World Deserts

Grade 6
 TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction
Ch1: What is a desert?
Ch2: Deserts of Africa
Ch3: Deserts of Australia
Ch4: Deserts of Asia
Ch5: Deserts of North America
Ch6: Deserts of South America
 Unit 1
What Makes a Desert?
Deserts have unique landforms, terrain, and cultures.
All deserts share a common feature: lack of water (aridity).
Aridity is measured by how much rain falls each year.
Most deserts get less than 10 inches of rain annually.
Some deserts can go years without any rain.
Surviving in the Desert
Desert plants and animals have special ways to save
water.

Examples:
1. Saguaro cactus and kangaroo rat in North America.
2. Camels and plants in the Sahara, marsupials in
Australia.

They adapt to their environment to stay alive and have

babies.

People like the San and Aboriginals have also learned to

live in the desert.
 Troubles in the Desert
Desertification: Land erosion and human
activities make deserts grow.

Valuable things like oil and minerals are

found in deserts.

Environmentalists worry about harm to

native plants and animals.

We need to be careful and protect the

desert's balance
 Chapter 1

What Is a Desert?
The Big Question
What features determine whether an area of land is a desert?
 Learning Objectives
✓ Read maps and globes using longitude and latitude, coordinates, and degrees.
✓ Describe the three climate zones: arctic, tropical, and temperate.
✓ Identify the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle as imaginary lines on a map and the relative locations of
the North and South poles.

✓ Understand that maps created to represent Earth contain distortions.

✓ Understand that the shared feature of all deserts—regardless of location—is aridity, or lack of water.
✓ Describe the difference between a hot desert and a cold desert.
✓ Describe the various ways that plants, animals, and humans adapt to and change the desert.
✓ Understand the meaning of the following domain-specific vocabulary: polar, climatologist, evaporation,
precipitation, desertification, and semiarid.
Core Vocabulary
 Pages 2–5

“Desert Landscapes,”
Look at the chart on page 4.
It's important to know how the relationship between precipitation
and evaporation determines the classification of a desert.

Q&A
1. Where are the polar deserts?
2. How do most climatologists define
the word desert?
3. Why do plants and animals use
only a small percentage of
rainwater in the desert?
 Pages 5-7

“Desert Temperatures” and “Desert Landforms,”

Look at the map on page 6. Locate the deserts mentioned in the section: the Sahara, the Gobi, and the Arctic.

Death Valley is in the Mojave Desert. Locate that desert on the map.

Look at the images on page 7. Notice how deserts can have varied landscapes, from the typical sandy dunes, as in the picture of the
Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado, to ravines, gullies, and canyons caused by flash floods.

Later you will see pictures of other types of desert landforms, such as treeless tablelands—or plateaus—plains spotted with scrub
brush, and salt flats and seas.

Q&A
1. How are deserts closer to the equator different from those farther from the equator?
2. What feature do “hot” and “cold” deserts share?
3. Do deserts have to have sand to be considered a desert? Explain.
Pages 8-11

“Life in the Desert” and “Growing Deserts,”

The characteristics of the saguaro that allow it to grow and survive in the desert: thick stem that stores water,
no leaves that could lose moisture, and shallow, widespread roots to absorb water.

Look at the image of the kangaroo rat on page 8.

Note that Las Vegas, despite being a large, bustling city, is located in the Mojave Desert and is considered a
desert landscape because it receives fewer than ten inches of rain a year.

Q&A
1. What features help the saguaro cactus survive in the desert?
2. How have some animals adapted to the desert?
3. How have people learned to adapt to the desert?
 The Big Question
“What features determine whether an
area of land is a desert?”
.
.
AP 1.1
 Imaginary Lines
Latitude — the distance between the equator and a place north
or south of the equator; measured in degrees

Longitude — the distance east or west of an imaginary line on the

globe that goes from the North Pole to the South Pole and passes
through Greenwich, England; measured in degrees

Coordinates — a pair of numbers on a globe or map that shows

where something is located

Degree — a unit used to measure the distance between parallels

and meridians
AP 1.2
Prime Meridian
runs through Greenwich, England, which
is why it is sometimes called the
Greenwich meridian.

International Date Line

it marks the shift from one day to the
next (e.g., from Tuesday to Monday when
traveling west to east).
 Latitude as Climate Indicator
Climate is the typical weather pattern in a region. Earth can be divided into different climate categories and zones.

There are three general climate categories:

arctic (or polar), tropical, and temperate. Zones can often be identified by latitude.

AP 1.3
Arctic Climate
POLAR EXTREMES

Includes North and South Pole areas.

Summers: Cool to cold; Winters: Very cold.
Antarctica and Greenland ice caps stay below 0°C (32°F) all year.
Winter temperatures go well below 0°C (32°F).
Not much rain, mostly snow.
Some places have short summers and are mostly freezing the rest of the year.
 Tropical Climate
WARM AND WET

Found between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn.

Some places are hot and wet all year, some hot and experience
dry/wet periods at different times.
Always warm, with temperatures above 20°C (68°F).
Rainforests get lots of rain, up to 400 inches.
Savannas get about 50 inches of rain.
Rainforests near the equator, savannas nearby.

Temperate Climate
MIDDLE WEATHER

Found between tropics and polar areas.

Summers are warm to hot; Winters are cool to cold.
Temperature variations: above 37.8°C (100°F) in summer, below freezing in
winter.
Seasons change a lot with spring and fall transitions.
Some areas get little rain, some get more.
Snowfall in winter.
Map Projections
 Conic Projection:
PROS

Conic projections are often used for mapping smaller regions, such as
countries or continents.
They maintain relatively accurate shapes and areas within the chosen cone,
making them suitable for mid-latitude regions.
Meridians and parallels are curved lines, which can make navigation and
distance estimation more accurate within the selected area.

CONIC PROJECTIONS WORK WELL FOR MAPPING MID-LATITUDE REGIONS

CONS

Distortion increases as you move away from the chosen cone, making them
less suitable for mapping global areas.
Direction and distance distortions increase towards the edges of the map.
Conic projections are not ideal for depicting the entire world due to the
limitations of choosing a single cone.
 Planar (Azimuthal) Projection:
PROS

Planar projections are best suited for mapping polar regions.

They accurately depict directions from the center point of the map.
They have minimal distortion near the center point, making them useful for
portraying small areas.

PLANAR PROJECTIONS ARE SUITED FOR POLAR REGIONS

CONS

Distortion increases as you move away from the center point, making them
unsuitable for mapping equatorial or large global areas.
Shape and distance distortions become significant as you move away from
the center.
Planar projections can't show the entire world with reasonable accuracy.
 Mercator Projection:
PROS

Mercator projections are famous for preserving straight lines, making them
useful for navigation and maritime charts.
They are conformal, meaning angles are preserved, which helps maintain
shapes and angles of features.
Mercator projections are well-suited for equatorial regions, as the distortion
is minimal near the equator.

MERCATOR PROJECTIONS ARE VALUABLE FOR NAVIGATION AND

EQUATORIAL REGIONS

CONS

Distortion increases significantly as you move away from the equator,

making polar regions appear much larger than they are.
Areas are greatly distorted, with significant exaggeration in polar regions.
Mercator projections do not accurately represent the relative sizes of land
masses.
 Chapter 2

Deserts of Africa
The Big Question
What are the similarities and differences between the
Sahara and Kalahari deserts?
 Learning Objectives
✓ Understand that the Sahara, one of the world’s driest deserts, supports plants
and animals that have adapted to extremely hot and arid conditions.

✓ Recognize that the Kalahari is known for its rich variety of plants and wildlife.
✓ Explain the ways that the San have adapted to living in the desert.
✓ Understand the meaning of the following domain-specific vocabulary: oasis,
salt flat, radiate, game reserve, and basin.
Core Vocabulary
 Pages 12-16

“The Sahara,”
Look at the fennec fox on page 15. Note the size of the fox’s ears and
understand how the ears’ size helps the fox survive in the desert.

The Sahara extends into Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara

Q&A
1. How are camels suited for life in the Sahara?
2. Describe the landscape of the Sahara.
3. What water sources are available in the
Sahara?
4. In addition to camels, what other animals can
be found in the Sahara?
 Pages 16–17

“The Kalahari Desert” and

“The San People,”
Q&A
1. How is the Kalahari different from the Sahara?
2. Who are the San? How did they adapt to life in the desert?
3. Why do you think the San decided to use ostrich eggs to store water?
 The Big Question
“What are the similarities and differences
between the Sahara and Kalahari deserts?”
.
.
 Chapter 3

Deserts of Australia
The Big Question
What strategies have the Aboriginal peoples adopted in order to
survive the harsh conditions of desert life?
 Learning Objectives
✓ Understand the unique land features and water resources of the
Australian continent.

✓ Relate how the Aboriginal peoples' traditional way of life suited the
Australian Outback.

✓ Understand the meaning of the following domain-specific vocabulary:

scrub brush, interior, riverbed, marsupial, and nomadic.
Core Vocabulary
 Pages 18–20

“Surviving in the Desert,”

Scrub brush is both singular and plural.

The Aboriginal peoples are the original inhabitants of Australia, just

as Native Americans were the first inhabitants of North America.

Q&A
1. What vegetation is most common
in the Australian desert?
2. Who are the Aboriginal peoples?
3. How do frogs help the Aboriginal
peoples survive in the desert?
 Pages 20–21

“The Outback,”
Look at the the images of emus and kangaroos on page 21. These animals
are unique to Australia. They are not found anywhere else, except in captivity
in zoos, reserves, or farms.

Q&A
1. What is the Outback? What kind of land is it?
2. What is a billabong?
3. How are kangaroos and other marsupials adapted for survival in the desert?
Pages 22–23

“A Singing Map,”

Q&A
1. What is “dreamtime”?
2. What are songlines?
3. How did songlines help the Aboriginal peoples survive in the desert?
 The Big Question
“What strategies have the Aboriginal peoples adopted
in order to survive the harsh conditions of desert life?"
.
.
 Chapter 4

Deserts of Asia
The Big Question
How would you compare the Gobi Desert to the deserts of the
Arabian Peninsula?
 Learning Objectives
✓ Identify the location of the Gobi Desert and the Arabian Peninsula.
✓ Describe the harsh conditions of the Gobi Desert.
✓ Explain the importance of mineral resources to the Arabian Peninsula and to
the United States.

✓ Understand the meaning of the following domain-specific vocabulary: salt

marsh, peninsula, Bedouin, and fossil fuel.
Core Vocabulary
 Pages 24–27

“The Gobi,” “When Dinosaurs Walked the Earth,”

and “Forbidding Landscape,”
Salt marshes are good places to find fossils because tides could have
carried bones from other places, which settled in the sand when
tides rolled out.

Look at the photo of dinosaur bones on page 26. Mongolia’s Gobi

Desert is one of the world’s richest fossil areas. One team of
paleontologists found the bones of forty dinosaurs within a period of
about two hours.

Q&A
1. The Gobi Desert is found in what countries?
2. Why is the Gobi so dry?
 Pages 28–29

“The Arabian Peninsula,”

Q&A
1. Where is the Arabian Peninsula?
2. What countries are located on the Arabian Peninsula?
3. Describe the landscape on the Arabian Peninsula.
4. What is one way the Arabian Peninsula and the Gobi Desert
are similar?
5. What resources are available in the Arabian Peninsula?
 The Big Question
“How would you compare the Gobi Desert to
the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula?”
.
.
 Chapter 5

Deserts of North America

The Big Question
If you had to survive in a desert for several days, what would you
need?
 Learning Objectives
✓ Describe the Mojave Desert, the Sonoran Desert, and the Chihuahuan Desert,
including the areas that they cover and the characteristics unique to each one.

✓ Understand how deserts have affected travelers and other visitors.

✓ Understand the meaning of the following domain-specific vocabulary: yucca,
fault line, sea level, hemisphere, and lava rock.
Core Vocabulary
 Pages 30–32

“Mojave Desert,”
The Mojave runs along the western side of North America,
mainly in southeastern California and southern Nevada but also
in southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona.

Note that movement along a fault line causes an earthquake.

The United States is located in the Western and Northern

Hemispheres.

Q&A
1. Where is the Mojave Desert?
2. What plant is most associated with the Mojave?
3. What is Death Valley?
 Pages 32–34

“The Sonoran Desert,”

Note that lava rocks are also referred to as volcanic rocks.

A candelabra is a large, branched candlestick or holder for several candles.

Q&A
1. Where is the Sonoran Desert?
2. What is the Devil’s Highway?
3. How is the western part of the Sonoran Desert different from the
eastern part?
 Page 35

“The Chihuahuan Desert,”

The desert is named after the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, where a large portion of the
desert lies.

Q&A
1. Where is the Chihuahuan Desert located?
2. What is one unique feature of the Chihuahuan Desert?
 The Big Question
“If you had to survive in a desert for several
days, what would you need?”
.
.
 Chapter 6

Deserts of South
America
The Big Question
What are the key features of the Patagonia Desert and the
Atacama Desert?
 Learning Objectives
✓ Describe the vegetation, wildlife, and topographical features of the
Patagonian and Atacama deserts.

✓ Understand the effect of European explorers on Patagonia and its native

inhabitants.

✓ Understand the meaning of the following domain-specific vocabulary:

tableland, basalt, terrain, and observatory.
Core Vocabulary
 Pages 36–38

“A Place to Hide,”
Tierra del Fuego is Spanish for Land of Fire.

European explorers gave the island this name because of the many
large bonfires kept by the Native Americans who lived there.

Q&A
1. Where is Patagonia located?
2. What landforms and waterways border
Patagonia?
 Pages 38–39

“Patagonia,”
Remember the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite
to what they are in the Northern Hemisphere.

Q&A
1. Describe the landscape of Patagonia.
2. Why is basalt so common in Patagonia?
 Pages 39–41

“Big Feet, the Guanaco, and the Rhea,”

Note the similarity in appearance between the South American
rhea and the Australian emu.
Both birds are flightless and resemble the ostrich.
Q&A
1. Who are the Tehuelche?
2. How did contact with European explorers change the life of the
Tehuelche?
 Pages 41–43

“The Atacama Desert,”

An observatory is a place where people watch the sky.

A climatologist is a scientist who studies weather patterns over time.

Q&A
1. Where is the Atacama Desert located?
2. According to climatologists, what is special about the Atacama
Desert?
3. What does NASA use the Atacama Desert for? Why?
4. What landforms and other features are found in the Atacama
Desert?
 The Big Question
“What are the key features of the Patagonia
Desert and the Atacama Desert?”
.
.
Note that this is no longer an option: Alternatively, complete the
questions as a research activity IF there is extra time.
 Desert Video
Q&A
1. What makes the Gobi Desert so harsh?
2. Describe sand storms and how animals have adapted because of them.
3. What is the one constant presence in all deserts?
4. How do kangaroos get through the hottest part of the day?
5. What role does fog play in the Atacama? Why does it form there?
6. How do the plants of the Sonoran Desert help the animals of the Sonoran Desert?
7. How do elephants survive in the harsh deserts of Africa?
8. What phenomenon happens when Death Valley receives much needed rain?

Bonus Question
What does the idea that one abundance produces another abundance mean?
How does it relate to the world’s deserts?
 Desert Video
Answers
1. Extreme temperature changes, lack of water, any water there evaporates too
quickly, due to the sun
2. Strong winds cause sand to move around, which reduces visibility, can last for
days, and can be blown high into the sky; reptiles have scales which keep them
from being hurt in sand storms.
3. The sun.
4. By licking their forearms so the saliva can evaporate and cool their skin, by staying
in shade, by digging under the topsoil to cooler soil.
5. The ocean current along the land produces fog, wind blows the fog inland, fog
condenses and water drops onto the vegetation.
6. The saguaro is home to many birds, and its flower is food for bats.
7. They travel long distances, as far as fifty miles a day, to find food; they eat the roots
of grasses; they fill up on water in water holes as much as possible.
8. Seeds that have been lying dormant for years sprout, vegetation flourishes, and
animals make the most of the food and water available.
 Desert Video
Bonus Question: Answer
The desert lacks important things, such as plentiful food and water,
and this lack is what makes deserts so harsh.

An abundance of water will cause an abundance of vegetation, and

an abundance of animals (e.g. the section on locusts).

There is a definite cause/effect relationship in the desert, which

supports the idea that one abundance will definitely produce
another abundance.
 EN D of
Unit 1
Complete Hot and Cool Facts About World
Deserts (AP 2.2) and share it with the class.

Include each desert.

Next up
Unit Quiz
26 September

Desert Adaptation Task

Either a drawing OR a poster illustrating the adaptations made by an animal to
survive the conditions within the Sahara Desert.
28 & 29 September (in-class): Due October 2

Consultation Hours
Tuesday, 4 PM.
B2.25