Cities and climate change
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe how cities cause, and are affected by, climate change.
Key learning points
- Urban areas are vulnerable to climate impacts such as increasing temperatures.
- Many of the world's cities are vulnerable to sea level rise.
- Cities contribute to climate change through emissions.
- Planners can adopt strategies that help cities mitigate the impacts of climate change and help populations adapt.
Keywords
Emissions - gases released into the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide from human activity
Mitigation - efforts to reduce or prevent the release of greenhouse gases and their effects
Adaptation - actions taken to adjust to current or future climate impacts
Common misconception
Only big cities in rich countries cause climate change.
Cities of all sizes, in both rich and poorer countries, contribute to climate change through emissions, especially from transport, energy use, and waste.
Teacher tip
Encourage students to link climate impacts to their own experiences (like heatwaves or flooding in the UK) to make the topic more relatable and highlight that climate change affects cities here too.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions:
Q2.Why might someone migrate to a city?
Q3.Which of these is a challenge of rapid urban growth?
Q4.Why do some people believe that life in cities is always better?
Q5.Which of these is true about city living?
Q6.Which of these is not always found in cities?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions:
Q2.Which of these is an example of emissions?
Q3.What is an example of climate adaptation in cities?
Q4.Which statement is true about cities and climate change?
Q5.Some people think only rich, large cities cause climate change. What’s a better understanding?
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Cities and climate change, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Cities and climate change, 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 3 geography lessons from the Cities: What are they like to live in? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.