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      Land development and deforestation (Climate Change & Sustainability)

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can describe some negative effects of human impact on the environment.

      Key learning points

      1. The actions of humans can have a negative impact on the environment.
      2. A negative impact happens when changes cause harm to an environment or the living things within it.
      3. A growing human population can mean that towns and cities are often developed on land where there was once countryside.
      4. Deforestation is when forests are removed by humans.
      5. Developments in an environment take requirements away from the living things already living there.

      Keywords

      • Environment - The environment is the surroundings of a living thing, including other plants or animals and the conditions they live in.

      • Impact - The impact of something is the effect it has.

      • Population - A population is all the living things of one type, living in a particular place.

      • Deforestation - Deforestation is the removal of trees from land which is then used for a non-forest purpose.

      • Habitat - The place where a plant or animal lives.

      Common misconception

      Changes in the environment will not directly affect us.

      Encourage the children to become aware of many different habitats and start to see how they are all interconnected and how when one thing is changed, it can impact other living things.

      Teacher tip

      Start with examples from the local areas and widen out into worldwide issues, if appropriate. Use local and national news for examples.

      Equipment

      Alongside the lesson resources, newspapers and programmes may be useful.

      Content guidance

      Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

      Supervision

      Adult supervision required

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      An is the surroundings that an animal or plant lives in.

      Correct Answer: environment, environments

      Q2.
      Which of these are natural environments?

      Correct answer: river bank
      children's playground
      shopping centre
      Correct answer: beach
      Correct answer: forest

      Q3.
      Which of these are human made environments?

      Correct answer: car park
      Correct answer: bridge
      coral reef
      Correct answer: classroom
      desert

      Q4.
      Which of these are natural disasters?

      Correct answer: a village flooding
      swallows migrating
      Correct answer: an earthquake destroying buildings
      leaves falling off a tree in autumn
      hedgehogs hibernating

      Q5.
      Match the name of the activities that happen due to seasonal change to its description.

      Correct Answer:migration,birds flying to a different country in autumn
      Correct Answer:hibernation,an animal sleeping for a long time during winter
      Correct Answer:food collection and storage,squirrels collecting and burying nuts

      Q6.
      All living things have requirements that need to be met for them to survive. Which of these are requirements for life?

      chocolate
      mobile phone
      Correct answer: food
      Correct answer: water
      Correct answer: air

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Humans can have a impact on environments when they change land use.

      Correct Answer: negative

      Q2.
      Which of these are examples of negative human impact on an environment?

      birds migrating to a warmer country
      Correct answer: a housing development being built in the countryside
      a bridge falling down when it has been hit by an earthquake
      Correct answer: a forest being cut down for building materials

      Q3.
      Match the environment changes to their impacts on living things.

      Correct Answer:deforestation,removes trees and habitats
      Correct Answer:new roads,divides animals habitats leading to animals being injured
      Correct Answer:bright lights in cities at night,nocturnal animals struggle to hunt their prey
      Correct Answer:increased noise from towns,animals are too scared to leave their shelters to feed

      Q4.
      A growing __________ can mean that houses are are built on land where there was once countryside.

      Correct answer: population
      habitat
      environment

      Q5.
      What can happen when the human population grows?

      Correct answer: More houses need to be built.
      Less houses need to be built.
      Correct answer: Habitats are destroyed for changing land use.
      Habitats are left unchanged.

      Q6.
      What does deforestation mean?

      People plant more trees.
      People enjoy walking in the forests.
      Correct answer: People clear forests using the land for something else other than growing trees.

      To help you plan your 4 science lesson on: Land development and deforestation (Climate Change & Sustainability), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...