Earth and Atmospheric Science: Enquire

This session aims to support learners with the opportunity to enquire how scientists model climate and deal with the uncertainties in future scenarios, drawing on scientific skills to critically interpret data. Explore the important role of science in explaining what has happened in the past and helping us make predictions about the future. 

This session also provides an opportunity to revisit the Sixth Assessment Report released by the IPCC, providing the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system, climate change and future scenarios related to different levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

This is recommended as session three of the Key Stage Four Earth and Atmospheric Science Unit, supporting learners to use skills to enquire.

< 30 minutes
KS4

Preparation

Green Skills

  • Interpreting data

Step by step

Quick Starter Activity

Met Office: Future Weather Forecast

Use the P4C stimulus infographic linked in the resource and discuss how we can use data to help us to predict the weather and climate in the future.

Main Activity Suggestions

Suggestion 1 (Indoor)

Annenberg: Carbon lab. Students investigate how fossil fuel use, deforestation, emission levels, and feedbacks will affect global climate to 2100, using a simulation model similar to those presented in the most recent IPCC report.

Suggestion 2 (Indoor)

BioInteractive: Coral Reefs and Global Warming. A computer-based activity where students use authentic scientific data to investigate claims about the threats to the world's coral reefs.

Suggestion 3 (Indoor)

Met Office: Interpreting Climate Models. A group challenge to explore the concept of climate change modelling and look at different scenarios for the future.

Top Tips

Through interpreting data and models, these activities support learners to develop both Working Scientifically skills and climate literacy.

Curriculum links