodents, and predators like wolves and eagles.

Okay, and we've got a nice image of the steppe on the slide here.

Okay, let's check what we've just learned.

What are temperate grasslands called in Eurasia? That is the steppe.

Well done if you got that correct.

Where are temperate grasslands known as prairies? That's North America.

Well done if you got that right.

Now, temperate grasslands are called breadbaskets as they produce much of the world's wheat and cereals.

Okay, so we've got a bar chart on the board here.

So we've got wheat production in 2023 in million tonnes.

And on the X axis, we've got some of the producing countries of wheat.

So cereal crops also grow in places like France.

So bread baskets don't supply all of the world's cereals.

Okay, so how does the wheat production of the Russian steppe compare with the prairies? So you can see there, wheat production depending on the country.

So which produces more? You can see there that actually, the steppe produces more wheat than the USA and also more wheat than Canada.

Okay then, true or false.

Wheat and other cereal crops are only grown in temperate grasslands.

That is false.

And can you tell me why? Whilst temperate grasslands provide a lot of the world's wheat and other cereal crops, they are not the only places in the world where these crops are grown.

Well done if you got that right.

Grasslands have three characteristics which make them especially good agricultural land.

And those are, they've got semi arid climate, a flat terrain, and fertile soil.

Okay, so who of these people, Sam, Sofia, or Alex is correct? So read what they have said and decide who you think is correct.

Okay, Sofia here is right.

So temperate grasslands are good for farming due to fertile soil, semi-arid climates, and flat terrain.

So we're gonna look at these factors in a bit more detail.

Now, temperate grasslands experience clear seasonal shifts with cold winters and warm summers.

They receive 250 to 500 millimetres of rain per year, less than cities like London, which on average have 585 millimetres of rain.

There's the mix of sunlight, warmth, and moderate rainfall creates ideal conditions for growing crops.

Okay, so here we've got a climate graph of a steppe environment, okay? And we can see that temperatures vary.

So they can be quite cold in winter here below minus 10, and they go up to just below 20 in the summer.

And there is a decent amount of rainfall, especially in the summer months here.

But in general, there's not too much rain.

Also, a key condition, which makes this ideal for farming is that there is flat terrain, okay? So farming is easier on gentle terrain because it simplifies planting and harvesting, it reduces erosion, and it supports machinery use and improves access.

Okay? So that's another key feature, which makes farming really good on this type of land.

And finally, there is fertile soil.

So that means that the soil has got a lot of nutrients in it, which allows plants to grow.

The soil type of temperate grasslands is called chernozem.

Chernozem is a Russian word, and it comes from the two words; chernyi, which means black, and zemlya, which means earth.

Chernozem gets its name from the black colour of the soil often found in temperate grasslands.

Okay, so we can see an image of it there.

So it got a very dark colour.

Now, the layer of soil closest to the surface in a chernozem is rich in organic matter, making it excellent for growing crops.

So if you have a look at the image there, the soil that is closest to the surface is the darker colour, and it is darker because it's got so much organic matter in it.

Okay, let's check what we have just learnt.

What I'd like you to do is complete the characteristics of temperate grasslands.

So can you work out what word I've missed for those three statements? Okay, so the first one, the soil type of a temperate grassland is called a chernozem.

Temperate grasslands have cold winters and warm summers and gentle terrain makes farming easier.

Well done if you got that right.

Okay, we're on to our first tasks for this lesson.

First of all, what I'd like you to do is answer the questions to explain why temperate grasslands are so productive.

So questions one and two are about the climate, question three is about the terrain, and question four and five are about the soil.

Okay, so pause the video and answer the questions.

Okay, let's go through some answers.

So for question one, what are the seasons like in temperate grasslands? So temperate grasslands experience clear seasonal shifts with cold winters and warm summers.

And for the average annual precipitation, temperate grasslands receive 250 to 500 millimetres of rain per year.

This is less than cities like London, which averages 585 millimetres.

For question three, why does flat terrain help temperate grasslands be so productive? So farming is easier on gentle terrain because it simplifies planting and harvesting, reduces erosion, supports machinery use, and improves access.

And for question four, what is the name of the soil type found in temperate grasslands? Temperate grassland soils are called chernozems. And what is the layer of soil closest to the surface of the soil full of, making it especially good for growing crops? And the answer to that is the layer of soil closest to the surface in a chernozem is rich in organic matter, making it excellent for growing crops.

Well done if you answered those correctly.

Okay, so now we're gonna look at how important is the steppe to Russia.

Now, the Eurasian steppe is the largest area of temperate grassland in the world, and it extends for 5,000 miles from China to Romania.

A significant proportion of the steppe is in Russia.

So if we have a look at the map that I have got on this slide here, the areas that have been shaded in green mark where the steppe is located.

So it might be worth you just having a look at the slide and looking at the map to see where it extends into.

Now, Russia's main agricultural areas are found in the west of the country and within the steppe.

The Volga River Basin is an especially concentrated region of agriculture.

So the Volga River, which is the longest river in Europe, which starts north of Moscow and then flows into the Caspian Sea, around this river basin, there's a lot of farmland.

Okay? Within which is also part of the steppe.

Now, the main crops on the Russian steppe include wheat, sunflowers, maize, and barley, okay? So all of these grains grow within the steppe.

Now, the steppe also supports livestock farming of sheep, cattle, and goats, which graze on the grasslands.

Okay, I would like to read those statements and decide out of Jacob, Aisha, and Jun who is correct.

Jun's correct.

Russia's main agricultural areas are found in the Western steppe.

Now, the Russian steppe is vital to the nation's food supply.

Russia is self-sufficient in grain production, okay? And that means that it doesn't have to import grains from any other countries of the world.

It can make enough to meet the demand of its own population.

Russia uses about 1/3 of its wheat to feed its own population, and the remaining 2/3 are exported to other countries in Europe, the Middle East, and in Asia.

Okay, so if we look at the slide here, we can see the tree map shows the top 15 wheat exporters in the world.

So the size of the box represents how much wheat that country is exporting.

And we can see there that Russia is the top exporter.

Okay? So out of all of those countries or regions, Russia is exporting them as wheat.

Now, in 2023, Russia exported 11 billion US dollars worth of wheat.

That's a lot.

Okay, let's check what we've just learned.

So I'd like you to complete the statements about the importance of the steppe to Russia's food supply.

So can you fill in the three gaps there? Okay, so first of all, we've got Russia is self-sufficient in grain production.

Russia uses about 1/3 of its wheat to feed its own population, and the remaining 2/3 are exported to other countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Well done if you got those right.

Okay, checking.

So out of Sam, Sofia, and Alex, who is correct? Okay, so Alex is right here.

Russia does not produce the most wheat globally, but it does export the most.

Okay, we're on to our final task for this lesson.

What I'd like you to do is have a go at completing the crossword from using the clues on the left.

So if you've not done a crossword before, so for question one, five, six, and seven, these are the words that you are going to write across.

And you need to find the little number, which gives you an indication of how many letters there are in that word.

And then for the down, for two, three, and four, these are all the words going down and the clue is below.

Okay? So pause the video and have a go at the crossword.

Okay, we've got answers here.

So we'll do the across ones first.

So Russia it is the world's largest exporter of wheat.

So that's one across.

For five across, in 2023, Russia exported US dollars, 11 billion US dollars of wheat.

For six across, some Russian wheat is exported here.

And the answer to that is Europe.

And how many thirds of Russian wheat are exported? And the answer to that is two.

So for the down answers, Russia is self-sufficient in grains.

Three down, Russia grows this crop on steppe.

And the answer to that is barley.

And four down, Eurasian steppe extends from Romania to China.

Well done if you've got those right.

Okay, we've got a summary for today's lesson here.

Temperate grasslands are grassy plains that are known as breadbaskets as they produce a large share of the world's wheat and other cereals.

Russia's temperate grasslands are known as steppe.

Temperate grasslands are productive areas due to the semi-arid climate, fertile soils called chernozems, and gentle terrain.

The Russian steppe is vital for the country's domestic food supply, and Russia is largely self-sufficient in grain production.

Right, that's it from me today and I'll see you next time.

Bye.