Amazon Rainforest: People & Threats – Grades 6 – 9 – Closed Captioned
by Dale Petersen | Oct 18, 2021
CLOSED CAPTIONED
Meet the people who have called the Amazon rainforest home for centuries. Learn about the threats facing all who live there and how everyone can help overcome these challenges.
Video length: 15:06 minutes.
Learning Resources with this Video*
*Links are active on Full Video page.
A Day in the Amazon Rainforest Writing Prompt
Rainforest Reflection – Writing Prompt
Rainforest Threats Vocabulary Worksheet
Rainforest Threats Vocabulary Worksheet – Answer Key
Cultivating Change: The Human Impact on Rainforests
*Links are active on Full Video page.
Amazon Rainforest: People & Threats
Compare/contrast houses and other structures from various countries, e.g. rainforest inhabitants’ homes vs. bohios in Cuba.
Identify key vocabulary terms while previewing each video. Prompt students to find the meaning of each word as they watch the video. Example: What does the word deforestation mean? Think about the meaning of each word as you watch the video about the Amazon Rainforest.
Students can create a mock campaign to conserve the Amazon Rainforest and its important resources. This could include a campaign poster design, slideshow, persuasive speech presentation, etc.
Have students research how the Amazon Rainforest is changing due to human activity and create a poster to illustrate a solution to a problem there (e.g. deforestation destroys species habitats).
Discuss ecotourism with students and talk about the pros and cons of it in regards to the Amazon Rainforest.
Compare and contrast renewable resources in the Amazon Rainforest and the United States.
Bring food that can be found in the Amazon Rainforest (bananas, tea, mango, pineapple, avocados, yams, etc.) and let students sample them. Discuss how these products can impact those that live in the Amazon Rainforest as well as those that purchase from them.
Create a diorama of the Rainforest.
Ask students to make up a board game that demonstrates life in the rainforest. If the students work in groups, they can describe/demonstrate their game in front of the rest of the class.
Create a webquest on the indigenous people of the Amazon and the threats facing them. Students will work in pairs or small groups to complete the webquest, and then present their results.
On the basis of what students learn about the amazingly old and tall trees of the Amazon, ask them to think of any trees around where they live or near their school. Ask them to think about the ways in which that tree is important in the ecosystem, for example – as a means of building dugout canoes for transportation.
Compare/contrast various modes of transportation in different countries (dugout canoes in the Rainforest vs. Japanese subways vs. classic cars in Cuba)
Prompt students to write a report about how people can conserve natural resources and eliminate threats to endangered species and populations.
Draw a scene from the video you just watched.
Write a paper on how the indigenous people rely on the Amazon Rainforest and the natural resources it provides.
Have students write a diary or a story about traveling the Amazon Rainforest and discuss what they “saw” and experienced during their trip.
Create 2 debate teams – one team in favour of ecotourism, the other against. Students can use the video as part of their evidence in a debate, e.g. for/against ecotourism.
Compare the rainforest and another habitat.
Compare differences and similarities.
Compare the characteristics of each ecosystem.
Write a 3 paragraph paper discussing the similarities and differences of the two.
What was your favorite part of the video? What do you think is the best thing about living in the Amazon Rainforest? Why?
In groups, students could come up with and put on plays in which they play an indigenous child living in the Amazon Rainforest. At the beginning of the play, students will individually introduce themselves as their chosen character, giving the class information on life in the rainforest.
Students write a story about an imaginary day in the Amazon, talking about the weather, plants, animals, and humans they might encounter. Reflect on how the rainforest is different from the ecosystem in which you live and go to school.
Here are dozens and dozens of ideas that you can use in your classroom along with our videos!
Topics Covered In This Video
Daily activities in the Amazon Rainforest
Medicine, food & products in the rainforest