Cold Environments

Start with the environments

The Antarctica mind map covering location is a starting point. It introduces the continent’s position, the surrounding ocean and its geographic and magnetic poles. Use it to organize the place-based information before moving on to the resources about threats.

Next, try the Tundra mind map. It brings together climate, soil, vegetation and geology. Compare the topics in this map with the Antarctica map to see how each resource organizes information about a cold environment.

Explore threats and change

The slide set Threats to Antarctica covers sealing, fishing and whaling. There is also a mind map on threats to Antarctica that includes climate change, whaling and fishing. Reading the slides alongside the map gives you two ways to explore some of the pressures discussed in the collection.

The flashcards on threats to Antarctica ask about tourism and human impacts. Another deck looks at problems in cold environments, including melting permafrost, melting sea ice, species migration and resource exploitation.

Use maps and flashcards together

Start by following the branches of a mind map and explaining the connections in your own words. Then use the flashcards to check what you can recall. Return to the map when you want to look at a topic again. There are no quizzes in this collection, so the flashcards offer another way to practice recall.

Teachers can use the maps to introduce a topic and select flashcards for a follow-up activity. Students can also compare the different ways the resources present threats and characteristics.

Place the topic in the unit

Cold Environments is a section of the Biomes and Rainforests unit in Environmental science and ecology. The Cold climate types and biomes mind map provides another route through this section, while the Arctic mind map offers a place to continue exploring.

Choose a resource and follow the path that fits your study or teaching.