New
New
Year 9

Climate and biomes of the Middle East

I can explain how climate and biomes differ across the Middle East.

New
New
Year 9

Climate and biomes of the Middle East

I can explain how climate and biomes differ across the Middle East.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The region has desert, temperate, and Mediterranean biomes.
  2. Hot, dry summers and low rainfall shape the land.
  3. It is cooler and wetter in the north of the Middle East.
  4. Climate affects where people live.

Keywords

  • Biome - a large region of the world with places that have similar climates, vegetation and animals that have adapted to living there

  • Climate - an average of weather conditions in a place over a long period of time (usually 30 years or more)

  • Arid - a place that receives less than 250 mm of precipitation a year

  • GIS - a geographic information system (GIS) is a computer mapping system that captures and displays geographic data to help understand spatial patterns

Common misconception

The Middle East is all desert.

The Middle East is so vast that it contains a number of different biomes.


To help you plan your year 9 geography lesson on: Climate and biomes of the Middle East, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use climate graphs and satellite images to help students visualise differences. Students may struggle with abstract biome names unless shown what these places actually look like.
Teacher tip

Equipment

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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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to their meaning.

Correct Answer:tectonic,movements inside Earth's crust

movements inside Earth's crust

Correct Answer:mountain,land higher than a hill

land higher than a hill

Correct Answer:plateau,flat land at high elevation

flat land at high elevation

Correct Answer:desert,area with very low rainfall

area with very low rainfall

Q2.
What type of landscape covers much of the Arabian Peninsula?

Forest
Glacier
Correct answer: Desert
Tundra

Q3.
Which country in the Middle East has many high mountains?

Nigeria
Correct answer: Iran
Jordan
France

Q4.
A large, high flat area is called a .

Correct Answer: plateau

Q5.
Which of these is not a physical feature?

Desert
Plateau
Mountain
Correct answer: City

Q6.
Which landform is shaped by very low rainfall?

River
Correct answer: Desert
Mountain
Lake

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to their meanings.

Correct Answer:biome,large area with similar climate and life

large area with similar climate and life

Correct Answer:climate,average weather over 30+ years

average weather over 30+ years

Correct Answer:arid,very dry, with little rain

very dry, with little rain

Correct Answer:GIS,computer mapping of data patterns

computer mapping of data patterns

Q2.
Which of these is an example of a biome?

Mountain
City
Correct answer: Tropical rainforest
Weather station

Q3.
Which best describes the climate in much of the Middle East?

Tropical
Polar
Correct answer: Arid
Rainforest

Q4.
Why is it wrong to say “The Middle East is all desert”?

Correct answer: It has varied biomes
It has no deserts
It only has rainforests
It’s too cold for deserts