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Desert Biomes
Teacher’s Guide
32935
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FILMS MEDIA GROUP
INTRODUCTION
This Teacher’s Guide provides information to help you get the most out of Desert Biomes, one program in
the five-part series Biomes. The contents of this guide allow you to prepare your students before viewing the
program, and to present follow-up activities to reinforce the program’s key learning points.
The series is designed to give students a clear understanding of the definition of a biome—a distinct ecological
community of plants and animals that live together in, and are well adapted to, a particular physical environment—as it applies to five different types of biomes and their subcategories.
This engaging video encourages students to move beyond a simplified view of the environment to a deeper
level of understanding: that the global ecosystem is made up of interdependent ecological communities populated with their own particular life forms and vulnerable to damage by both natural forces and human activity.
By comparing and contrasting hot and cold arid and semi-arid regions, this program provides students with
a balanced picture of what the Earth’s desert biomes are like.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After viewing the program, students will be able to:
● Describe a desert biome and how life-forms develop within this biome.
● Differentiate between hot and cold desert biome conditions.
● Identify the regions and climates of arid and semi-arid deserts and the plants and animals found in this biome.
● Identify the regions and climates of coastal and cold deserts and the plants and animals found in this biome.
● Understand how desert life-forms have adapted to their environments.
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS
National Standards
This program correlates with the National Science Education Standards developed by the National Academies of
Sciences, Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy from the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, and the National Geography Standards from The National Geographic Society. The content has been
aligned with the following educational standards and benchmarks from these organizations.
● Understand the behavior of organisms.
● Understand the diversity and adaptations of organisms.
● Understand matter, energy, and organization in living systems.
● Identify populations and ecosystems.
● Understand the interdependence of organisms.
● Understand the structure and function in living systems.
● Describe populations, resources, and environments.
● Understand the characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.
● Understand the physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth’s surface.
● Understand how to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments on Earth’s surface.
● Understand how physical systems affect human systems.
● Understand how human actions modify the physical environment.
● Understand that in all environments—freshwater, marine, forest, desert, grassland, mountain, and others—
organisms with similar needs may compete with one another for resources, including food, space, water, air,
and shelter.
● Understand that ecosystems can be reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years.
● Understand that as any population of organisms grows, it is held in check by one or more environmental
factors: depletion of food or nesting sites, increased loss to increased numbers of predators, or parasites.
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● Understand that like many complex systems, ecosystems tend to have cyclic fluctuations around a state of
rough equilibrium. In the long run, however, ecosystems always change when climate changes or when one
or more new species appear as a result of migration or local evolution.
● Understand that human beings are part of Earth’s ecosystems. Human activities can, deliberately or inadvertently, alter the equilibrium in ecosystems.
● Understand the changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.
Reprinted with permission from National Science Education Standards © 1999 by the National Academy of Sciences, courtesy of the National
Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
Reprinted with permission from Benchmarks for Science Literacy © 1993 by Project 2061 and the American Association for Advancement of
Science, courtesy of Oxford University Press, New York, NY.
The National Geography Standards reprinted with permission from the National Geographic Society.
Standards’ correlations were done independently by Curriculum Media Group.
English Language Arts Standards
The activities in this Teacher’s Guide were created in compliance with the following National Standards for the
English Language Arts from the National Council of Teachers of English.
● Use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment,
persuasion, and the exchange of information).
● Adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate
effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
● Employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to
communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
● Use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video)
to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
● Conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They
gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and non-print texts, artifacts,
people) to communicate their discoveries.
● Read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of
the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and
demands of society and the workplace.
Standards for the English Language Arts, by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English, copyright
1996 by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. Reprinted with permission.
Technology Standards
The activities in this Teacher’s Guide were created in compliance with the following National Education
Technology Standards from the National Education Technology Standards Project.
● Develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal
pursuits, and productivity.
● Practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.
● Use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
The National Education Technology Standards reprinted with permission from the International Society of Technology Education.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
This video is designed to raise and refine a student’s awareness of the environment. More specifically, it is
designed to help students understand that “the environment” is not a monolithic whole. Rather, it is a collection
of biomes—unique ecological communities, each populated with its own life forms and each vulnerable to
unique stresses, whether natural or man-made.
Whether it’s a stretch of sand dunes in equatorial Africa or a snowfield atop a polar ice cap, any place that
receives less than ten inches of rain per year is considered a desert. By comparing and contrasting hot and cold
arid and semi-arid regions, this program provides students with a balanced picture of what Earth’s desert biomes
are like. The program also investigates how the few plants and animals that inhabit these ecosystems survive the
extreme temperatures and severe lack of water that characterize the desert environment.
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MAIN TOPICS
Topic 1: The Basics
This section includes general facts about desert environments such as geographical location and defining
characteristics.
Topic 2: Defining Characteristics
This section describes the factors that classify an environment as a desert, such as temperature and humidity.
Topic 3: Types of Desert
This section describes the two types of desert biomes: rain shadow (e.g., Mojave Desert) and latitude (e.g.,
Sahara Desert).
Topic 4: Flora and Fauna
This section explains that all plants and animals need moisture for survival, and that the diverse plants (e.g.,
cacti) and animals (e.g., spadefoot toad) in the desert have adapted to living on small amounts of water.
FAST FACTS
● Deserts cover twenty percent of Earth’s land mass.
● Most of the world’s deserts lie between 5 and 35 degrees north latitude, and between 5 and 35 degrees south
latitude.
● Deserts average less than ten inches of annual rainfall, but in some deserts, it may not rain for ten years.
● In the desert, the lack of moisture in the air allows the sun to heat the land to high temperatures during the
day, then allows the heat to escape, making for cold nights.
● Desert temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and can fall below zero at night.
● Seeds of some desert plants can lie dormant for years while awaiting the rain necessary for their germination.
● The world’s largest desert is North Africa’s Sahara.
● The two most common types of desert are “rain shadow” and “latitude.”
● Almost all the deserts of North America are rain shadow deserts.
● The dominant form of animal life in the desert is non-mammalian vertebrates—reptiles.
VOCABULARY TERMS
biodiversity: The variety of organisms found within a specific geographic region.
biome: A distinct ecological community of plants and animals that live together in, and are well adapted to,
a particular physical environment.
carnivore: A flesh-eating or predatory animal or organism.
desert: Any location receiving less than ten inches of rain per year.
equator: The great circle circumscribing the Earth’s surface, dividing the northern and southern hemispheres.
germinate: To begin or cause to grow. To sprout.
herbivore: An animal that feeds on plants.
PRE-PROGRAM DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why are there more types of plants and animals in some places than in others?
2. Is there any place on Earth where no plants or animals can survive?
3. What’s the most important factor in determining what kind of life an area of our planet can support?
4. What do you think the environment of the desert is like?
5. What types of organisms inhabit the desert?
6. If humans evolved to be better adapted to very hot and dry climates, how might they look or behave
differently?
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POST-PROGRAM DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why is there so little biodiversity in regions of desert?
2. Would it be possible to grow crops in the desert? Why or why not? What effect would the extreme temperatures have? What effect would the amount of rainfall have?
3. Are plants more or less affected by the harsh environment than animals?
4. Are herbivores more or less affected than carnivores?
5. What special abilities or talents do you think the native peoples of desert regions need in order to survive
there?
GROUP ACTIVITIES
Uninhabitable?
What elements do you think are essential to life? Begin the activity by brainstorming to create a list of these elements. Then discuss the following question: “Is there any natural environment on earth where life cannot exist at
all?” Can you think of any places on Earth where all these elements might not exist?
Working in small groups, research one of these “extreme” environments. Each group should then present their
findings to the class. Conclude the activity by discussing the following questions: What do these environments
have in common? What factors might limit or exclude the existence of living organisms?
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT PROJECTS
Creature Feature
Write a short story or poem about the life of a creature that inhabits an “extreme” environment. Incorporate factual information about environmental conditions, climate, food supply, etc. Consider challenges and dangers the
creature faces, its survival techniques, and instinctive behavior.
INTERNET ACTIVITIES
How Do They Survive?
Use the Internet to learn more about how humans survive in the desert environment. What items, techniques,
and knowledge are essential to living in this environment? Create a diagram, collage, or illustration to present
your findings to the group.
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
Q: How much rainfall does a desert receive annually?
Answer/Feedback: Less than ten inches.
Q: How much of the Earth’s surface is covered by desert?
Answer/Feedback: Twenty percent.
Q: Which is the largest desert?
(a) Mojave Desert
(b) The Great Basin Desert
(c) Sahara Desert
(d) The Chihuahuan Desert
A: (c) Sahara Desert
Feedback: The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world. It is found in North Africa, and it covers roughly
3,250,000 square miles.
Q: What are the two most common types of desert?
Answer/Feedback: Rain shadow and latitude.
Q: Most North American deserts are rain shadow deserts. (True or False)
A: True
Q: At what latitudes do most deserts lie?
Answer/Feedback: Between 5 and 35 degrees north latitude, and between 5 and 35 degrees south latitude.
Q: Name two strategies plants have developed to cope with the desert’s lack of water.
Answer/Feedback: Sending taproots deep into the ground; growing prickly spines to prevent animals from
gnawing for water and to provide more surface area for water condensation; developing “fuzz” to provide
protection from the sun; developing a wax-like resin coating to hold in water; shedding leaves when it gets
too dry; producing seeds that can lie dormant for years until water is available.
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Q: What is the dominant animal life form of the desert?
(a) Reptiles
(b) Birds
(c) Rodents
(d) Beetles
A: (a) Reptiles
Feedback: Most animals found in the desert are reptiles, but there are also birds, rodents, insects, and even
amphibians.
Q: What effect does the lack of moisture in the desert air have at night?
Answer/Feedback: The lack of moisture allows the day’s heat to escape, cooling the desert to temperatures
often below zero.
Q: Many large mammals commonly live in the desert. (True or False)
A: False
Feedback: Generally, mammals are not capable of storing the necessary amounts of water or withstanding the
extreme heat, and therefore would not survive in a desert biome.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
WorldBiomes
www.worldbiomes.com
Desert USA
www.desertusa.com
Government Science Portal
www.science.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
www.epa.gov
A Walk in the Desert, by Rebecca L. Johnson & Phyllis V. Saroff. Carolrhoda Books, 2000. ISBN: 1575051524
Arctic Tundra and Polar Deserts, by Chris Woodford. Raintree/Steck Vaughn, 2002. ISBN: 0739852469
Deserts: Biomes of Nature Series, by Peter Murray. Child’s World, 1997. ISBN: 567662803
OTHER PRODUCTS
Warm Desert Environments: Chihuahuan and Sonoran Animals and Plants
This program demonstrates transecting and other sampling techniques used in desert shrublands while
examining how bushes, grasses, and forbs have adapted to arid environments characterized by high summer
temperatures. (25 minutes)
Item no: 11664, www.cambridgeeducational.com, 1-800-468-4227
Cool Desert Environments: Great Basin Animals and Plants
This program explores the factors that bring about desertification. The adaptations of bighorn sheep, kangaroo
rats, and Rocky Mountain elk to life in cool deserts, where temperatures are relatively low due to northerly
latitude and high elevation are described.
Item no: 11665, www.cambridgeeducational.com, 1-800-468-4227
Extreme Environments: Sand Dunes, Hot Springs, and Tundra
How do life forms adapt to extreme terrestrial and aquatic environments? This program answers that question
by examining plants and animals that call quartzite and gypsum sand dunes, phreatic caves, acidic geothermal
springs, and alpine tundra home.
Item no: 11667, www.cambridgeeducational.com,1-800-468-4227
State of the Planet: Biosphere in the Balance
Deforestation, global warming, depletion of aquifers, rising sea levels, and mass extinctions—how much longer
can Earth compensate for these damaging forces? In this timely three-part series, David Attenborough and some
of the world’s leading experts on environmental matters consider probably the most important issue of the 21st
century: the future of life on this planet. A BBC Production. The series includes Is There a Crisis? Biodiversity in
Decline; Why Is There a Crisis? Environmental Exploitation; The Future of Life: Searching for Solutions
Item no: 11971, www.films.com, 1-800-257-5126
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Desert: Land of Extremes
This Science Screen Report studies how deserts form and how organisms adapt to these harsh environments.
Defining a desert as a vast area of windy, arid land, the program identifies the Gobi and Sahara as common
examples as well as regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. It demonstrates that many of these supposed wastelands
contain surprisingly high levels of biodiversity, and shows how overgrazing and population increase can desertify forest habitats and farmland. This is an outstanding resource for illustrating ecological variety and fragility.
A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. Correlates to National Science Education Standards.
Produced in association with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and the Junior Engineering
Technical Society. (20 minutes)
Item no: 34287, www.films.com,1-800-257-5126
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