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.
One word I would use to describe the image is colorful, it relates to the image because
the trees look very 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.
- Brazil
- Guyana
-

Peru

- Venezuela

Ecuador

Bolivia

- Columbia
- 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

- Prevailing temperatures

4. What makes rainforests special? Forests are essential for life and around three hundred
million people worldwide live in them. Forests provide a habitat for plants and
animals, they also 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 equal to 39 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 rainforests 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.
Many different plant and animal species are 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
Jaguar

Description
Jaguars are big cats, well/known for being strong swimmers and climbers. They
live in large areas of tropical rain forest and on long stretches of riverbank.

Amazon River Dolphin

Deforestation is harming them because it is hurting their food supply and habitat.
The Amazon River Dolphin or The Pink River Dolphin only lives freshwater
areas and is found throughout the Amazon and Orinoco basins. The species is

Sloth

reaching endangerment due to severe river population.

There are six different types of Sloth species that live all over the rain forest.
They travel all throughout the rain forest for food, but most of the time theyre

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 different tribes each with its own unique language, culture and territory.
9. To what extent have they had contact with outsiders? Explain your response. Many of them have had
contact with outsiders for almost 500 years. Others tribes (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.

They grow most of their own food (I go to the grocery store to buy mine)
They hunt animals with weapons (I get my meat pre-packaged at a butcher)

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.
Because they have a high level of respect for their land. With that being said, theyd rather have no one on their
land than have people on it who ruin it.
12. Do you think most Americans agree with the viewpoint expressed by the woman in the video clip?
Explain.
Honestly, no I dont. Dont get me wrong I love America but I think Americans are too greedy and would
want all of the resources.

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 damaging and ruining the
The people have to protect the forest. This

Mining/Drilling

Crime

amazon. It depletes resources and destroys

will slow down deforestation and help

animals natural habitats.

Drilling is damaging the rainforest and the

preserve the habitats.

They need to look elsewhere to find oil. Or

people that live in it. Its taking up a lot of

even better yet, not drill for it near here at

resources and depleting the supply of them.

Crime is hurting people and some get

all!
There needs to be an improvement on

seriously injured or even killed. Also,

security to prevent the crime from

crimes like poaching are killing animals and

happening in the first place. Also, make the

making some become endangered.

consequences harsher.

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? It delayed traffic flow by clogging up streets and roads, which caused major delayed.

15. How did the regions emphasis on environmental protection influence the stadium project? It helped
them in the efforts to save water and natural resources (sunlight and wind) during the process of building the
stadium.