City of the Beasts

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What facts and characteristics can you list about the Amazon rainforest? Which countries does it run through? What kinds of people, plants, and animals live in this rainforest? Why is it central to our planet’s health?

Teaching Suggestion: Many students are likely to know basic information about the Amazon rainforest and the threats it currently faces; showing the first video listed below or a similar resource will ensure that all students are prepared to read City of Beasts with the appropriate background knowledge. The second and third listed resources are intended to broaden students’ understanding of the human history of this area of the world, to help them more fully identify with the current inhabitants of the rainforest.

• This 3-minute video from Incredible Earth introduces the Amazon rainforest, its ecological significance, its inhabitants, and the threats it currently faces.
• This article from ScienceNews describes recent discoveries of ancient Amazonian urban centers.
• This 3-minute video from the BBC profiles a young Indigenous man who has come from the Amazon to New York City as a cultural ambassador for his people.