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Exploring Biomes in Gorongosa National Park

Graph from the activity

Topic

  • Ecology
  • Communities
  • Biomes
  • Scientific Skills & Literacy
  • Explanations & Argumentation

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Lessons

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Used In
2 BioInteractive Playlists
Saved By
34 Users
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Description

The activity introduces students to the concept of biomes, using Gorongosa National Park as a case study. Part of the activity involves exploring the Gorongosa National Park Interactive Map.

The activity starts with students analyzing climate data to predict the biome of two regions of Gorongosa National Park. They then use the interactive map to explore their predictions, and learn more about the biomes and corresponding biodiversity. Finally, students create a climate graph for their own region using data from an external website.

The activity engages students in analyzing climate and vegetation data to draw conclusions about the characteristics of specific biomes and explore the connections between temperature, precipitation, and vegetation.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets

  • ​​​​​​Make claims based on observations and data.
  • Interpret, construct, and compare graphs based on climate data.
  • Make connections between climate, vegetation, and biodiversity to describe biome characteristics.

Estimated Time

One to two 50-minute class periods.

Key Terms

adaptation, biodiversity, biome, climate, climatogram, grassland, Great Rift Valley, precipitation, savanna, temperature, tropical rainforest, vegetation, woodland

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Version History

Date Published 04.30.15
Date Updated 01.18.17

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2-6; SEP4, SEP5, SEP7

AP Biology (2019)

ENE-4.A, ENE-4.B, SYI-3.F, SYI-3.G; SP1, SP4, SP5, SP6

IB Biology (2016)

C.2

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 1.2
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.B, SP2

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.4

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9–12.7, ELA.WHST.9–12.1
Math.S-ID.3; MP3, MP4

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5; DP1, DP2

Materials

Resource Google Folder (link)
Activity—Student (PDF) 801 KB
Activity—Educator (PDF) 689 KB

Additional Materials

  • ​​​​​​Internet-connected computers/tablets
  • access to a resource describing/defining Earth’s biomes

Use This Resource With

Interactive Media Resource
Gorongosa National Park Interactive Map
Interactive Media Resource
BiomeViewer

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This Resource Appears in the Following Playlists

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