Ice change over time
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe the way that the global climate has changed over time and the extent of the British-Irish ice sheet.
Key learning points
- Earth has experienced periods of global warming and global cooling throughout its history.
- The last ice age ended around 19 000 years ago.
- The north of the UK and part of Ireland were covered in the British-Irish ice sheet.
Keywords
Climate - an average of weather conditions (e.g. rain, sun, wind) in a place taken over a long period of time (usually 30 years or more)
Ice sheet - a large mass of ice covering an area of over 50 000 square kilometres
Ice age - a period of time during which thick ice sheets covered vast areas of land
Common misconception
There has only been one ice age.
There have been numerous periods of warming and cooling throughout Earth's history. This has meant there have been a number of ice ages throughout history.
Teacher tip
Put students in a line to represent a timeline of historic global warming and cooling.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these places is known for being very cold all year?
Q2.Where does rain come from?
Q3.What happens to snow when the temperature gets warmer?
Q4.What do we call the water that falls from the sky as rain, snow, or hail?
Q5.Which of these increases the amount of sunlight that is reflected?
Q6.What happens when water vapour cools down in the sky?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is a cause of global warming?
Q2.Which historical period is known for being warmer with longer growing seasons in Europe?
Q3.When did the last Ice Age end?
Q4.What did the British-Irish Ice Sheet cover?
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Ice change over time, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Ice change over time, 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 Ice and glaciers: How are cold places affected by a warming planet? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.