Topic: Deciduous forests that drop leaves for the winter

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;

General aim of education

Students are characterized by prevailing conditions and recognize and name organisms in the forest zone that drop leaves for the winter

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• describe the climatic conditions of a temperate zone;

• describe deciduous forests of the temperate zone.

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 pupils to search in colorful magazines, online and in their own collections of small pictures of landscapes, plants and animals characteristic of the forest area that leaves the leaves for the winter..

Introduction

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

• Selected students present the illustrative material prepared by them before the lesson.
  The teacher encourages the class to ask questions to the presenters, e.g.

  • Why did you choose such examples?

  • What does this photo involve?

  • What this illustration is talking about

  • Why is this scheme important?

  • What is the graphics to tell us about?

Realization

• The teacher uses the text of the abstract for individual work or in pairs, according to the following steps: 1) a sketchy review of the text, 2) asking questions, 3) accurate reading, 4) a summary of individual parts of the text, 5) repeating the content or reading the entire text.

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

• Students are selected into groups. Each team on sheets of paper with the outline of continents marks the areas of the occurrence of forest areas dropping leaves for the winter and makes a collage of photos depicting life in this area..

• The students consolidate the acquired information, discussing it with their nearest neighbors („tell your neighbor” method).

Summary

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

• The teacher briefly presents the most important issues discussed in class. He answers the additional questions of the proteges and explains all their doubts. Students complete notes.

Homework

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

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Deciduous forests that drop leaves for the winter

The temperate deciduous forests zone has developed to the north of the Mediterranean vegetation zone. It can be found virtually all over Europe, in Asia and North America. Its climate is characterised by distinctive four seasons of the year. The amount of rainfall in each of these seasons is similar. Temperatures vary and depend largely on distance to the coast. In winter, temperature drops to 0°C in the marine climate region or below –20°C in the continental climate region. Due to days growing shorter and frost, plants are not able to absorb a large amount of water from the soil, as it has the form of snow or ice. Therefore, deciduous trees and shrubs that must limit evaporation (loss of water) shed their leaves in autumn, whereas herbaceous plants lose all their above‑ground components.

Before humans changed environmental conditions by felling a major part of deciduous trees, forests dominated the landscape. They covered nearly all terrain apart from high mountains, sandy dunes and marshy river valleys. Climatic and soil conditions made it possible for deciduous forests dominated by such species of trees as oak, beech and hornbeam to grow. Next to them grow birches, maples and ashes. These forests have a multi‑layered structure; under the tree layer (often with a small number of coniferous trees mixed in, e.g. spruces, larches) grows a rich understory and undergrowth. Deciduous forests in the far east of Asia and in North America also include species of trees that don’t appear in European forests, e.g. magnolias and liriodendron.

Nearly the entire surface of Poland is located in the temperate deciduous forest zone. The distance from the westernmost point and easternmost point in Poland as well as northernmost and southernmost point in Poland covers only several hundred kilometres, but it’s still possible to observe certain climatic differences and, in consequence, differences species composition of forests. Distance to the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea as well as location in the centre of Europe is of major importance. The impact of the continental climate is more prominent as you head east, especially northeast. It’s colder there and annual air temperature amplitudes are higher. As a result, the share of species resistant to extreme cold increases.

The development of agriculture in the last 1–2 thousand years resulted in more and more forests being felled and replaced with cropland. In addition, in the last 200 years the manufacturing and construction industry’s demand for wood has significantly increased. Nearly all old deciduous forests have been felled and faster‑growing coniferous forests have been planted in their place. At present, over 30% of Poland’s surface is covered by forests, however their species composition is not adequate to natural conditions. These are primarily economic (production) forests planted by foresters to be felled when they grow to an appropriate size. Original deciduous and mixed forests are nearly all gone and the remaining small patches (like Białowieża Forest) deserve to be closely protected.

• Temperate climate is characterised by four distinctive seasons. In these conditions, temperate deciduous forests have appeared.

• Deciduous forests border the steppe, Meditteranean vegetation and coniferous forests.

• The greater part of coniferous forests in Europe has been felled in the past.

• At present, coniferous trees are the most commonly found trees in Polish forests. Only small patches of the original wilderness that covered Poland have survived.