Topic: The nature of taiga

Supplementary material for use in lessons in the group of natural sciences (nature, biology, chemistry, geography, physics), additional classes, science clubs. It can serve as a resource for expanding knowledge, preparing students for science competitions.

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school (geography).

Core curriculum

Grade V Geography
IV. Landscapes of the world: humid equatorial forest and temperate forest, savannah and steppe, hot and ice desert, taiga and tundra, Mediterranean, high altitude Himalayas; zonation and climatological vegetation in the world. Pupil:
3) presents the main features and compares the known landscapes of the world and recognizes them in descriptions, films and illustrations;
4) recognizes plants and animals typical of the landscapes;

General aim of education

Students recognize and call organisms typical of the taiga.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• exchange plant adaptation to the taiga climate;

• identify several species of conifers;

• recognize selected animals living in taiga.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• large sheets of paper with a continental outline, glue, scissors, crayons.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Before the lesson, the teacher asks students to look for photos of plants and animals found in the taiga in colored magazines and online.

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

• The teacher plays the recording of the abstract. Every now and then he stops it, asking the students to tell in their own words what they have just heard. This way, students practice listening comprehension.

Realization

• The teacher asks students to read the abstract themselves, paying particular attention to the illustrations.

• Participants familiarize themselves with the content presented in the interactive illustration. Then the teacher discusses the issues with the students.

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

• Students are selected into groups. Each team on sheets of paper with an outline of the continents marks the taiga area and makes a collage of photos showing the life of plants and animals in its area.

• Work of the whole class team. Students stand in a circle. The teacher encourages them to play: throws a ball or mascot to one of the students, saying the English word or notion learned in the lesson. The student gives the Polish equivalent, mentions another word in English and throws a ball or mascot to a friend or colleague.

Summary

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

• At the end of the lesson the teacher asks: If there was going to be a test on the material we have covered today, what questions do you think would you have to answer? If the students do not manage to name all the most important questions, the teacher may complement their suggestions.

Homework

• Develop a lap book containing issues learned during the lesson and bring your work to the next class.

• Imagine that you have the opportunity to interview an academic - a specialist in the field of today's lesson. What questions would you like to ask him? Write them down.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

The nature of taiga

Taiga is associated with endless coniferous forests. Indeed, typical taiga plants include spruce, larch and pine trees. The leaves of coniferous trees resemble needles. The small surface prevents an excessive loss of water. The needles are covered by a layer of impermeable wax. It protects them from the damaging effect of severe frost and from the loss of water during the long winter. The wood of coniferous trees contains resin ducts. They secrete a sticky resin which does not freeze in the cold, protecting trunks and branches against low temperatures. The trees are usually tall and slender and have compact crowns with short branches. Such a „Christmas tree” shape protects branches of trees from breaking after a heavy snowfall, because snow slides off them. In addition, tall trees with narrow crowns capture more sunlight when the sun is low over the horizon.

In the taiga, there are few shrubs, mostly coniferous junipers. In some areas, there are also frost‑resistant forest raspberries or currants. In contrast, the forest ground cover layer is very rich, due to plentiful light among rare trees and permanent access to water. In summer, there is more than enough of water in the ground. The most commonly‑occurring species include mosses and heather. Lingonberries and cranberries occur frequently, too. An important component of the forest groundcover are mushrooms which grow well in moist soils.

Taiga is mainly overgrown by evergreen plants. Even deciduous shrubs are evergreen. Many plants produce fruit that remains on stems throughout the winter. As a result, herbivores have access to food throughout the year. Apart from fruit, they eat leaves, seeds and snow‑covered mosses and lichens. In summer, all plants turn green, bloom and produce fruit very rapidly. Plant food is plentiful then.

In spring, insects hatch in enormous numbers, finding favourable conditions on vast wetlands. Invertebrates provide a source of food for many fishes and other animals. The southern part of the taiga is home to a small number of amphibians and snakes, including vipers and grass snakes. They are active just for a few months and then they hibernate for a long time during winter. There are numerous birds, because the forests provide them with good conditions, enabling them to find food, shelter and safe places for building nests. The most noteworthy among the numerous bird species are capercaillies, black grouses, owls, tits and bohemian waxwings. They are hunted by predators such as, for example, hawks and sparrowhawks. In the taiga, there are also many mammals, including large species such as elks, deer and reindeer, and smaller species, such as white hares, squirrels and many rodents. Other taiga predators include: tigers and bears, and smaller predators such as wolves, lynxes, foxes, wolverines and badgers, as well as small weasels and stoats.

• In the taiga, there are fewer species of plants and animals than in the previously discussed zones.

• The taiga is mainly dominated by tall coniferous trees, with less numerous shrubs, but very many groundcover plants.

• In summer, a lot of insects and other invertebrates appear in the taiga.

• The taiga is inhabited by numerous species of birds and mammals, but there are few amphibians and reptiles.