World Cultures 11

Unit Latin America

Name:________________________
Block:_______
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.
Amazing. It is truly an amazing sight to behold and the fact that this area is in danger is quite scary.
2. Click on Overview and review the information, including the visuals. List the 8 nations that the
Amazon rainforest is located in.
- Brazil
- Colombia
-

Bolivia

Peru

Ecuador

- Venezuela
- French Guiana
- Suriname

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
- Rain fall
-

local soil

- prevailing temperatures

4. What makes rainforests special?

They contain a largely diverse array of living creatures.
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 48-56 million square miles. an extremely high rate for deforestation.
b. Amazon 17% over the last half century. fairly low when compared to some of the other areas
of the world.
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. Without many of the forests, species and peoples could disappear from history.
b. The Rainforests hold in the carbon dioxide that everything release to survive
c. Rainforests have the largest biodiversity of the world, containing over 80% of the known
terrestrial species

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

Sloths

Sloths live in tree canopy, sleeping 15-20 hours a day. the move at a rate of
approximately 40 yards a day.

Jaguar

These cats require large areas to survive. deforestation is slowly killing them off.

macaw

These intelligent birds are popular in the illegal pet trade. they can live up to 60
years

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?
1 million 400 tribes with their own languages.
9. To what extent have they had contact with outsiders? Explain your response.
many have had contacted for about 500 years, other have still yet to be contacted.
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.
My life

Amazon people

buy food from supermarket

Hunt and fish for food

grow few vegetables

grow vegtiables

stay at home

nomadic

access to healthcare

access to healthcare

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 live off the land and need the land to survive. Without the land, the will die.

12. Do you think most Americans agree with the viewpoint expressed by the woman in the video clip? Explain.
Yes because she says what many people believe is how to obtain happiness.

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

Mining/Drilling

people are destroying much of the forests

that were previously untouched. This is
causing problems with the people and
animals that live in this area.
Large amount of oil are spilling in to rivers
and lakes. This is causing many problems
with the ecosystem.

The rate at which deforestation is down

quite a bit from past years. This is a major
improvement.
safer transport of oil is needed. this would
clean up the problems.

Crime

14. Go to edition.cnn.com/2013/07/25/sport/football/football-brazil-world-cup-manaus/index.html and

review the article there. What challenges did the rainforest pose for Brazil in its efforts to prepare for the
2014 World Cup?
Rainy season coming very shortly during the construction.
15. How did the regions emphasis on environmental protection influence the stadium project?
they wanted to conserve the beauty of the scenery while keeping it on tack to complete the arena.