Professional Documents
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The Earths Climates
The Earths Climates
Social Sciences
LESSON PLAN
INTRODUCTION:
In this unit we are going to analyze the layers of the atmosphere and some of its features. We
will study the differences between climate and weather, as well as the main climate and
landscapes on our planet. We will also discover the atmospheric phenomena which can be
harmful to people and the environment and the measures we can take against them.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify the structure and composition of the atmosphere.
2. Differentiate weather from climate.
3. Distinguish the elements of climate and the factors which determine them.
4. Describe the main characteristics of the Earth´s different climates.
5. Explain the interaction between climate, relief, water, soil and living things.
6. Draw and /or interpret maps, images and climate charts.
7. Carry out simple research on different aspects related to the Unit contents.
8. Assess the influence of weather and climate on people´s daily lives.
9. Identify the atmospheric phenomena which can cause natural disasters and learn about
their environmental and human consequences.
10. Respect the natural environment and support measures to protect it.
CONTENTS:
Concepts
The atmosphere.
Weather and climate.
Elements of climate.
The Earth´s climates.
The natural environment.
Atmospheric phenomena and natural hazards.
Procedures
Interpret and summarize geographical information from images, texts and maps.
Plan and carry out simple research to expand on the aspects dealt with in the unit.
Apply the Unit contents to the reality of one´s own environment.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
Attitudes
Show a positive attitude towards scientific rigour, as the basis for developing knowledge of
the Earth´s climates.
Show interest in learning about the interactions existing between the different elements of
the natural environment.
Participate in the search for solutions to environmental problems.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
1. Distinguish the different layers of the atmosphere and recognize the characteristics of
each one.
2. Explain the difference between weather and climate.
3. Differentiate the elements and factors which influence climate.
4. Distinguish the temperature and precipitation of the Earth´s different climates.
5. Describe the influence of climate on relief, soil, water, vegetation and fauna.
6. Explain the causes of the main natural disasters and their consequences.
7. Summarize the basic contents of the unit by completing a chart.
8. Interpret correctly maps, diagrams and simple texts related to the unit contents.
9. Give examples of the impact of weather and climate on daily life, economic activities, etc.
10. Adopt a positive attitude to measures which help to protect natural areas and reject any
action which could cause damage to them.
KEY COMPETENCES
COMPETENCES ASSESMENT CRITERIA ACTIVITIES
1.LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. 1,2,3,4,6,7,11,12,13
2.MATHEMATIC COMPETENCE 5,8 4
3.COMPETENCE IN KNOWLEDGE AND 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 2,4,5,7,8,12,13
INTERACTION WITH THE PHYSICAL WORD
4.TREATMENT OF INFORMATION AND 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. 2,3,4,6,8
DIGITAL COMPETENCE
7.COMPETENCE LEARNING TO LEARN 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 7,12
8.AUTONOMY AND PERSONAL INITIATIVE 2,3,7,10 1,13
VOCABULARY
NOUNS: Atmosphere, element, climate, layer, oxygen, nitrogen, factor, altitude, latitude,
phenomena, pressure, wind, centigrade, current, hail, water vapour, droplet, humidity, isobar,
torrent and hibernation, jaw, storm, organism, soil, damage, drought, environment, flooding,
forest fire, hurricane.
VERBS: drop, occur, rise, surround, affect, exert, vary, increase, adapt, combat, migrate,
protect, provide, survive, destroy.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
ADJECTIVES: harmful, atmospheric, average, climatic, calm, close, high, humid, low, mild,
opposite, (un)stable, alpine, abundant, annual, continental, dry, equatorial, hot, maritime,
moderate, polar, rare, scarce, temperate, torrential, wet, organic, physical, rich, poor, intense.
LANGUAGE STRUCTURES:
Present Simple, Present passive, Imperative.
SESSION 1
PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE
1- Discuss the questions in pairs. Then compare your answers with the group.
What´s the weather like today? Is it typical of the climate in your region?
What are the characteristic features of the climate where you live?
1-THE ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere is the layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. It is composed of nitrogen
(78%), oxygen (21%) and other gases (1%).
- Stratosphere is at an altitude of 10-50 km. It contains the ozone layer, which prevents
harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun from reaching the Earth´s surface.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
Climate is the average atmospheric conditions in a certain place over a long period of time. For
example, if we say it is hot or raining on a particular place always has hot summers or rainy
winters, we are talking about its climate.
ACTIVITIES
2- Read and listen to the text. Then write the answers in your exercise book.
These measurements are combined with information and images obtained from artificial
satellites such as the Meteosat, which provides information on cloud cover, wind speed,
temperature, etc.
This data is then processed in order to forecast the weather over the coming days.
3- All these sentences contain mistakes. Write the correct sentences in your exercise book.
- The troposphere starts at an altitude of 500 km. It is the outer limit of the atmosphere.
SESSION 2
Temperature.
Temperature varies across the planet depending on altitude, latitude, proximity to the
sea and ocean currents.
Proximity to the sea: the sea heats up and cools down more slowly than the land.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
Ocean currents: warm ocean currents produce higher temperatures in nearby coastal
regions. Cool ocean currents have the opposite effect.
Tropical zone situated between the two tropics. The insolation is maximum.
Temperate zones, one in each hemisphere, located between the tropics and the polar
circles.
Precipitation.
Precipitation is water from the atmosphere that falls onto the Earth´s surface in the form
of rain, snow, sleet (a mixture of water and snow) or hail.
The atmosphere contains water vapour. The amount of water vapour in the air is called
humidity. When humid air rises, it cools and produces condensation, forming small
droplets of water, which form clouds. When the droplets become bigger and heavier fall
onto the Earth´s surface.
Pressure.
Air has weight. Atmospheric pressure is the pressure that the atmosphere´s weight
exerts on the Earth´s surface.
High pressure areas or anticyclones are areas where pressure is more than 1013mbar.
Anticyclones produce stable weather conditions. The air is also dry, so there is no
precipitation.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
Low pressure areas or depressions are areas where pressure is below 1 013 mbar.
Depressions produce unstable weather conditions, with a lot of cloud and precipitation.
Wind.
Wind is air that moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure to balance
differences in atmospheric pressure across the planet.
ACTIVITIES
4- Find the cities of Vigo and Guadalajara on a map of the Iberian Peninsula. Then answer the
following questions in your exercise book.
- Explain why the mean temperature for the coldest month in winter (January) was
10.2ºC in Vigo, but only 4.6ºC in Guadalajara.
5- Complete the explanation of how precipitation is produced, with these words: droplets,
surface, rises, heavier, clouds, vapour.
Humid air …, it cools and changes from……………to liquid, forming small…………..of water,
which form……………..The droplets become bigger and …………………., and fall onto the
Earth´s………………
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
SESSION 3
The Earth has different climates: tropical or hot, temperate and cold.
Humid tropical climate: high temperatures (over 20ºC) and abundant precipitation. There´s
a dry season in winter and a wet season in summer.
Dry tropical climate: mild temperatures in winter and hot in summer (over 18ºC)
Precipitation is scarce.
Hot desert climate: high temperatures (over 20ºC). Precipitation is very rare.
Temperate climates.
Continental climate: temperatures are very cold in winter and hot in summer. It rains
mainly in summer.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
Málaga (Spain)
35 70
30 60
25 50
Temperatures
Precipitation
20 40
15 30
10 20
5 10
0 0
J F M A MY JN JL AG S O N D
Months of the year
precipitation temperatures
Cold climates.
Polar climate: very low temperature (not over 0ºC). Precipitation is very rare.
Alpine climate: temperatures fall with altitude. Winters are cold and summers cool.
Precipitation increases with altitude.
ACTIVITIES
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
-In what way is the equatorial climate different to the humid tropical climate?
7- Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones in your exercise book.
SESSION 4
Elements related to the climate modify relief. For example, torrential rain causes erosion,
etc.
Rich soils (deep with a lot of organic material) favour plant growth, which protects the soil
from erosion. Animals and plants provide the soil with organic matter.
Species adapt to the conditions of the region they inhabit in order to survive.
o To combat the cold, some animals have a thick coat (ibex) or a layer of fat
(penguin). Others have a period of hibernation (bears) or migrate for the winter to
warmer climates (storks).
o Some animals can only live in areas where water is abundant (frogs); others have
adapted to survive with very little water (camels).
o Other examples of adaptation include the elephant´s trunk; the jaws of carnivores,
which are adapted to eating meat; the snail´s shell and de hedgehog´s (erizo)
spines, which are defence mechanisms.
ACTIVITIES
Where would the soil be richer –in a polar or humid tropical climate? Explain why in your
exercise book.
8- Using the climate map and an atlas, say in which climate zone the following countries are
located: Norway, Angola, the Sudan, Australia, Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Iceland, the
Republic of South Africa.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
9- Find out the answers to the following questions and write them in your exercise book.
- Why does the ibex have to protect itself from the cold?
SESSION 5
Some atmospheric phenomena cause serious damage to people and the natural environment.
Wind can be very intense. Hurricanes are strong winds. Depending on the region where
they occur, they are called cyclones, typhoons or hurricanes.
Hail falls heavily as small, hard balls of ice, which can have a disastrous effect on crops.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
ACTIVITIES
11- Match each natural hazard to the correct meaning. Then, with a partner, talk about the
damage each one can do.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
a) Put bottles of water in the toilet cistern to reduce its capacity and save water.
d) At home, shut doors and windows to stop air currents because these attract lightning.
g) Don´t park or camp near a river in case the water level rises.
h) Only use the washing machine and dishwasher when they´re full.
REVISION ACTIVITIES
1- In your exercise book, draw the layers of the atmosphere and label each layer.
2- Name five cities in each climate zone, from the northern and southern hemispheres.
3- What is the connection between glass objects in a forest and the risk of fire?
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
4- Does your autonomous community suffer from drought, flooding, forest fires or any
other natural hazard?
SESSION 6
ASSESSMENT
2) All these sentences contain mistakes. Write the correct sentences in your exercise
book.
c) The troposphere starts at an altitude of 500 km. It is the outer limit of the
atmosphere.
Humid air ………………, it cools and changes from …………….. to liquid, forming small………
…..of water, which form…………….. . The droplets become bigger and ………….. , and fall
4) Are the following statements true of false? Correct the false ones.
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Unit 3: THE EARTH’S CLIMATES. Social Sciences
c) The equatorial climate has very little precipitation and strong contrasts in
temperature between winter and summer.
5) Imagine you present the weather forecast on the television. Write a short weather
forecast for your country and act it out to a partner.
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