Geography Teaching Today

The KS3 Resources strand of the Action Plan for Geography is run by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Download the Module Overview

Download the Module Plan 

Fact Sheet: Climate Change

The purpose of this module is to explore the climates of today and predict the climates of the future. The focus of the module is how and why climates change, what the impacts of this change might be, and how we can behave sustainably to limit the impacts of global warming.

Climate change is a well publicised issue, and there are many contrasting theories around the topic. The module introduces ideas about why climate change occurs, and the impact this can have on various locations throughout the world. Students are encouraged to think about place and understand the physical characteristics that cause differing climates, and through this they also learn about the physical processes associated with extreme weather conditions and how humans have adapted their lives to minimise the impact of these events.

The module moves on to cover ideas of scale, looking at local, national and international impacts on our climate. Students will be introduced to ideas of interdependence, and will explore the environmental and economic connections between places.

Sustainability and looking towards the future are discussed in the final two lessons, where students are asked to look at climate predictions written by experts in order to decide which areas of the world are likely to be most affected by climate change. Cultural understanding and diversity are touched upon here, with students considering the implications of changing actions on a variety of different countries.

Focus on key concepts:
Place
Physical and Human Processes
Cultural Understanding and Diversity
Scale
Interdependence
Environmental Interaction and Sustainable Development