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Weather and Climate - duration 5/6 weeks

General aim: to introduce pupils to weather studies and to give them an understanding of the principal features of Britain's weather.

ICT: pupils can collect weather data and store it in a computer database. Use of the internet.

Cross curricular: A lot of this topic coincides with the Science Department NC work.

Key Topic	Content/Skills	Guidance Notes Literacy/Numeracy
Introduction	Glossary and title page Pupils design a title page to illustrate this topic. Pupils write a glossary of key words to be used in this topic.	Glossary at beginning of topic will familiarise the pupils with the keywords to be used, their meanings and spellings. Keywords can be displayed around the classroom.
Observing and recording the weather	How might you observe and record the weather? Foundations p. 18 Qu. 1 - 5 Summary Homework task - Sheet 2.1	Brainstorm weather definitions. Describe how weather features can be measured simply. Work in pairs on observing and recording. Homework keep a weather diary for 5 days. Information from this could be put into a database or excel to produce graphs.
Local features	How can local features affect temperature and wind? Foundations p. 20 Qu.1 - 3 Summary Extension work - sheet 2.2	Describe climate differences in a small area. Explain the cause of these differences. Use the school as an example.
Weather and climate	What is Britain’s weather? Foundations p. 22 Qu. 1 – 5 Summary Extension work - sheet 2.3	Define terms, emphasise difference and support with examples. Map interpretation. Simple explanations of differences using five main reasons. Use of map to show 4 main climate zones in Britain
Rain	How does it rain? Foundations p. 22 Qu. 1 - 4 Summary Extension work - sheet 2.4	Simple diagram to show how it rains. Define precipitation and condensation. Simple diagrams and explanations to show the three main rainfall types. Compare data showing Britain’s rainfall and high ground to confirm the link.
Anticyclones and depressions	Forecasting the weather – anticyclones Foundations p. 26 Qu. 1 – 4 Summary Extension work – sheet 2.5 Forecasting the weather – depressions Foundations p. 28 Qu. 1 – 4 Summary Extension work – sheet 2.6	Brainstorm the value of weather forecasts. Use of satellite images to help. Describe how anticyclones and depressions develop. This is a difficult topic for many. Try to keep it simple.
Assessment	Self assessment sheet and target setting Assessment based on sheet 2.1a, 2.1b & 2.2	Use of self-assessment sheets to highlight gaps in the pupils learning and set targets for the next topic. Assessment sheet 2.1a, 2.1b & 2.2. Pupils to record their test scores against the class average.