Science // Rainforests

Where Rainforests Are

Know that rainforests are found in a belt around the middle of the Earth — in South America (the Amazon), Central Africa (the Congo), and Southeast Asia — and that they appear on every continent except Antarctica and Europe

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
2 topics

Quick check

If you show the learner a world map, can they point to where rainforests grow — near the middle of the Earth in places like South America, Africa, and Asia?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Point to the Amazon, Congo, and Southeast Asian rainforest regions on a world map
  • Explain that rainforests grow near the Equator where it is hot and wet all year
  • Name at least two continents that have large rainforests

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • What Is a Rainforest?Required

    Rainforests // Ages 5 to 7

    Must know what a rainforest is before learning where they are located

You are here

Where Rainforests Are

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

2 topics
  • Tropical Rainforest ClimateRequired

    Rainforests // Ages 7 to 9

    Location near Equator explains why the climate is tropical

  • The Amazon RainforestRequired

    Rainforests // Ages 7 to 9

    Must know where rainforests are globally before zooming into the Amazon specifically

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 5–7, help children learn WHERE tropical rainforests are: a belt around the warm middle of the Earth near the Equator, with the three great blocks being the Amazon (South America), the Congo (Central Africa), and Southeast Asia — and that they occur on every continent except Antarctica (too cold) and Europe (an age-appropriate simplification for tropical rainforests). Tie location to cause (hot and wet near the Equator). A labelled world map or globe makes the spatial pattern concrete; place-the-rainforest games and recall checks support it. Keep location tied to the climate reason, not just a list of names.

Common misconceptions

  • Rainforests are scattered randomly — they form a belt near the warm Equator
  • There is only one rainforest (the Amazon) — there are great rainforests in Africa and Asia too
  • Rainforests grow everywhere, even cold places — not in Antarctica (too cold) or Europe
  • All rainforests are in South America — the Congo and Southeast Asia have huge ones as well
  • Rainforests are near where I live — for most children they are far away near the Equator

Useful representations

  • World map with the equatorial rainforest belt highlighted green
  • Three labelled regions: Amazon (South America), Congo (Africa), Southeast Asia
  • Globe spin showing the green band circling the warm middle
  • Continent checklist: rainforests on all except Antarctica and Europe

Teaching practices

  • Use a globe or world map so 'a belt around the middle' is a spatial pattern, not a list of names
  • Connect location to cause — they cluster near the warm, wet Equator — reinforcing the previous topic
  • Name the three great rainforest blocks with a landmark each (Amazon river, Congo, islands of Southeast Asia)
  • Make the exceptions memorable: none in Antarctica (too cold) and none in Europe
  • Point out these are far from most children's homes, seeding the global-connection idea for the foods topic

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Tap the Equator belt on a world map

    Why it works: Rainforests are not scattered randomly: they lie in patches in a band around the warm, wet middle of the planet near the Equator, with three great blocks in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, and no tropical rainforest in Antarctica (too cold) or Europe.

    1. Look at a world map with a warm Equator line drawn across the middle.
    2. Tap the Equator line and watch green rainforest patches bloom in a band near it (with gaps for oceans, mountains and drier places).
    3. Tap each of the three regions in turn: South America (the Amazon spreads with a giant river), Central Africa (the Congo appears), and Southeast Asia (a scatter of steamy green islands) — each with a one-line label.
    4. Use a globe-spin control to see the green rainforest patches lying in a band around the warm middle of the Earth.
    5. Lift a flap answering 'Which continents have NO tropical rainforest?' revealing Antarctica (too cold) and Europe.
  2. 2

    Place-the-rainforest map game / find the green belt

    Why it works: Actively placing the regions builds the location idea and the equatorial-belt pattern through the child's own actions.

    1. Drag to spin a globe and find the green belt around the warm middle.
    2. Play a place-the-rainforest game: drag or place rainforest markers onto South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia on a world map.
    3. Say aloud where each region is and why rainforests grow there (hot and wet near the Equator).
  3. 3

    Check and explain: where and why

    Why it works: A secure answer places tropical rainforests in a belt near the Equator across several continents (Amazon/Congo/SE Asia) AND explains they grow there because it is hot and wet all year — not at the cold poles and not in Britain, where it is too cool.

    1. Point to where the Equator is on the globe and say whether rainforests are near it or far from it.
    2. Name at least two continents that have large rainforests.
    3. Answer: Why couldn't a tropical rainforest grow at the freezing cold South Pole?
    4. Answer the diagnostic: Could there be a big tropical rainforest at the North Pole, or right here in Britain? Where on Earth do tropical rainforests grow, and why there and not just anywhere?

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