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The Amazon Rainforest Internet Assignment
Purpose: This assignments goal is to expose you to basic facts about the Amazon rainforest as well as
introduce you to some of the wildlife and people that live inside it. You will also understand how the rainforest
affects the nations and people of South America and how it is facing unique challenges in the modern world.
Part I (Overview): Use www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon and follow the directions carefully to
complete this assignment.
1. Review the photograph. Choose one descriptive word (adjective) that comes to mind and explain how it
relates to the image.
Colorful and it relates to the image because the trees look healthy and thriving in their environment.
2. Click on Overview and review the information, including the visuals. List the 8 nations that the
Amazon rainforest is located in.
- Brasil
- Columbia
-
Bolivia
- Venezuela
Peru
Ecuador
- Guyana
- Suriname and French Guiana
3. Click on Forest Habitat and review the information there, including the visuals. A forest can vary based
on several factors. What are these four factors?
- Latitude, local soil, rainfall and prevailing temperatures.
4. What makes rainforests special?
Forests are essential for life and around three hundred million people worldwide live in them. Forests provide
habitat plants and animals and they protect our watersheds. They inspire recreation and oxygen for us to live
and survive. They supply the oxygen we need to survive. They also provide timber for work, especially
construction.
5. Worldwide, how quickly is deforestation occurring? How quickly is it occurring in the Amazon? Use
statistics from the reading to explain your answer.
a. Worldwide 46-58 million square miles of forest are lost each year which is equivalent to 36
football fields every minute.
b. Amazon They have lost 17% of their forest and are still losing it by the day.
6. Scroll down to the Why They Matter section. Scroll through the three images and review the captions.
List and explain why rainforests matter.
a. People depend on them for food, medicine, and other resources that are important in life.
b. It sucks in the carbon dioxide in the air that humans put out every day.
c. Many different plant and animal species can be found in the forest.
7. Return to the main page (www.worldwildlife.org/places/amazon) and scroll down to the Species section.
Choose three animals found in the Amazon and describe them in the chart.
Animal
Description
Jaguar
These big cats are strong swimmers and climbers that reside in large areas of
tropical rain forest and stretches of riverbank. They are being affected badly to
deforestation because they are losing habitat and their food.
Animal
Amazon River Dolphin
Description
Aka the Pink River Dolphin lives only in freshwater and is found throughout the
Amazon and the Orinoco river basins. Their population reaches the ten thousands
Sloth
day throughout the forest to eat but most of the time they are sleeping.
Part II (Native Peoples): Use www.survivalinternational.org/about/amazontribes to learn about the native
peoples of the Amazon rainforest.
8. How many people live in the Amazon rainforest, and how are they organized?
They are divided into about 400 tribes, each with its own language, culture and territory.
9. To what extent have they had contact with outsiders? Explain your response.
Many have had contact with outsiders for almost 500 years. Others uncontacted tribes have had no contact
at all. This means some are very secret and may prefer not to contact outsiders.
10. Create a t-chart that compares and contrasts your daily life with that of the people of the Amazon. Include
at least four points of comparison.
Amazon People
Me
- Grow vegetables and fruits
-I do not grow vegetables I buy them.
- Hunt animals with weapons
-Though some hunt, I do not I once again buy food.
11. Why are land rights so important to the Amazon tribes? Read the text and watch the video clip in the Land
= Life section to answer this question.
They respect their land a lot and would rather have no one on their land who would ruin than anyone on it.
12. Do you think most Americans agree with the viewpoint expressed by the woman in the video clip? Explain.
No, because Americans want the resources so we could live on.
Part III (Current Challenges): Use www.theguardian.com/environment/amazon-rainforest to research
some of the current challenges facing the Amazon rainforest. Please be mature in handling photographs of
native people, as their dress is quite different from ours!
13. Choose articles that interest you about each of the topics in the chart. Read them and complete the chart.
Challenge
Impact (2 sentences)
Possible Solutions (2 sentences)
Deforestation
Deforestation is hurting the amazon. It is
A possible solution is to help protect the
Mining/Drilling
Crime
rainforest.
Crime is threatening people. Crime is also