Cross-curricular extension unit 7

Geography: Temperate forests

1 Read the text. Then label the pictures with the
words in the box.
berries branch habitat leaf moss
needles shrub timber trunk wild flower

2 Match the animals in the box with the

descriptions.
cow

deer fox pig pony

squirrel wild boar

snake

1 This small animal lives in trees and eats nuts.

There are two kinds of temperate forest:

The grey variety is more common in Britain

deciduous and coniferous. Deciduous forests

these days. _______________

have trees which lose their leaves in the autumn,

while coniferous forests have trees which dont

2 A human can ride this animal. Its small size

makes it popular with children. _______________
3 This animal is fat and round with a small tail and

change during the year.

a big nose. _______________

Coniferous

4 This large farm animal is female and provides

1 ____________

humans with milk and meat. _______________

5 This beautiful animal eats plants and leaves and
can run fast. Most males have antlers, like
branches, on their heads. _______________
6 This animal is a wild pig. It became extinct in

2 ____________

Britain in the 17th century but has begun to live

freely again since the 1980s. _______________
7 This small animal looks like a dog but is wild. It

3 ____________

causes a lot of damage to farms and people

4 ____________

often hunt it. _______________

8 This long thin animal has no legs, but slides
along the ground. _______________
3 Match the deciduous trees in the box with their
leaves. Use the internet to help you.

Deciduous

ash beech hawthorne oak

5 ____________
6 ____________
1 ___________________

2 ___________________

3 ___________________

4 ___________________

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7 ____________
8 ____________

9 ____________
10 ____________

4 Read the text. Match the forests 12 with their original use ab.
1 New Forest

a It provided wood for industry.

2 Kielder Forest

b It provided a habitat for wild animals.

Kielder
Forest

A tale of two forests

New Forest in Hampshire is Englands oldest forest. William the Conqueror
created it in 1079 to protect an area of woodland for hunting animals. It is
New
typical of deciduous forests, with several layers of vegetation. The first layer
Forest
of tall trees, such as oak, beech and ash, forms a roof over the forest with
their broad green leaves. Below are younger trees and small trees, for
example, hawthorne. In the next layer are shrubs and below that berries and wild flowers. The
bottom layer includes moss, which grows on tree trunks. These layers provide food and habitats for
wild animals.
In Williams day you could find wild boar and deer. No surprise that he wanted the land for hunting.
However, the local people werent happy, because they couldnt use the land or wood, so William
allowed their pigs, cows and ponies to live and find food there. You can still find these animals
there, in addition to birds, foxes, squirrels, snakes and deer. Wild boar, extinct in Britain since the
17th century, are returning to the forest, too.
In Northumberland, Kielder Forest is Englands largest coniferous forest. There you can find spruce,
pine and fir trees, typical of cold northern climates. The trees have dark green needles, which
absorb weak sunlight. They are tall and narrow, so that snow falls off their branches easily. The
trees grow close together for protection from wind. They also make good timber because they have
thick tall trunks and grow quickly.
The first trees at Kielder Forest grew in the 1920s and soon became an important source of timber
for industries. Today the forest provides wood for building, paper and fuel. Kielder Forest is a good
example of a sustainable forest because millions of new trees are planted each year. They are a
mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees, to encourage animal life in the forest. Kielder Forest is
now very popular for walks and picnics.

5 Read the text again. Then answer the questions.

1 What do the layers of deciduous forests provide?
__________________________________________
2 Why werent the local people allowed to use

7 How do we use coniferous trees in industry?

__________________________________________
8 How do workers at Kielder Forest sustain it?
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

Williams forest at first?

__________________________________________
3 What did William do for the local people?
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
4 Which animals can you find in New Forest
today?

6 Use the library or the internet to research a

forest near you. Find out the following
information and write about 100 words.
y Is the forest deciduous or coniferous?
y How old is it?
y Do workers cut down the wood for industry?

__________________________________________
__________________________________________
5 Where do you normally find coniferous trees?
__________________________________________

y Is it a sustainable forest? What kind of trees do

they plant?
y Is there a lot of animal life there? How do the
foresters protect animal life?

6 Why does snow fall off coniferous trees?

__________________________________________

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