1. Environments on a Satellite Image
Life of Early Peoples
Environments
on a
Satellite Image (

2. Activity 1: Forest, Grassland, Desert, and Savanna
on a Satellite Image

3. This is a picture
of part of the earth
as seen from a
satellite in orbit
high above the earth
(from NASA).

4. This is a picture
of part of the earth
as seen from a
satellite in orbit
high above the earth
(from NASA).
Different kinds
of environments
have different
colors on the image.

5. a rainforest, a grassland,
I can
identify and describe
a rainforest, a grassland,
a desert, and a savanna
on a satellite image.

6. I will need:
Satellite Map
Worksheet

7. This is a photo of a rainforest. Rainforests grow in places
that are hot and rainy
every month of the year.

8. Are you more likely to see a rainforest in place A, B, C, or D?
This is a photo of a rainforest.
Rainforests grow in places
that are hot and rainy
every month of the year.
Are you more likely to see
a rainforest in place
A, B, C, or D? C B A D

9. This is a photo of a desert. It is the kind of image
you often see in movies or TV,
BUT most deserts don’t look like this.

10. Most deserts are more like this photo. Deserts occur in places
that usually have very little rain,
but sometimes have fog or a storm.

11. Which place on the image is more likely to be a desert, A, B, C, or D?
Most deserts are more like this photo.
Deserts occur in places
that usually have very little rain,
but sometimes have fog or a storm.
Which place on the image
is more likely to be a desert,
A, B, C, or D? C B A D

12. This is a photo of a grassland. Grasslands occur in places
that have a summer season but
do not get enough rain for trees.

13. Are you more likely to see a grassland in place A, B, C, or D?
This is a photo of a grassland.
Grasslands occur in places
that have a summer season but
do not get enough rain for trees.
Are you more likely to see
a grassland in place
A, B, C, or D? C B A D

14. Matching pictures is fairly easy. What is harder is trying to decide
how to make a living in places
that have different environments. D C B A

15. Matching pictures is fairly easy. What is harder is trying to decide
how to make a living in places
that have different environments.
Deciding how to make a living
is even harder if you do not have modern technology like electricity, tractors, or even metal tools. D C B A

16. Matching pictures and making a living are both hard in a place like E.
E is between rainforest and desert.
What do you think it is like here? C B A D E

17. Matching pictures and making a living are both hard in a place like E.
E is between rainforest and desert.
What do you think it is like here?
This is a savanna – a place
that gets rain in half of the year.
What do you think grows here? C B A D E

18. Savannas usually have small trees scattered among tall grasses.
They look very different
in different seasons. C B E A

19. July January D Savannas usually have small trees C
scattered among tall grasses.
They look very different
in different seasons. C B E A
January

20. During the rainy summer, a savanna is a great place
to see giraffes, zebras,
lions, and even elephants. D
Savannas usually have small trees
scattered among tall grasses.
They look very different
in different seasons. C B E A

21. During the rainy summer, a savanna is a great place
to see giraffes, zebras,
lions, and even elephants. D
Savannas usually have small trees
scattered among tall grasses.
They look very different
in different seasons. C B E A
(Teachers will need to explain the timeline and the location grid of the GHG.)
The distance between years gets progressively longer as the time moves up (closer to the present)
The continents are labeled at the top. Note that Africa is between Europe and Asia, although on a map it is south of both.
During the dry “winter”,
the animals often move
somewhere else, where
they can find food to eat.

22. Equatorial RainforestC B A D
Let’s Review E
Environment
Characteristics
On Satellite Image
Equatorial Rainforest

23. Equatorial RainforestC B A D
Let’s Review E
Environment
Characteristics
On Satellite Image
Equatorial Rainforest
Hot and rainy every month
Tall trees, vines, birds, monkeys A

24. Let’s Review D C B E A Environment Characteristics On Satellite Image
Tropical Desert

25. Let’s Review D C B E A Little rain; occasional storms
Environment
Characteristics
On Satellite Image
Tropical Desert
Little rain; occasional storms
Scattered small plants, sometimes cactus B

26. Let’s Review D C B E A Environment Characteristics On Satellite Image
Grasslands

27. Let’s Review D C B E A C Summer season; not enough rain for trees
Environment
Characteristics
On Satellite Image
Grasslands
Summer season; not enough rain for trees
Grass and scattered flowers
Grazing animals like antelope, bison, or zebra C

28. Let’s Review D C B E A Environment Characteristics On Satellite Image
Tropical Savannah

29. Let’s Review D C B E A Rain half the year
Environment
Characteristics
On Satellite Image
Tropical Savannah
Rain half the year
Between desert and rainforest
Small trees, tall grasses E

30. equatorial rainforest,
Now that you know
how to recognize
equatorial rainforest,
tropical desert,
tropical savanna,
and grassland,
our next activity
asks the big question:
how can people
make a living
in different
environments? D C B E A

31. Copyright 2017, Michigan Geographic Alliance
Teachers who download this presentation from our internet site
have permission to make a copy on their own computers
for these purposes:
1. to show the presentation in their own classrooms or to colleagues or at teacher conferences
(with attribution).
2. to modify it or use individual frames (with attribution) in their own class or conference presentations.
For permission for any other use,
including posting frames on a personal blog or uploading to any network or website,
contact 31