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Resources for teachers on teaching climate science in Key Stage 3 and 4 Science from CPDN, University of Oxford.

Stock image, storm seen from space

Key Stage 3 and 4 Science

There is a broad range of activities below which could be used in the teaching of KS3/4 science. There are several simple climate models – using dice, bottles of water, Excel spreadsheets etc. as well as exercises investigating CPDN (short for climateprediction.net) data or the greenhouse effect in general.

 

Title and description Notes
Teachers notes

Teachers’ notes Guide to where the materials fit in UK science curriculum (pdf, 50KB)

Lesson plan

Lesson plan Suggested lesson plan with background information & solutions for teachers (pdf, 120KB)

Introduction to Climate and Climate Change

Presentation (pdf, 260KB)

Simple climate model teachers’ notes

Teachers’ notes For calculator / Excel versions (pdf, 140KB)

Students’ notes For Excel version (pdf, 120KB)

Paper & calculator worksheet (pdf, 100KB)

Bucket model
Practical climate model involving a plastic bottle and water. Best done in groups of three
Students’ worksheet (pdf, 110KB)
Using dice as a climate model
Requires Excel and one dice per pupil / group of pupils

Teachers’ notes (pdf, 100KB)

Students’ worksheet (pdf, 140KB)
Presentation (pdf, 530KB)

Presentation notes for teachers (pdf, 100KB)

The Day After Tomorrow

Discussion-based exercise (pdf, 100KB)

Friends of the Earth press release (pdf, 90KB)

Exploring energy conservation for the Earth
Looking at the transfer of energy from the Sun to the Earth’s atmosphere

Presentation (pdf, 120KB)

Teachers’ notes (pdf, 80KB)

Using CPDN to produce a climate forecast
3 half-hour sessions require CPDN and the visualisation package to be installed

Worksheet (pdf, 130KB)

Thinking about the greenhouse effect

Poster (pdf, 120KB) 2 session classroom exercise, resulting in the production of a poster

New Zealand schools: Using CPDN results to produce a climate forecast

Worksheet (doc, 110KB)

New Zealand schools: Making a climate forecast for a particular location

Worksheet (doc, 60KB)

New Zealand schools: Students’ evaluation of the exercises questionnaire

Questionnaire (doc, 30KB)

New Zealand schools: Useful sources of information

Information (doc, 30KB)

New Zealand schools: Presentation for teachers

Teachers’ Powerpoint presentation (ppt, 1.6MB)