Impacts of climate change on biodiversity
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe impacts of climate change on biodiversity, including plants and animals.
Key learning points
- Species have adaptations that enable them to live and thrive in the conditions of their habitat
- Human emissions of greenhouse gases are leading to global warming and climate change
- Climate change is changing the conditions in habitats, so species may be less well adapted to live there
- Some, but not all, species can survive changes in conditions by migrating to a new habitat
- Climate change, including more frequent extreme weather events, can lead to biodiversity loss
Keywords
Habitat - the place where an organism lives, which provides the organism with food, shelter and a place to reproduce
Adaptation - a feature that organisms have to help them live and survive in a particular place
Climate change - a long-term shift in weather patterns
Biodiversity - the range of different living organisms (species) in an ecosystem
Evolution - the characteristics of species gradually change over time, sometimes forming new species; this process is called evolution
Common misconception
Thinking that species can choose or plan to evolve new adaptations to help them to survive climate change.
Part 2 of the lesson explores the idea that evolution occurs at random and may be too slow to save many species from climate change.
Teacher tip
The lesson may feel quite bleak, so deliberately ends with a message of hope by reminding students of ways we can reduce emissions to limit climate change and thus protect biodiversity from some of its effects.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Features that enable a species to live and thrive in its habitat are called __________ .
Q2.Which organism has adaptations that allow it to be camouflaged?
Q3.Who explains correctly what biodiversity is?
Q4.A long-term shift in weather patterns is called __________ change.
Q5.On the basis of the available evidence, 99% of scientists believe that …
Q6.Most scientists agree that climate change is being caused by human emissions of gases that enhance the effect.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match each word to its correct definition.
Q2.True or false? Most species are adapted to live in many different habitats with many different conditions.
Q3.Who is correct about what will happen if the conditions in a habitat change?
Q4.Extreme weather events are becoming more common due to climate change. Droughts will kill plants that are not adapted to …
Q5.Some, but not all, species can survive climate change by moving to a new habitat. This movement is called .
Q6.True or false? All species will be able to evolve new adaptations quickly to help them survive climate change.
To help you plan your 9 science lesson on: Impacts of climate change on biodiversity, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 science lesson on: Impacts of climate change on biodiversity, 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 science lessons from the Climate change and biodiversity unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.