Myths about teaching can hold you back
- Year 11
- AQA
- Higher
Climate change and biodiversity: forests and oceans
I can describe the importance of forests and oceans in combating climate change, and the impact of human activities on forests and oceans.
- Year 11
- AQA
- Higher
Climate change and biodiversity: forests and oceans
I can describe the importance of forests and oceans in combating climate change, and the impact of human activities on forests and oceans.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Forests act as a global carbon sink, absorbing one-quarter of the annual global CO₂ emissions from the atmosphere.
- Deforestation contributes to climate change and is a major cause of habitat and biodiversity loss.
- Mitigation strategies include forest protection, reducing deforestation for farming, and replanting trees.
- Oceans act as a global carbon sink, absorbing one-quarter of annual global CO₂ emissions from the atmosphere.
- High CO₂ levels harm marine biodiversity through ocean acidification and reduced shell formation, alongside overfishing.
Keywords
Climate change - Climate change is a long-term shift in weather patterns.
Carbon sink - A process or system that takes more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.
Deforestation - Deforestation is the removal of trees, often for timber or fuel, or to repurpose land for housing or farming.
Acidification - Ocean acidification is the reduction of the ocean pH over an extended period of time, mainly caused by the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere.
Common misconception
Incorrectly thinking that we can use and damage forests and oceans without negative consequences for the planet and our own survival.
This lesson explores the crucial role of forests and oceans as global carbon sinks that offset human carbon emissions, and the impacts of deforestation, global warming and ocean acidification.
To help you plan your year 11 combined science lesson on: Climate change and biodiversity: forests and oceans, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 11 combined science lesson on: Climate change and biodiversity: forests and oceans, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 combined science lessons from the Maintaining biodiversity and human impacts unit, dive into the full secondary combined science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Climate change is a ________-term shift in weather patterns.
Q2.Photosynthesis takes place in the green parts of plants, including the leaves and stems. Which gas is a product of photosynthesis and is released into the air from leaves?
Q3.Photosynthesis takes place in the green parts of plants, including the leaves and stems. Which gas is a reactant in photosynthesis and is absorbed into leaves from the air?
Q4.True or false? Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas.
Q5.Which of the following is the correct description of biodiversity?
Q6.Which of these ecosystems has the lowest biodiversity?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the following scientific terms to their correct meaning.
the reduction of ocean pH due to absorption of CO₂ from the atmosphere
the removal of trees, contributing to climate change
the planting of trees, helping to reduce climate change
Q2.Which greenhouse gas is absorbed from the atmosphere by oceans?
