Climate change and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how climate change is affecting the DRC and its people.
Key learning points
- Climate change is causing rising temperatures, extreme weather, and habitat loss in the DRC.
- Deforestation is reducing the rainforest's ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
- Flooding and droughts are affecting agriculture and food security.
- The DRC's role in climate action is crucial for global environmental health.
Keywords
Climate change - a large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures
Carbon sink - anything that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide than it releases
Biodiversity - all the living things in an ecosystem or area
Agriculture - the science and practice of cultivating soil and farming
Food insecurity - not being able to regularly access enough safe and nutritious food to live, work and play
Common misconception
That the most important rainforest to protect is the Amazon and that other rainforests are smaller so they don't matter as much.
Tropical rainforests are rich in biodiversity and play a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate as carbon sinks. Rainforests in Africa or Asia are as important as the Amazon in South America, so global climate action is needed to protect them.
Teacher tip
Students could work in groups to do some research about organisations working to conserve the rainforest in the DRC. Then each group could give a presentation about their findings. Remind students to use trustworthy sources of data when researching online.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Q2.The DRC is located near which important line of latitude?
Q3.The rainforest is one of the largest rainforests in the world and is found in the DRC.
Q4.What type of biome covers much of the DRC?
Q5.What is a major challenge facing the DRC’s rainforest?
Q6.Which river is very important to transport and life in the DRC?
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is climate change?
Q2.What is a carbon sink?
Q3.Which rainforest acts as a carbon sink in the DRC?
Q4.Many people mistakenly believe that only the rainforest needs protecting, but the Congo rainforest is just as important.
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Climate change and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 geography lesson on: Climate change and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 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 The Democratic Republic of the Congo: What are its opportunities and challenges? unit, dive into the full secondary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.