Climate, Landscapes and Life: The Tropics - Discovery Education

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
Writing and Connection to Biology
The tropics are vibrant, sensual regions. Ask students to use their five senses and their imaginations to explore the
tropics. Have students each choose a tropical region, then work individually to write a paragraph, short essay, or
short story answering such questions as: What would you see there ... colors, shapes, people, animals, plants,
buildings What tastes would you expect ... sweet, sour, spicy, bitter What smells would you expect ... odors that
assault you, fragrances that entice What sounds would you expect ... languages, music, traffic, animals, waves,
quiet noises or loud ones What would you expect to feel ... would the air be warm or cool ... windy or calm ...
rainy or dry ... what textures would your surroundings have, your food ... how do you think your emotions would
feel Encourage students to use highly descriptive, picturesque language in their writing. Ask for volunteers to share
their writings with the class.
BIOLOGY
30-60 Minutes
Meeting Individual Needs
Have students work alone or in small groups to look up the words alluvial, drought, monsoon, and tropical in the
dictionary or other resource. What are the definitions of the words What is an example of each (alluvial refers
to soils that have been deposited by running water, as in a river delta; drought refers to an extended period without
rainfall, and can be experienced in desert regions; a monsoon is a wind which brings torrential rains, particularly
in south and south east Asia; tropical refers to regions that lie between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of
Capricorn, have little seasonal change in the length of days and nights, and sea level temperatures that do not drop
below freezing, such as Hawaii, most of Mesoamerica, South America and Africa.)
35 Minutes
Connection to Geography and Earth Science
Hurricanes are truly the storms of the tropics, and the period of June 1 through November is “hurricane season”
in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and the eastern and gulf coasts of the United States. Have students
work in small groups to define and explain: what a hurricane is, where and how hurricanes are formed; the roles
played by warm, humid ocean air, wind patterns, and air pressure play in the formation of a hurricane; the parts
of a hurricane; the size of a hurricane as defined by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale and the damages caused
by one; and storm rotation (the Coriolis effect). Assign a team to track the hurricanes of the current season. Post a
large map of the tropics in the room and have the team plot each storm’s latitudinal and longitudinal progress.
They can also keep an eye out by way of the many Hurricane Watch websites on the Internet. Request that the
team, or its spokesperson report periodically to the class.
Extended
GEOGRAPHY
EARTH
SCIENCE
Connection to Multiculturalism and to Foreign Language Classes
In most of the countries of the tropics the national language is a tongue other than English. Ask students who are
fluent in (or who are studying) a language spoken in the tropics to compose a short paragraph in that language
describing a day in the life of people from that region and to provide a translation into English. Ask for volunteers
to first read their paragraphs in the original language, followed by their English translation.
45 Minutes
FOREIGN
LANGUAGE
Connection to History
The various regions of the tropics are lands rich in history. Divide the class into four groups, assigning each group
one of the four tropical regions: rainy tropics, wet-dry and monsoon tropics, tropical and subtropical deserts, and
tropical highlands. Have each group research their region to create a timeline of significant historical occurrences,
then have a volunteer from each group present their findings to the class.
HISTORY
60 Minutes
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