Climate change and biodiversity glossary

This resource provides options for different engaging games to help learners understand key climate change terminology and can aid when they are developing knowledge in science or other areas by providing a secure grasp of appropriate vocabulary. Select an option most appropriate for the learners you work with or that fits in with existing schemes of work.

©Trustees of the Natural History Museum. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

< 30 minutes
KS3
KS4

Preparation

Download the glossary and select and activity option

What you need

  • The glossary 
  • A poster, cards or worksheet per the activity options below 

Location

  • Indoors

Curriculum links

  • Science

Step by step

Choose one or more of the options below to support development of vocabulary when learning about climate change and biodiversity loss at different ages.

  • Poster: Print out a copy of the glossary to display in class, for students to refer to as and when they need it.
  • Match up activity: Use the glossary to play a matching game. Print out a set of the words and a separate set of the definitions, all on individual cards. You could focus on a specific topic (e.g. greenhouse gases) or look at all the definitions at once. Challenge the students to work together in small teams to match up the words with the correct definitions. You could set a time limit for some added competition.
  • Mystery Word: Give the class a series of clues that relate to one of the definitions in the glossary. As they hear the clues, students can make guesses as to which definition it refers to. Encourage students to explain their reasoning.
  • As an extension task, students might like to work in small teams and come up with their own clues for each other.