Biomes of Africa

Help students see a real pattern on Earth with this one-page worksheet on the biomes of Africa! Students read about how Africa's biomes change with distance from the equator, then label six places on a map as rainforest, savanna, or desert.

The passage explains that Africa sits almost evenly across the equator, so its biomes form a pattern. Near the equator, warm, wet air rises and drops heavy rain almost every day, and tropical rainforests grow, like the Congo rainforest. Farther north and south, rain falls in only one season, and these lands are savannas, where zebras, giraffes, and lions roam. Near 20 to 30 degrees latitude, dry air sinks and very little rain falls, so the great deserts are found there: the Sahara in the north and the Namib in the south. The map shows the equator, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. In the first activity, students write R, S, or D for six named places, such as the Congo Basin, the Serengeti, and the Sahara. In the second activity, students decide if three sentences about the pattern are true or false. The sheet is written to Texas TEKS 7.12B and also fits NGSS MS-ESS2-6.

What's inside:

• A short passage with a labeled map of Africa and a Key Words note
• 6 rainforest, savanna, or desert letter boxes
• 3 true or false sentences
• A visual answer key with the completed map

How teachers use it:

• To show how latitude shapes biomes after a world biomes lesson
• For bell work, stations, or an exit ticket
• As homework or sub plans, with no prep needed

It takes about 10 minutes and prints clearly in black and white. This worksheet is part of our Reading in Science series of biome map worksheets.