Name: ________________ Mr. Ciani 5th Grade Name: ___________ The tundra is a very cold and harsh environment located at the top and bottom of the Earth. It is often very windy in the tundra. The average rainfall for the tundra is fewer than 10 inches per year. Snow covers the ground for most of the year during the winter season. The winter season is longer than it is in other places and it lasts from September to May. For several weeks during winter, the sun isn’t seen at all. It is dark for twenty-four hours a day! The tundra is often considered a lonely place. Permafrost is a unique feature of the tundra. Permafrost is the layer of ground that is always frozen solid. Summer in the tundra lasts from June and goes through August. Just like there are times during the winter of twenty-four hours of darkness, there are times during the summer of twenty-four hours of daylight! The temperatures can get above fifty degrees Fahrenheit during the summer. During the summer, the land just above the permafrost, the active layer, melts. The active layer is where plants are able to grow. This thin active layer means that only plants with shallow root systems can grow. Because the growing season is so short and the active layer is so thin, there are very few trees grow in the tundra. The tundra also has lots of sur face water during the summer months. When the active layer thaws, the water naturally flows downhill. This creates marshes, ponds and puddles. Because water travels to the lowest locations, the hills and upper elevations are very dry. Surprisingly, some animals have adapted to live in the extremely harsh environments. They live and thrive in places that you wouldn’t expect! Animals in the tundra need to keep in as much heat as possible. Several tundra animals have fur that changes color from season to season. When the snow begins to melt, their white fur coats change to brown. Their brown coats look like the summery plants in their habitat. When the weather starts to change back to winter, their brown coats will turn to white again. This adaptation helps them to blend into their surroundings. The arctic fox is a tundra animal. Many tundra animals, like the arctic fox, have very thick fur to keep in as much heat as possible. The artic fox also has tiny ears that do not allow heat to escape easily. The arctic fox is also very close to the ground. This helps to protect it from the wind. Polar bears also live along the edges of the tundra. They spend most of their time near the water so that they can catch their food. Polar bears have a thick layer of blubber (fat) for insulation and storing energy. Their thick white fur coat serves as another layer of insulation and as a way to camouflage themselves in their environment. Polar bears are also great swimmers. Biologist have tracked polar bears and know that the can swim 62 miles without stopping! The tundra biome is definitely an interesting place! ©Lora Miller, 2020 Name:___________________ Date:____________________ Use the following graphic organizer to help you pulling out important facts from the article “Tundra.” TUNDRA ©Lora Miller, 2020 Name:___________________ Date:____________________ Answer the questions below with a complete sentence. Be sure to go back in the text to find your answer. 1. Why are some animals able to survive in the tundra biome? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 2. The text says that the tundra is ‘harsh.’ What evidence does the text give to support that it is harsh? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 3. What characteristics does the artic fox have that helps it to survive in the tundra? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4. What is the di fference between permafrost and the active layer? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 5. The text says that there are times of twenty-four hours of darkness and times of twenty-four hours of light. Based on what you know about the location of the tundra, why do you think the tundra experiences this? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _ ©Lora Miller, 2020 The temperate deciduous forest biome is unique in the fact that it has four distinct seasons: spring, summer, fall and winter. Plants and animals living in the deciduous forest biome must adapt to warm to hot summers and cold to freezing winters. There are often large amounts of rainfall in the temperate deciduous forest. This biome also has very fertile soil so plant growth is often abundant. The temperate deciduous forest covers much of the eastern half of the US beginning near the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean westward to the eastern edge of Texas. Temperate describes a climate that has a range of temperatures within moderate limits. Though some days during the summer are extremely hot and some days in the winter are extremely cold, on average, the weather stays within a moderate range in all seasons. Trees in this biome have thick bark to protect them in the cold winters. Most of the trees have very wide leaves to capture the sunlight. Trees in this area include maple, oak, hickory, beech and black cherry. Plants and trees become dormant in order to get ready for winter. Here, the trees lose their leaves before winter which lets them store water/moisture and survive the cold winter. Before the leaves fall, they turn yellow, red and shades of orange. This is good for the forest environment because the decayed leaves fertilize the soil and make it rich for growing other plants and trees. In the fall, trees will cut off the supply of moisture to the leaves which causes the leaves to fall off. When the leaves have dropped, the trees and plants seal the open area to hold in moisture. Migration and hibernation are two adaptations that help many of the animals that live in the deciduous forest. Animals that hibernate will eat heavily right before the winter and their fur coats will grow thicker to keep them warm through the winter hibernation period. Most of the birds migrate south to warmer temperatures during the winter months. They return during the warm spring and summers in the deciduous forest. Food storage is another adaptation that some of the animals have. Chipmunks and squirrels gather nuts in the summer to store for winter. The cold temperatures help to preserve the nuts and seeds. Animals like the deer have sharp hooves to be able to dig for food and so they can run quickly to escape their predators. Animals use the forest plants and trees for both food, water and shelter. Animals in this area include groundhogs, black bears, beavers, opossums, gray squirrels, raccoons and deer. ©Lora Miller, 2020 Name:___________________ Date:____________________ Use the following graphic organizer to help you pulling out important facts from the article “Temperate Deciduous Forest.” DECIDUOUS FOREST ©Lora Miller, 2020 Name:___________________ Date:____________________ Answer the questions below with a complete sentence. Be sure to go back in the text to find your answer. 1. What adaptations do animals in the deciduous forest have to help them survi ve? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 2. The text says that the deciduous forest is ‘unique.’ What evidence does the text give to support that it is unique? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 3. What does the word ‘temperate’ mean? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 4. How does losing leaves help the deciduous forest environment? _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________