Exploring the Taiga Biome

Objectives:

• Students will be able to describe the climate and characteristics of the taiga biome.

• Students will be able to name flora and fauna native to the taiga biome.

• Students will be able to state the location of the taiga biome.

• Students will be able to state the taiga is a major source of lumber and pulpwood.

Suggested Grades:

4th Grade - 5th Grade - 6th Grade

Lesson Procedure:

Print the reading comprehension worksheet passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions. Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Lesson Excerpt:

The taiga is one of the six biomes, or ecosystems, found on land. It is an area of cool forests, lakes and ponds located in Canada, Alaska, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The trees in taigas are mostly conifers (trees with cones and have needle-like leaves), such as larch, fir, spruce and pine trees. The lakes and ponds of the taiga were created more than 15,000 years ago when huge pieces of ice, called glaciers, began to move southward from the arctic poles. Glaciers were hundreds of feet thick. As the moved, they gouged large areas of land from the continent in northern Europe, Asia and North America. Sediment carried by glaciers formed dams in streams, creating the lakes and ponds now found in the taiga.

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