Learn the world's climate zones and biomes, from rainforests to tundra, by flying a hot-air balloon, building biomes and climbing Kilimanjaro.
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:
Climate Zones and Biomes is an interactive geography game that teaches children aged 8–11 the world's climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, following the KS2 Geography curriculum. Children travel with Skye, a balloon explorer, from the Equator to the North Pole and up Mount Kilimanjaro.
Along the way they find out that weather is what happens day to day, while climate is the usual weather of a place over many years. A sunlight experiment shows why the Equator is hottest: sunlight hits it straight on, so its heat is concentrated on a small area. They paint the tropical, temperate and polar zones onto a world map, grow biomes by choosing the temperature and rainfall, and put vegetation belts in order.
Every line is read aloud, and a final ten-question challenge, including typed answers, checks what they remember.
A biome is a huge area of the world with a similar climate, plants and animals, such as a tropical rainforest, desert, savanna, taiga or tundra. Temperature and rainfall are the two main things that decide which biome forms in a place.
The three main climate zones taught at primary school are tropical, temperate and polar. The tropical zone around the Equator is hot all year, the temperate zones are mild with four seasons, and the polar zones near the North and South Poles are freezing.
It is hotter at the Equator because sunlight hits it straight on, so its heat is concentrated on a small area. Near the poles, sunlight arrives at a slant and spreads over a larger area, so it heats the ground less. Being closer to the Sun is not the reason.
The game is designed for children aged 8 to 11 and is pitched at Year 5, when climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts are usually taught in KS2 Geography. Younger children can enjoy it with a grown-up, because every line is read aloud.
The game has five chapters and a ten-question final challenge, and takes about 45 minutes to play in full. Chapters cover weather and climate, climate zones, biomes, vegetation belts and mountain vegetation belts, and children can play them in any order.
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