Cross-curricular extension unit 5

Natural science: Adapting to the climate

1 Label the picture with the words in the box.
branch ground

leaves light root root system trunk

1 _______________

3 _______________

4 _______________
5 _______________
6 _______________
2 _______________
7 _______________

2 Match the adjectives 17 with their opposites ag.

1 wet

a deep

2 high

b low

3 light

c light

4 heavy

d short

5 shallow

e dry

6 long

7 wide

g dark

narrow

3 Complete the sentences with the pairs of adjectives in exercise 2.

1 On the moon, one side is ________________ and the other side is ________________.
2 A thousand kilograms is ________________ and a gram is ________________.
3 The Amazon River is very ________________. In comparison the River Thames is quite .
4 A desert is very ________________. In comparison a rainforest is very ________________.
5 The kite was caught in a really ________________ branch. Luckily, there was a ________________ branch
so I could climb up the tree.
6 I cant swim so I dont like ________________ water. I prefer ________________ water where I can put my feet
on the bottom.
7 The streets in old towns are often very ________________ but in modern towns they are often very
________________ with space for cars.

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4 Which adjectives from exercise 2 do you use to

talk about these things?

6 Read the text again. Then choose the correct

answers a or b.

1 a river ________________, ________________,

1 Plants have different shapes because

________________, ________________,

a there are lots of them.

________________, ________________

b of their environment.

2 the weather ________________,

2 The African plant in the text has a problem with

a water.

________________
3 how much something weighs ________________,

b temperature.
3 Rainforests are

________________
4 a mountain ________________

a wet.

5 night and day ________________,

b dry.
4 There are so many plants in the rainforest that

________________
5 Read the text. Which of these things isnt a
problem for rainforest plants: water, light or
temperature? ________________

a light is a problem.
b water is a problem.
5 A lot of rain means that a tree has
a a deep root system.

Plants adapting to the

environment
There are thousands of different plants and they
grow in many different places all over the world.
Plants grow in hot deserts and under ice and
snow. Plants from dry places look very different
to plants from wet places. The highest tree ever
measured was an Australian eucalyptus. Its
highest branch was 132 metres above the
ground. There is a plant in Africa that lives in a
dry environment. It has a root system more than
100 metres long.
In a tropical rainforest it rains nearly every day.
This means that plants can grow quickly. In fact,
there are so many plants that low to the ground
it is quite dark. So, plants and trees grow higher
to find more light. But theres a problem. If a tree
has lots of water, it doesnt need a deep root
system. If the top of a tree is heavy from the
rain, and the root system is shallow, the tree
might fall over.
Plants in the tropical rainforest have adapted to
these problems. The root systems are wide to
provide a good support for the tree. The leaves
on some plants have a special cup shape. This
helps the rain run off quickly and stops the tree
getting heavy with water. Many plants grow very
high to get more sunlight. Others have big
leaves to help the plants get more light. Some
plants grow on tall trees so they are closer to
the light.

b a shallow root system.

6 Rain is a problem because
a it makes the trees heavy.
b it makes the leaves light.
7 In a tropical rainforest, trees need
a a narrow base.
b a wide base.
8 Some plants have big leaves to
a help the water run off quickly.
b to get more light.
7 Use the internet or the library to find out about
plants in the desert or in the arctic. Answer the
questions.
1 What problems do the plants have with light,
temperature and water?
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
2 How have the plants adapted to these
problems?
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

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