This group activity is designed to deepen students’ understanding of the carbon cycle. It is aimed at upper primary classes, as it represents a simplified model of how carbon moves. Students will develop their understanding of how carbon moves between the atmosphere, plants, and animals, as well as how the burning of fossil fuels over the past 250 years has caused an imbalance in the carbon cycle.
This activity teaches students about the amount of carbon in the different stores, e.g. ocean, atmosphere, and fossil fuels. It is a group activity designed for between 4 and 6 students. Students will also learn about how carbon passes from one store to another.
This activity focuses on the processes in the global carbon cycle. It can be played individually or in small groups of two to four. Each player will move their counter around the board using the instructions. Players will use a dice to see how their carbon counter will move around the different stores in the carbon cycle.
Knowledge organiser covering the carbon cycle and climate change.
This includes the following sections:
Carbon cycle processes
Where is the carbon?
Climate change key words
How has human activity changed where carbon is located?
The greenhouse effect
Climate change over time
Atmospheric CO2 over time
Evidence for climate change
This lesson reviews students’ knowledge about the carbon cycle within the context of the study of ecosystems for GSCE Science (Biology) and Geography, as well as the changing composition of the Earth’s atmosphere for GCSE Science (Chemistry). It covers the carbon cycle and major carbon stores and fluxes. The lesson combines a digital interactive carbon cycle diagram to reinforce knowledge of the processes in the carbon cycle, with a hands-on activity to introduce students to the size of the major carbon stores and fluxes. Exam style questions and a knowledge organiser provide a good revision focus.
Learning outcomes
Review basic processes in the carbon cycle
Develop fuller understanding of the carbon cycle
Compare the sizes of the major carbon stores
Demonstrate their understanding of carbon fluxes and how changes have contributed to climate change
In this introductory lesson, we look at the scientific processes and concepts of the carbon cycle. This will enable students to grow prior knowledge of food webs, respiration, and photosynthesis, as well as the combustion of fossil fuels into a more complete model. The lesson starts with an exercise to illustrate the range of different forms of carbon and carbon compounds and where they are found. This is followed by a gamified exploration of the carbon cycle. Key vocabulary and an understanding of the carbon cycle and its link to climate change is developed through a dominos task and short answer questions.
Learning outcomes
Identify where carbon can be found
Describe ten basic processes of the carbon cycle
Demonstrate their understanding of carbon stores and movement between them
Link increasing carbon in the atmosphere to climate change
This introductory lesson looks at the scientific processes and concepts of the carbon cycle.
This will enable students to grow prior knowledge of food chains and feeding relationships to understanding the drivers of environmental change.
The lesson starts with an introduction to what carbon is, followed by a scaffolded understanding of the carbon cycle, reinforced by a fun activity.
The lesson will close by analysing how an imbalance in the carbon cycle is leading to increased carbon in the atmosphere, which is driving the climate crisis.
An interactive carbon cycle diagram complements the lesson.
Learning outcomes
List where carbon can be found
Describe four basic processes of the carbon cycle
Demonstrate their understanding of carbon stores and movement between them
Link increasing carbon levels in the atmosphere with climate change
This final lesson brings together all the previous learning as the classroom expedition returns to port, and the team delivers a press conference. The output from this lesson can be a written article, a blog post, audio report, press release, or video. These outputs can be shared at an assembly, parents’ evening, with the local press, or you can send a selection through to Encounter Edu (info@encounteredu.com) so that we can post them on our website.
This lesson introduces students to the wonders of the coral reef and the adventures of the XL Catlin Seaview Survey. In this first lesson, students will embark on their journey to become coral explorers, finding out where coral reefs can be found, and learning from the experiences of scientists and the expedition team. They will then take part in their first virtual dive. This lesson provides the platform for further scientific discovery through the rest of the unit.
This is the final lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. Students will present their ideas for a low carbon future. Students will assess their own and peers’ work and complete a review of the unit learning. In their small groups, students will be presenting their ideas for a low carbon future to the class. Each student group will evaluate the other presentations. Once the presentations are finished, students will reflect on the whole experience. They need to consider what they contributed, what they discovered, what sources of information they used, and what they might change.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the seventh lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. This summary lesson sees students work in groups to propose how a low carbon future could be achieved through carefully planned electricity production. This summary lesson sees students work in groups to propose how a low carbon future could be achieved through carefully planned electricity production. Working in small groups students will consider how electricity should be generated in the future as part of a low carbon strategy. Students will need to evaluate different strategies to ensure that their proposals are robust enough to cope with the risks identified in the research. This research will be presented in the next lesson. Students will need access to computers for research, planning and creating a presentation.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the sixth lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. Students will consider and predict the electricity consumption of the UK. Specifically, students will have to evaluate whether renewable energy generation will be able to meet predicted demand. In this lesson students will be thinking about what our energy needs may be in the future, and how we will generate enough energy to meet those needs. Students will also study a diagram from an academic journal article to evaluate the reliability of renewable forms of energy.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the fifth lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. Learn more about renewable energy, including the limitations of renewable energy. Students will consider of renewable energy is enough to meet our current and future energy demands. Renewable energy is currently responsible for approximately 30% of energy production in the UK. This figure has steadily risen since 1990, but is the increase enough? Can we produce enough energy via renewable sources to meet energy needs? What are the issues faced when generating renewable energy? In this lesson students will evaluate the positives and negatives of renewable energy production. They will also consider how renewable energy is affected by the weather.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the fourth lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. This lesson focuses on developing students’ knowledge and understanding of different types of renewable and non-renewable energy. In this lesson students will learn about how different types of energy are generated and stored, focussing on examples of renewable and non-renewable sources. Students will also look at the energy production matrix of the UK, the Netherlands and the European Union, comparing and contrasting them.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the third lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. This is a lesson for higher level students, developing knowledge of climate modelling and accessing information in an academic journal article on the impact of climate on renewable energy production. The HIWAVES research team wrote an academic paper investigating the impact of predicted climate on renewable energy production. This lesson looks at how the research team used climate models as part of their work and then focuses on the academic journal article written by the team and supports students to access information from this level of research output.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the second lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. This lesson focuses on using isobar maps and satellite images of NW Europe to predict and explain weather conditions. In this lesson students will use all their knowledge of weather systems, and use a variety of satellite maps of Northwestern Europe to predict the weather for the next day. Students will then go on to use satellite images to describe the weather of Northwestern Europe and explain what has caused this weather and what conditions would be expected as a result of what is shown on the satellite images.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the first lesson in the eight lesson Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit for KS4 and GCSE. This lesson is an introduction to air pressure and weather systems and the impact they have on global weather. In this lesson students will learn about jet streams and the global atmospheric circulation model and how they affect the weather around the world. Students will be able to explain the global circulation atmospheric model through the use of either a drawing, a model or a physical display.
The Global Climate and Renewable Energy unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
Climate and Energy is an exciting unit which invites students to explore the connection between the global climate and energy use both locally and internationally, with a focus on renewable energy.
Co-created with academics, industry experts and educators, the lessons promote knowledge of the global climate, before focusing in on Northwestern Europe. Once a solid understanding of these topics has been reached, students move on to understand how this climate can be exploited to produce renewable energy, while promoting critical thinking about the topic and encouraging students to create their own opinions based on the real-world data.
The unit provides a robust understanding of the latest findings promoting climate literacy, while being curriculum-aligned to GCSE exam body specifications, equipping students with the knowledge and skills to tackle challenges of the future. The unit and its associated activities and multimedia can also be accessed on the Encounter Edu website.
This is the sixth in a six lesson unit, Submarine Science KS3. This lesson investigates the life support systems needed to keep scientists and explorers alive. Students will conduct an investigation into how limewater can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in an atmosphere. This lesson is from the Submarine STEM Science 11-14 unit. You can access the unit here: https://encounteredu.com/teacher-resources/submarine-stem-science-ages-11-14
This unit is based on the real life submersible exploration of the XL Caitlin Deep Ocean Survey off Bermuda, the Sargasso Sea. It provides students the opportunity to apply science, engineering, and design princples. To experience the full impact of this scheme of work it can be taught in advance of our annual Submarine Live event. Live lessons can be booked for free here: https://encounteredu.com/live
This is the fifth in a six lesson unit, Submarine Science KS3. This lesson focusses on oxidation and rusting through a practical investigation looking at how to protect the submarine from rusting. This lesson is from the Submarine STEM Science 11-14 unit. You can access the unit here: https://encounteredu.com/teacher-resources/submarine-stem-science-ages-11-14
This unit is based on the real life submersible exploration of the XL Caitlin Deep Ocean Survey off Bermuda, the Sargasso Sea. It provides students the opportunity to apply science, engineering, and design princples. To experience the full impact of this scheme of work it can be taught in advance of our annual Submarine Live event. Live lessons can be booked for free here: https://encounteredu.com/live