Russia's energy
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can evaluate the challenges and opportunities of Russia’s reliance on fossil fuels and identify sources of renewable energy.
Key learning points
- Russia is an energy superpower. It is in the world’s top five producers for all three fossil fuels.
- Russia produces more fossil fuels than it needs so it exports them to other countries.
- The exports of fossil fuels bring opportunities and challenges for Russia.
- Renewable energy use in Russia is limited in comparison to much of the world.
- Russia possesses significant renewable energy potential, including wind, geothermal, hydro and solar.
Keywords
Fossil fuels - natural energy sources of coal, oil, and natural gas that formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals over millions of years
Renewable energy - natural resources that can be used to produce energy and are constantly replenished, such as sunlight, wind, water and geothermal heat
Long term - describes impacts that are not immediate but develop or become clear in the future
Common misconception
Pupils can have a tendency to think about the immediate impacts and not consider those over longer stretches of time.
Geographers need to think about diffferent dimensions of time i.e. short term and long term and use this as a framework to support understanding and evaluation.
Teacher tip
Select countries across the economic spectrum according to their fossil fuel/renenwable energy use. Ask pupils to predict which countries use more renewables. They may think wealthier countries use more renewables and this should be challenged. Good exmaples include Iceland, Costa Rica, DRC, China.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
soil that remains frozen for two or more years
treeless land with cold temperatures and low plants
the long-term weather patterns of a region
Q2.Which of these is a challenge of Russia’s vast size?
Q3.What is one physical feature that limits farming in parts of Russia?
Q4.Which river flows through western Russia and is the longest in Europe?
Q5.Which of these cities is in the coldest region of Russia?
Q6.A student says, “All of Russia is cold.” What would be a better response?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to their definitions.
natural sources like coal, oil, and gas from ancient life
sources like sun and wind that are constantly replenished
impacts that develop or become clear in the future
Q2.Russia is in the world’s top five producers of all three ...
Q3.Russia has significant energy potential, including wind, solar, and hydro.
Q4.Why is it important for geographers to consider both short and long-term impacts?
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Russia's energy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 geography lesson on: Russia's energy, 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 Russia: How does geography shape the country? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.