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Topic title: Climate change and coral reefs

Year group: 8

When taught: November – January

What are we learning?

  • Why is Tuvalu going under water?
  • The causes of climate change
  • The impacts of Climate Change
  • The importance of coral reefs
  • Threats to coral reefs

Why is this important to know? 

  • Developing awareness and understanding of how human activities are impacting natural processes creating the enhanced greenhouse effect and its consequent impacts.
  • It supports students’ locational knowledge through studying Tuvalu and coral reef ecosystems.
  • It helps students to recognise their own role within the world, how climate change impacts them and encourages individual responsibility for actions regarding climate change.
  • It begins to challenge misconceptions i.e. the ozone layer being a cause of climate change and challenges perceptions of climate change being inevitable and nothing can be done about it.
  • Studying coral reefs develops a wider place knowledge and understanding of why they are located where they are, threats faced and potential management.
  • Groupwork, research and presentation skills are particularly developed through this unit.

Where does this link into our past and future learning? 

  • This links to recent learning on sustainability from the Year 7 units. It provides another in depth ecosystem study to allow similarities and comparisons to be drawn with the tropical rainforest ecosystem studied in year 7.  It also revisits and embeds the concept of the importance of tropical rainforests as carbon sinks.
  • Our next topic looks specifically at Antarctica, providing a contrasting polar biome.
  • In Year 9 links are made to this unit when learning about population growth and the consequent impacts on climate change, arguably one of the most major threats facing humanity.
  • This topic gives students the opportunity to develop presentation and group work skills previously used in the Year 7 Rocks and Landscapes unit.
  • The key concepts from this unit will be deepened in Year 11 when looking at the Challenge of Natural Hazards.

How will we be assessed on this topic?

  • The end of unit assessment will contain recall questions and a question requiring extended writing on the future of coral reefs. The Year 8 end of year exam is a decision-making paper requiring students to make links between climate change and the building of a wind farm in Bourton.

What makes a strong piece of work in this topic?  What are teachers hoping to see?  

  • Accurate use and understanding of the terms ‘greenhouse effect’ and ‘enhanced greenhouse effect’.
  • Effective research skills to find relevant information to meet set criteria.
  • Giving balanced answers that look at different viewpoints.
  • Effective group work and presentation skills.

What key words are there in this topic?

Quizlet, click here

What can I try if I want to stretch and challenge myself on this topic?

  • Research what the main findings and recommendations of the most recent COP meeting were.
  • Join the school’s pupil leadership group focusing on the environment and sustainability.

What wider reading can be done on this topic?

Horrible Geography Planet in Peril by Anita Ganeri and Mike Phillips

The Incredible Ecosystems of Planet Earth by Rachel Ignotofsky

No one is too small to make a difference by Greta Thunberg

There is no Planet B by Mike Berners-Lee

How bad are bananas? By Mike Berners-Lee

Atmosphere of Hope: Solutions to the Climate Crisis by Tim Flannery