'Who's chopping down the TRF and why?' - Rainforest GCSE causes of deforestation

Originally made for Edexcel B GCSE Geog- Batte for the Biosphere topic but can be applied to any syllabus teaching about the causes of deforestation. The students really enjoyed the lesson as it is very balanced between discussion and exam prep- suits a mixed ability group well and there's lots of room for creative higher level thinking.

The lesson gets students to first of all think about the connection between a beef burger and the rainforest and then gets the students to discuss the various causes of deforestation through peer teaching of 3 different articles.

There is a describe/explain answer builder sheet which worked well with low ability students and the articles can be differentiated when they are initially given out.

There is also an exam question and sample answer for the students to then use to create their own. There's discussion of indigenous tribes living sustainably in the TRF through a brillian TED talk and ends with a quick MEAT the facts video which gets students to understand the links between deforestation and our meat appetite in economically developed nations.