Starter Activity

Use the questions below to discuss what you already know about
Brazil.
• Where is it?

• Which countries share a border with Brazil?

• Which are the biggest cities in Brazil?

• What language is spoken there?

•
• What is the weather like?

• Do you know any famous Brazilian landmarks?

• Which fruits or other natural resources is Brazil famous for?

• What is life like for a Brazilian child?

• Do you know any famous Brazilian people?

 LO: To learn about different aspects of
Brazil.

Success Criteria:

• I can locate South America, Brazil and major Brazilian cities on a map.

• I can identify physical and human features of Brazil.

• I can list some of Brazil’s main exports.

• I can talk about famous Brazilian people.

• I can use my knowledge of Brazil to make comparisons with the UK.

 Quick Facts

Official language – Portuguese

Capital city – Brasília

Population – 196.7 million

Major religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam

In which continent can Brazil be found?
Where is Brazil located in South America?

There are over 202

million people living in
Brazil compared with 64
million people living in
the UK.
Where is Brazil located in South America?

Which other countries share a border with Brazil?

Here are a few Brazilian cities….
 São Paulo
Human Features Physical Feature

This is the largest city in Brazil

with over 11 million people living
here. Those who live here are
called Paulistanos.

São Paulo Cathedral is a Pico do Jaraguá is the highest

Roman Catholic place of mountain of the city.
worship.

Parque Hopi Hari is a theme

park in the city.

Photos courtesy of Deni Williams, Rafael Acorsi and rvcroffi @flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Rio de Janeiro
Human Features Physical Features
People call Rio de Janeiro ‘Rio’ for
short. It is the second largest city in
Brazil.

Sugarloaf Mountain is a peak

located at the mouth of
Guanabara Bay. It is nearly
400 metres high.

Tijuca Forest is a hand-planted

rainforest.

Christ the Redeemer statue is

situated in Tijuca Forest and is
a religious statue that stands on
top of Corcovado Mountain.
Copacabana beach is 4km in
length.

Rio is very famous for its

carnivals too.
Photos courtesy of BBM Explorer, Digo_Souza and razvan.orendovici @flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Porto Alegre
Human Features The Portuguese translation of Porto
Alegre is ‘joyful harbour’.

Estádio Beira-Rio was used to host 5 of the FIFA 2014

World Cup games.

Porto Alegre Public Market is an exciting and interesting

place to look around.

Photos courtesy of filipecastilhos, atramos maltman23 and fundocter - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Quick City Facts
Salvador Brasília
Human Features Human Features

The historic centre with its The Palácio da Alvorada is the

pretty coloured buildings and official residence of the
interesting architecture. President of Brazil.
Paranoá Lake is a man made
lake on the east side of the city.

The Estádio Fonte Nova was

Cathedral of Brasília is a
used for several 2014 FIFA
Roman Catholic cathedral
World Cup games.
designed by a Brazilian
architect.

Physical and Human Features Physical Feature

The Porto da Barra beach is a
physical feature with two Itiquira Falls is 168 metres high.
human features built on to it: a
white fort at one end and a
small church on the opposite hill
side.

Photos courtesy of Adam Jones, Ph.D. - Global Photo Archive, Fotos GOVBA , Rodrigo_Soldon, mercadoviagens.com, akasped and Marco Mugnatto - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Carnival
Rio de Janeiro is famous for its carnival.
Even though carnivals are celebrated
all around the country, Rio is known as
the capital of carnival.
Thousands go to the “Sambódromo”, an
avenue specially built to host it.

The carnival lasts for three days.

During that time, Rio is filled with
dancing, music, singing and lots of
street parades showcasing colourful
costumed dancers performing the
samba.

Photos courtesy of TerryGeorge., GTA_SA, Leandro’s World Tour and Sarah.Ahearn - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 The Amazon Rainforest

IMAGERY – 2014 Data SIO, NOAA, U.S Navy, NGA, GEBCO, Landsat, Map data @ 2014 Google, INEGI, Inav/Geosistemas SRL

Key facts

•The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world with over
half located in Brazil.
•Tribes of people still live here with no contact to the outside world.
•Deforestation is still an issue in this part of the world.
•It is home to roughly 2.5 million different insect species.
•Many different species of bird live here such as toucans, hummingbirds and
hoatzin.
•There are over 40,000 plant species in the rainforest.
•Dangerous creatures such as cougars, jaguars and anacondas live there!

Photos courtesy of Tambako the Jaguar, angeloangelo, CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Claudio Matsuoka - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
Layers of the Amazon Rainforest
Emergent Layer
It’s sunny here because it’s the highest point.
Only the tallest trees reach this level.
You would find butterflies, bats, insects, monkeys and many
birds here.

Canopy Layer
Most trees of the forest grow to this
height. Certain plants grow at this level but their roots don’t
reach the ground, these are called air plants.
You would find toucans, snakes, orang-utans, sloths, parrots,
lizards and many insects here.

Understory Layer
Vegetation and vines can be found here and it’s very dark.
You would find bugs, jaguars, poison dart frogs and kinkajous.

Forest Floor
A damp and dark part of the forest.
Look out for tapirs and wild boar.

In the Water
Beware of electric eels, anacondas and piranhas in the water!
 The Amazon River
• The Amazon River flows through Brazil.
• The river is approximately 4,000 miles long, mostly flowing through rainforest.
• It has around 200 tributaries.
• It begins in the Andes Mountains and is the second longest river in the world.
• Piranhas, anacondas and thousands of species of fish can be found here!
• No bridges cross the river at any point.

Where does it end?

Weather and Climate

Most of Brazil is in the Southern

Hemisphere. The Brazilian winter
lasts for only three months (roughly
June to August) then summer arrives
from around December until
February.

Brazil has an average winter

temperature of 15 degrees Celsius
whereas during the summer months,
temperatures can reach 40 degrees
Celsius. Summers are also
accompanied by frequent showers
and heavy humidity.
 Vegetation growing in Brazil

1. Rainforest covers nearly half of the

country.

2. Semi-desert vegetation grows in the

extremely hot and dry climate of the north
east.

3. Tropical grasslands cover much of central

Brazil. This area is made up of trees and
shrubs. Towards the west of this area are
swamplands. 1
2

4. Tropical forests grow in coastal and 3

4
mountainous areas. 5

5. Subtropical grasslands grow mostly in the

south. Grasses, herbs, small shrubs and
occasional trees can be found here.
 Brazil is also important because it produces
lots of the following….

soybeans sugar orange juice iron ore

coffee beef crude oil

Photos courtesy of USDAgov, samantha celera. Stephane <3, Sam Howzit, Steve A Johnson, Eric Vernier and CDEGlobal - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Brazilian Cuisine

Brazilian cuisine has lots of African influences from

the slaves that once lived there.

people peeling cassava

Brazil is a very culturally diverse country and so its
food is a huge mix.

Many Brazilians like to eat vegetables such as cassava

yams
and yams, which are alternatives to potatoes.

Brazil’s national dish is called ‘feijoada’ which is a

spiced stew of beans, beef and pork.
feijoada

Photos courtesy of Keith Bacongco, cogdogblog and Keith Bacongco - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Ronaldo’s Daily Routine
Half past 6
I get up, get dressed, walk to school with my
sisters then have breakfast there.
School begins and today I start with Portuguese and
Quarter past 7
History.

10 o’clock It’s lunch! My favourite meal is rice with beans and

salad.

Half past 10 Back to class for lessons and it’s my favourite,

P.E!
It’s the end of my school day so I walk back home with my This is Ronaldo.
11 o’clock
sisters. I get changed and Mum lets me play out for a while.
He lives in São Paulo.

1 o’clock I come inside and do my chores, today I’m washing

clothes.
I take a nap because this is the hottest part of the
3 o’clock
day.

5 o’clock I wake up and have a snack then do my homework.

I relax in front of the T.V for a while with my little

Half past six
brother.
It’s tea time. I eat with all my family then afterwards, I
9 o’clock
go to bed. Goodnight!

Photo courtesy of Apenas Imagens 2 / Marília Almeida - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 What is life like for street children in Brazil?

Many children have to live on the streets because their home life isn’t happy.
These children might be trying to escape adults who don’t look after them
properly, search for food or may even be orphans.

Life on the streets is highly dangerous. Children can be hurt or forced to do

things they don’t want to do, just to stay alive. Children become ill because
they don’t eat properly or receive medical help. Children in this situation don’t
have access to education either.
 Famous Brazilian People

Ronaldo Pelé Neymar

A football player who He played as part of Considered a Brazilian
starred for the Brazilian three Brazilian World football genius. Neymar
national team and Cup champion teams had won four Player of
several European clubs. and is thought of by the Year awards by the
many Brazilians as the age of 21.
greatest football player
of all time.

"Football against poverty 2014 - Ronaldo" by Ludovic Péron - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Photos courtesy of familymwr and globalite @flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Famous Brazilian People

Ayrton Senna
Rubens Oscar Niemeyer
(1960-1994)
Barrichello
A Brazilian Formula One One of the world’s top A talented and well respected
driver. Senna was very Formula One racing drivers. architect who is famous for
designing buildings such as
successful throughout his In 2010, he became the first
United Nations Headquarters in
motor racing career but driver to have been involved New York City, Cathedral of
tragically died after in 300 Grand Prix races. Brasília and the Serpentine
crashing in the 1994 San Gallery Summer Pavilion in
Marino Grand Prix. Hyde Park, London.

Photos courtesy of Instituto Ayrton Senna, ph-stop, OliverN5 andakasped @flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution
 Plenary

• Write down 5 new facts that you have learned in your lesson.
Share those facts with a friend then add any new facts to your
list.

• Consider why we are learning about Brazil.

• Write down 3 similarities and 3 differences between Brazil

and the Bolivia.

• Write down why you would/wouldn’t like to visit this country.