Climate and biomes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe the climate and major biomes of the DRC.
Key learning points
- The DRC has an equatorial climate with high temperatures and heavy rainfall.
- The country is home to diverse biomes, including rainforest, savanna, and wetlands.
- The climate creates opportunities and challenges for agriculture, wildlife, and human settlements.
- Some areas face seasonal flooding, while others experience drought.
Keywords
Biome - a large region of the world with places that have similar climates, vegetation and animals that have adapted to living there
Equatorial climate - a climate with consistently high temperatures, frequent high rainfall and a very short dry season, found in locations near the Equator
Savanna - a biome that is predominantly grassland with scattered trees and shrubs, found in locations near the Equator
Wetland - a biome where the land is either permanently or seasonally flooded or saturated
Common misconception
That places which experience rain, particularly heavy rain as in the DRC, musn't experience water scarcity or drought.
Heavy rainfall is experienced in some parts of the DRC such as rainforests whilst other parts such as savanna are very dry. Furthermore rainforests are depleting and savanna is expanding as global temperatures are rising, increasing risks of drought.
Teacher tip
Put students into groups and allocate each group either an animal or a crop of the DRC. Ask them to research and report on what makes their animal or crop suited to growth in the DRC climate, and exactly where and how it grows or lives. Examples include crops like cassava, or animals of the savanna.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Q2.Which river is the DRC known for?
Q3.The DRC is located on which continent?
Q4.What geographical feature dominates the DRC's central region?
Q5.Which of these countries does not border the DRC?
Q6.What is one of the DRC's major natural resources?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is a biome?
Q2.Which biome is mainly found in the DRC, due to its equatorial climate?
Q3.What climate does the Democratic Republic of the Congo primarily experience?
Q4.Does the DRC experience water scarcity or drought despite its frequent rainfall?
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Climate and biomes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Climate and biomes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 3 geography lessons from the The Democratic Republic of the Congo: What are its opportunities and challenges? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.