This Save the Orangutan KS2 Geography Planning Pack contains everything your Year 4 class will need to learn about this endangered rainforest animal and the threat palm oil poses to its survival on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

In this sequence of six lessons, your KS2 class will begin by finding out about orangutans and will use the detailed fact file provided to produce informative leaflets about this rainforest animal. In the next lesson, your class will go on a journey to South East Asia, positioning the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Then, your class will venture into the rainforest of Borneo and study its layered structure. Your KS2 class will then look at reasons why the rainforests of Borneo are suffering from deforestation and why this is a problem for the orangutan. The focus of the lesson is on the main threat to the orangutan's survival: palm oil. Children will learn about why palm oil is so popular and how huge palm oil plantations on Borneo are bringing the orangutan closer to extinction. In the next lesson, children will learn about an orangutan rescue and rehabilitation centre in Borneo. They will design their own similar sanctuary to show their understanding of the different stages to reintroducing an orphaned orangutan back into the wild. In the final lesson of the scheme, your KS2 children will take part in a debate on whether a new palm oil planation should be created on Borneo, in role as a character. They will then reflect on their own personal opinion and share this with their classmates. This six-lesson Geography Planning Pack contains everything you will need to engage your KS2 class with the plight of the orangutan and how the palm oil industry is a threat to its survival. Included are high quality slides featuring the cutest orangutan photos you will ever see, detailed lesson plans with differentiated activities plus all the worksheets and resources needed to deliver this scheme effectively. Want more rainforest-themed resources? Take a look at our The Rainforest Topic Bundle, which contains four ready-to-teach schemes of work!

Lesson 1

Find Out About the Orangutan

In this Find Out About the Orangutan Geography Lesson Pack, your KS2 class will begin by sharing any existing knowledge they have about orangutans.

The interactive slideshow that comes as part of this pack will help your class become experts on the orangutan. They will find out about what orangutans eat, where they sleep, how their body is adapted to living high up in the forest canopy, life as a young orangutan and all about male and female orangutans. Your KS2 class will then create an informative leaflet to show what they have learnt about the orangutan, converting factual information into their own words.

Everything you need to teach this lesson is included in the pack. There is a highly-detailed slideshow crammed with information and the cutest orangutan pictures you will ever see! Also included is a comprehensive lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the resources you need to help your class produce quality informative leaflets all about the orangutan.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Leaflet sheets
Sentence starter cards
Board game instructions
Counter template
Question cards template
Save the orangutan board game sheet

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Lesson 2

Where the Orangutan Lives

In this Where the Orangutan Lives Geography Lesson Pack, your KS2 class will develop their map skills to locate the islands of Borneo and Sumatra - the only places on Earth where the orangutan lives in the wild.

At the start of the lesson, children will use the interactive slideshow to locate the world's continents, Equator and tropics. They will then travel to South East Asia and use maps to locate the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. Your KS2 class will study various maps to help them describe the position of these islands in relation to the Equator, tropics and the surrounding seas. They will create keys to locate the nearby countries and their capital cities. By the end of this lesson, your class will have a secure understanding of precisely where in the world these two rainforest islands are.

Everything you need to deliver this interesting lesson is included in the pack. There is a high quality slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the resources needed.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Map sheet
Worksheets
South East Asia map sheet

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Lesson 3

The Structure of the Rainforest

In this Structure of the Rainforest Geography Lesson Pack, your KS2 class will begin with a game of True or False to see what they can remember about the location of Borneo and Sumatra.

The engaging slideshow will then help you take your class on a journey deep into the ancient rainforests of Borneo. They will learn about the different layers of it and how different plants and animals are adapted to living at each layer. They will find out how and why the orangutan lives mainly in the canopy. Then, children will show their understanding by creating a drawing of the rainforest's structure and will match statements about it to the correct layer.

You will find everything you need to teach this lesson is included in the pack. There is the high quality slideshow, a comprehensive lesson plan with differentiated activities and the printable resources too!

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Rainforest layer cards
Worksheets
Research activity sheets
Fact file sheet

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Lesson 4

The Problem with Palm Oil

In this The Problem with Palm Oil Geography Lesson Pack, your KS2 class will begin by seeing if they can match up descriptions to the correct layer of the rainforest.

Then the children will look at images of deforestation in Borneo and will find out the many reasons why it is happening. Using the interactive sideshow that comes as part of this pack, your KS2 class will see images of palm oil plantations and find out why they are the main threat to the orangutan. They will then create posters which inform people about what palm oil is, why it is so useful and why palm oil plantations are such a threat to the survival of the orangutan.

Everything you need to teach this lesson is included in the pack. There is a detailed slideshow which will help you bring this issue to life for your KS2 class, a high quality lesson plan with assessment questions and differentiated activities and of course all the printable resources you will need to make this lesson a success.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Palm oil fact sheet
Worksheets
Orangutan diary sheet

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Lesson 5

Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centres

In this Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centres Lesson Pack, your KS2 class will begin by using drama techniques to empathise with an orphaned orangutan whose rainforest home has just been cleared to make way for a palm oil plantation.

Then, the interactive slideshow shows how a rescue centre on the island of Borneo is helping to rehabilitate orphaned and displaced orangutan so that they can be released back into the wild where they belong. Children will find out about the incredible work of the staff at the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilition Centre and will find out about the stages of the long process of rehabilitating a rescued orangutan. They will learn about its quarantine area, baby house, forest school and rainforest island. Using the knowledge they develop and the detailed fact file provided, children will then get creative and design their own orangutan rescue centre. They will create a map of their design and label it to describe what happens in each area. At the end of the lesson children will consider whether they would like to work in an orangutan rescue centre and why.

Everyhting that you need to transport your KS2 class to the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is included. There is a high quality slideshow, a detailed lesson plan with differentiated activities and all the printable resources and worksheets you will need!

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Activity cards
Map sheet
Nyaru Menteng information page
Job advert sheet

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Lesson 6

Differing Opinions on Palm Oil

In this Differing Opinions on Palm Oil Geography Lesson Pack, your KS2 class will learn about the different sides of the palm oil debate. They will find out, for example, how a supermarket manager might be in favour of palm oil plantations since it helps deliver low prices for their customers. Alternatively, a member of a wildlife charity might be opposed to the deforestation of the rainforest since palm oil plantations do not provide a suitable habitat for orangutans to survive.

Your KS2 class will then take on the role of someone who has either a for or against stance on the palm oil issue. They might play the part of a local resident who welcomes the job opportunities and improvement in infrastructure the palm oil industry brings to Borneo. Maybe they will be playing the part of the boss of a toilitary company who uses palm oil to add foam and creaminess to their range of products. Perhaps they will be a worker at an orangutan rescue centre who is opposed to palm oil plantations due to the experience they have had of rescuing distressed orangutans, who have been displaced from their rainforest home or captured and kept illegally as pets. Your class will learn to make a persuasive speech in role as their character and then take part in a debate at the end of the lesson.

Everything you need to engage your children in this lesson is included. There is an engaging slideshow, a detailed lesson plan and high-quality printable resources.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Speech sheet
Palm oil for and against sheet
Sentence starter card
Product design page

View Lesson 6

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