Spring Term

Rainforests

What is a rainforest?

A rainforest is a tall, dense forest that receives lots of rain every year. Rainforests are full of biodiversity, meaning there are lots of different species of plants and animals that live there.

What are the different types of rainforests?

There are two types of rainforests: tropical rainforests and temperate rainforests. There are many more tropical than temperate rainforests; when people talk about rainforests, they are usually referring to tropical rainforests.

Where are rainforests located?

Tropical rainforests are found near the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. These are invisible lines that go all the way around the Earth. The largest tropical rainforests are in the Amazon River Basin (South America), the Congo River Basin of west Africa, and parts of southeast Asia. Below is a map of the rainforests of the world!

What is the climate like in a rainforest?

Tropical rainforests are very hot, humid and wet. They get around 2500 mm of rain a year. The average temperature is 28oC. There are no seasons in tropical rainforests; the weather is consistent all year round. Temperatures are always between 20oC and 35oC.

Layers of the Rainforest:

As we know already, rainforests are areas of dense plant coverage. We typically classify rainforests in four main layers:

• The emergent layer
• The canopy layer
• The understorey
• The forest floor

Click onto the link below to discover more:

Deforestation:

This is the name of the process in which trees are cut down. There are many reasons why people cut trees down such as:

• Making space for housing.
• Using the wood for other purposes (e.g. for fuel, furniture, paper, etc).
• Making space for roads.
• Making space for farmland.

​​​​​​​The problem with cutting down so much of the rainforest is that this can cause pollution! It is also bad for the local area because many of the animals may lose their habitat. Watch the video to discover more:​​​​​​​ 

Plantagenets

The House of Plantagenet ruled England in some form or another from the reign of Henry II, beginning in 1154, until the House of Tudor came to power when Richard III fell at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

King Richard III - Richard III (1452–1485) was an English king. He reigned from 1483 until 1485. Richard was the youngest son of Richard, Duke of York. He had three elder brothers, Edward, Edmund and George. Richard, Duke of York, and his second son, Edmund, were both killed in battle during the Wars of the Roses. The eldest son, Edward, was a very good soldier, and won the throne of England in battle against the reigning king, King Henry VI. Edward then became King Edward IV of England and his two brothers, George and Richard, became very powerful men.