Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how plants and animals in tropical rainforests are well adapted to the physical conditions.
Key learning points
- Tropical rainforests are home to a wide variety of plants and animals.
- Plants are adapted to the physical conditions in tropical rainforests, for example, drip tips and buttress roots.
- Animals are well adapted to the physical conditions in tropical rainforests.
Keywords
Biodiversity - the variety of species found in a habitat
Adaptations - a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment
Habitat - the natural place where a plant or animal lives and grows
Common misconception
The challenges faced by plants and animals in the canopy layer are the same as challenges on the forest floor.
Plants and animals face different challenges in the different habitats of the tropical rainforest. For example, plants on the forest floor have to have adaptations for low light levels.
Teacher tip
Virtual reality tours of the tropical rainforest will allow students to better understand the adaptations of plants and animals living in each layer of the tropical rainforest. BBC Earth's 'The "busy" life of the sloth' is an engaging way into this topic, for example.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word is described in this definition "a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment"?
Q2.Which of the following is an adaptation of tropical rainforest plants to cope with heavy rainfall?
Q3.Match the adaptation with the correct plant or animal.
leaf-tailed gecko
rubber tree
night monkey
sloth
Q4.Why do rainforest animals, like frogs and insects, have brightly coloured skin?
Q5.Tropical rainforest are located between the Tropics of and .
Q6.Which of the following best defines a biome?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What does the term biodiversity refer to in a tropical rainforest?
Q2.What is the difference between adaptations and changes an organism makes during its lifetime?
Q3.Why is adaptation important?
Q4.What does it mean if plants and animals are interdependent?
To help you plan your 10 geography lesson on: Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 geography lesson on: Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests, 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.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 geography lessons from the Tropical rainforest unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.