KS3 ~ Year 8 ~ The Earth & It's Atmosphere

This lesson is designed for the KS3 Year 8 Science course, specifically the C2 1.4 unit on ‘The Earth’.

For more lessons designed for KS3 and KS4 please visit my shop at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience.

The lesson begins with an introduction to the structure of the Earth and a description of each of the layers found within the centre of the Earth. Students will now complete a ‘Memory Test’, students will need to memorise the information shown about the structure of the Earth. They will then be given a blank worksheet to copy down as much information as they can remember, this will the be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided.

The next part of the lesson focuses on the composition of elements found in the Earth’s crust, students will firstly be shown a table which shows % composition of different elements found in the Earth’s crust. Students will then watch a video demonstrating the steps involved with drawing a pie chart. Students will then need to use the skills acquired to carry out the necessary calculations and draw a pie chart, using the data provided. Once complete, students can then self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided.

Lastly, students will learn about the gases which are found within the Earth’s atmosphere and how these have changed over time. Students will compare the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere today to the Earth’s atmosphere 3 billion years ago. Firstly, they are asked to describe the changes which have occurred over the 3 billion years and secondly they will need to draw a pie chart to represent the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere today.

The plenary task is an anagram challenge, students are given five anagrams of key words learned this lesson. They will need to unscramble them to figure them out, the answers to this task is included in the PowerPoint.

All resources are included at the end of the presentation, thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)