New
New
Year 3

Introducing climate

I can understand the position of the Earth in space in relation to the sun and how this affects climate.

New
New
Year 3

Introducing climate

I can understand the position of the Earth in space in relation to the sun and how this affects climate.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Earth rotates on a tilted axis as it orbits the sun.
  2. The sun’s energy is more concentrated near the Equator and spread out over a larger area near the poles.
  3. Average temperature across the Earth is related to how far from the Equator a place is located.
  4. Climate is the average pattern of weather taken over a period of time, usually 30 years.
  5. Some areas of the world share a similar climate; we call these climate zones.

Keywords

  • Solar energy - The light and heat that come from the sun's rays are solar energy.

  • Equator - The Equator is an imaginary line of latitude going around the centre of Earth.

  • Poles - The North Pole is at the northern end of Earth’s axis and the South Pole is at the southern end of Earth’s axis.

Common misconception

That weather and climate are the same thing.

Weather changes from day to day, from place to place and from one season to another. Weather refers to the conditions at any particular place or time. Climate describes the average pattern of those weather conditions over a much longer period of time

At the start of this unit, get set up for some daily measuring and recording of weather conditions. At the end of the unit, look back over the results and ask pupils to discuss or write about the 'average' conditions, using them to make connections with the seasons of the year or climate zones.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
From January to December, put the seasons of the year in order.
1 - winter
2 - spring
3 - summer
4 - autumn
Q2.
Which of these types of weather is not wet?
snow
drizzle
hail
Correct answer: breeze
Q3.
Match the weather conditions to the descriptions.
Correct Answer:high temperatures,warm weather

warm weather

Correct Answer:rain,wet weather

wet weather

Correct Answer:sunshine,bright weather

bright weather

Correct Answer:low temperatures,cool weather

cool weather

Correct Answer:cloudy,dull weather

dull weather

Q4.
Where is most of the water on Earth?
Correct answer: in oceans, seas and rivers
in swimming pools
in people's homes
in water bottles
Q5.
Complete the sentence. The places on Earth are at the equator.
Correct Answer: hottest, warmest
Q6.
Complete the sentence. The coldest places on earth are the Pole and the South Pole.
Correct Answer: North, north

6 Questions

Q1.
Which word can we use to describe the axis around which Earth rotates?
curved
Correct answer: tilted
round
broken
Q2.
In space, Earth moves around the sun in a fixed path. What is this movement called?
Correct answer: orbiting
following
chasing
circling
Q3.
Where do the sun's rays have most energy?
Correct answer: near the equator
at the Poles
between the equator and the Poles
Q4.
What do we call the average weather over a long period of time?
Correct Answer: climate, Climate
Q5.
Match the words to the definitions.
Correct Answer:Poles,the coldest places on Earth

the coldest places on Earth

Correct Answer:equator,a horizontal line around the exact centre of Earth

a horizontal line around the exact centre of Earth

Correct Answer:weather,day to day conditions in a place, e.g. raining, sunshine, snow

day to day conditions in a place, e.g. raining, sunshine, snow

Correct Answer:climate zones,places with similar average weather conditions

places with similar average weather conditions

Q6.
Complete the sentence. Temperatures across Earth are directly related to how far places are from the ...
Correct Answer: equator, Equator