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Hello! Welcome to this online bulletin board all about grasslands! The resources you will find here all pertain to teaching & enhancing children's knowledge about the grassland habitat.
They include...
-What a grassland is/types.
-Articles about grasslands.
-Videos about grasslands.
-Songs about grasslands.
-Grassland activity.
-Children's books about grasslands.
-Facts about grasslands.
-Online grassland games for children.
-Grassland photographs.
Enjoy! ❤️

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Grassland Biomes: Where are they located?

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Grassland Biomes: Where are they located?

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They can be found in the middle latitudes, in the interiors of continents. Tropical grasslands are mainly found in East Africa & Australia, while temperate grasslands are in North America & Argentina, for instance.

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Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses, flowers and herbs. Latitude, soil and local climates for the most part determine what kinds of plants grow in a particular grassland. A grassland is a region where the average annual precipitation is great enough to support grasses, and in some areas a few trees. The precipitation is so eratic that drought and fire prevent large forests from growing. Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the bottom instead of the top. Their stems can grow again after being burned off. The soil of most grasslands is also too thin and dry for trees to survive.

When the settlers of the United States moved westward, they found that the grasslands, or prairies as they called them, were more than just dry, flat areas. The prairies contained more than 80 species of animals and 300 species of birds, and hundreds of species of plants.

There are two different types of grasslands; tall-grass, which are humid and very wet, and short-grass, which are dry, with hotter summers and colder winters than the tall-grass prairie. The settlers found both on their journey west. When they crossed the Mississippi River they came into some very tall grass, some as high as 11 feet. Here it rained quite often and it was very humid. As they traveled further west and approached the Rocky Mountains, the grass became shorter. There was less rain in the summer and the winters got colder. These were the short-grass prairies.

Grassland biomes can be found in the middle latitudes, in the interiors of continents. They can have either moist continental climates or dry subtropical climates. In Argentina, South America, the grasslands are known as pampas. The climate there is humid and moist. Grasslands in the southern hemisphere tend to get more precipitation than those in the northern hemisphere, and the grass tends to be the tall-grass variety.

There is a large area of grassland that stretch from the Ukraine of Russia all the way to Siberia. This is a very cold and dry climate because there is no nearby ocean to get moisture from. Winds from the arctic aren't blocked by any mountains either. These are known as the Russian and Asian steppes.

In the winter, grassland temperatures can be as low as -40° F, and in the summer it can be as high 70° F. There are two real seasons: a growing season and a dormant season. The growing season is when there is no frost and plants can grow (which lasts from 100 to 175 days). During the dormant (not growing) season nothing can grow because its too cold.

In tropical and subtropical grasslands the length of the growing season is determined by how long the rainy season lasts. But in the temperate grasslands the length of the growing season is determined by temperature. Plants usually start growing when the daily temperature reached about 50° F.

In temperate grasslands the average rainfall per year ranges from 10-30 inches. In tropical and sub-tropical grasslands the average rainfall per year ranges from 25-60 inches per year The amount of rainfall is very important in determining which areas are grasslands because it's hard for trees to compete with grasses in places where the uppers layers of soil are moist during part of the year but where deeper layer of soil are always dry.

The most common types of plant life on the North American prairie are Buffalo Grass, Sunflower, Crazy Weed, Asters, Blazing Stars, Coneflowers, Goldenrods, Clover, and Wild Indigos.

Some common animals in the grasslands are Coyotes, Eagles, Bobcats, the Gray Wolf, Wild Turkey, Fly Catcher, Canadian Geese, Crickets, Dung Beetle, Bison, and Prairie Chicken.

by Sam M. 2000
Bibliography:
Living In The Environment: An Introduction To Environmental Science G. Tyler Miller--20th edition; Wadsworth Publishing, Belmont, California,

Encyclopedia Britannica, 20th Edition

"Temperate Grasslands" http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tempgrass/tempgras.html, (Oct. 2000).

"Grasslands",
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/grasslan.html, (Oct. 2000).

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Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses, flowers and herbs. Latitude, soil and local climates for the most part determine what kinds of plants grow in a particular grassland. A grassland is a region where the average annual precipitation is great enough to support grasses, and in some areas a few trees.

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Tropical:
-Located in the tropical latitude.
-The grass is tall, coarse, and spiky.
-Soil is not very fertile.
-Very dry climate
Temperate:
-Located in the temperate latitude.
-Grass is very short, soft, & nutritive.
-Treeless plains as rainfall is less.
-Soil is very fertile.

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Grasslands are common on every continent but Antarctica, yet they're far from predictable.

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Slideshow & Article by National Geographic Kids

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Between the Forest and the Desert

Grassland habitats are places that receive more rain than deserts but less precipitation than forests. Most of the plants here are grasses, which don't need as much water as forest vegetation.

Every continent except Antarctica has grasslands, but they have different names in different places: In Africa, they're called savannas and veldts; pampas in South America; steppes in in Europe and Asia; prairies or grasslands in North America; and rangelands in Australia. One-fourth of the planet is covered by grasslands.

Grasslands are usually found in the dry interior of continents, between the mountains and deserts. Many grasslands were formed tens of thousands of years ago after the last ice age, when the Earth began to warm up and the climate became drier.

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Threats to Grasslands & Solutions for it by National Geographic

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Much of Earth's grassland has been lost to agricultural development.

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African Grassland model- For school and/or home

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Get 25% off the first month of your new craft box subscription with code BLOG25! Green Kid Crafts delights tens of thousands of kids across North America each month with fun and eco-friendly craft and STEM activities delivered right to their door through our company's craft subscription box program. Kids are sent a monthly Discovery Box, which is packed with between 5-8 activity kits designed to foster a child's creativity and confidence. All of our kits are developed by teachers and STEM experts to support key developmental skills for kids ages 3-10. Each month brings a new theme; past themes have included Mad Scientist, Nocturnal Animals, Around the World, Outer Space, and Feathered Friends. Our program has won a variety of awards including The Academic's Choice Brain Award, Dr. Toy's Best Green Products, Parent's Choice Recommended, MACT Excellence Award, and many more. Our team of kid testers help design each Discovery Box as well as the fun activities and projects for our blog like this one!

Growing grass is nothing special, right? Well, when you fill your grass with little animals, all of a sudden growing grass becomes VERY fun! Make your own African playscape with this experiment!

Supplies: grass seed, potting soil, aluminum pan, rocks, spray bottle, and african animals.

Step one: Fill bottom of the aluminum pan with rocks for drainage. We just collected some from outside.

Step two: Put a layer of potting soil on top of the rocks.

Step three: Lay grass seed on the soil and cover with another thin layer of soil.

Step four: put the pan in front of the window. This is a perfect time to teach your child about what a plant needs to grow...sunlight and water. We filled the spray bottle with water and when it was dry we would give it a squirt!

Step five: Add the animals to the grassland! We got books from the library about Africa and the types of animals and ecosystems located there. This is a great learning opportunity that is fun and so easy!
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Get 25% off the first month of your new craft box subscription with code BLOG25! Green Kid Crafts delights tens of thousands of kids across North America each month with fun and eco-friendly craft and STEM activities delivered right to their door through our company's craft subscription box program.

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Grassland Biome Facts by softschools

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Grassland Biome Facts

Grassland biomes are made mostly of grasses. They are said to be between a forest and a desert when it comes to rainfall. They do not receive enough rainfall to grow trees like a forest but they contain lots of grass so they receive more rain than a desert.

Grasslands are also known as prairies, pampas, steppes, and savannas.

Grassland biomes are normally situated between a forest and a desert. In fact, grasslands surround every desert in Asia.

Twenty-five percent of the Earth is covered by the grassland biome.

There is a grassland biome on each continent with the exception of Antarctica.

Tropical and temperate are the two kinds of grasslands. Tropical grasslands experience warm weather all year long while temperate grasslands are warm part of the year and very cold during the other part.

Grasslands are perfect for cropping and pasturing because its soil runs deep and is extremely fertile.

Periodic fires, whether they are human induced or occur spontaneously, are very important to the grassland to ensure that invasive plants do not take over.

Tropical grassland biomes are located in the Southern Hemisphere while temperate grassland biomes are located in the Northern Hemisphere.

The grasses in the tropical grassland biome tend to be taller than that of the temperate because of the constant warm weather and additional rainfall it receives.

Since grassland biomes have rich soil, much of them are used for farming. There is only 2% of the original grassland left in North America.

There are two seasons in the temperate grassland: the growing season and the dormant season. Plants do not grow during the dormant season because the climate is too cold during that time.

Animals that you can expect to find in a grassland biome are zebras, lions, wolves, prairie dogs, and foxes. The animal diversity is dependent upon the location of the biome.

Large animals called bison previously ruled the grassland biome and roamed by the millions. During the 1800s, settlers begin to slaughter them for various reasons.

Since so much of the grassland biome has been utilized for farmland, the United States has made efforts to restore the grassland by planting grasses in areas previously used for farming.

The grasslands in the United States are known as prairies and are considered to be temperate grasslands.

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Grassland biomes are made mostly of grasses. They are said to be between a forest and a desert when it comes to rainfall. They do not receive enough rainfall to grow trees like a forest but they contain lots of grass so they receive more rain than a desert.

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Plains, Grasslands, Savannas Games for Kids by Wartgames

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Plains, Grasslands, Savannas - Free Games & Activities for Kids

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Sheppard Software Grassland Habitat Activity for Kids

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Grassland - Paint and Make - Sheppard Software

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Paint activity for kids, learn about animals.

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Animals who live in the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains to show children.

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Since 2000, WWF has worked in this part of the country to conserve and restore the Northern Great Plains’ natural heritage and native wildlife. So which animals call this beautiful region home, and why do they matter?

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"Grassland Animals for Kids: Safari Adventure" by Kids Fun Learning TV

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Grassland Animals For Kids  : Safari Adventure

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"In The Grasslands" by María Dolores Sánchez

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African grassland to show children from www.sunsafaris.com

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Grasslands (Biomes of the World)

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"Livin' On A Prairie" by Harmonyiac Kids

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Grassland photograph to show children from www.worldwildlife.org