I am a teacher specialising in Geography and Religious Studies with over 4 years experience to date. I pride myself on designing lessons that engages students in their learning, with an enquiry-based focus being at the forefront.
Any lesson that you download is fully resourced and differentiated ready to use in a flash. I hope they make a real contributing to your own classroom like they have done to mine.
I am a teacher specialising in Geography and Religious Studies with over 4 years experience to date. I pride myself on designing lessons that engages students in their learning, with an enquiry-based focus being at the forefront.
Any lesson that you download is fully resourced and differentiated ready to use in a flash. I hope they make a real contributing to your own classroom like they have done to mine.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on how plants and animals have adapted to their physical environments - focusing on Africa. Following an extended starter activity where students design their own species of dog, the main part of the lesson involves students completing a table to explain how a variety of plants and animals have adapted to the landscape in which it resides, and a creative task where they design their own plant or animal that is adapted to living in a grassland landscape.
Learning Objectives:
To explain how plants and animals have adapted to the physical landscape of Africa.
To design your own plant or animal that is capable of surviving in this landscape.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on one way in which Africa’s physical environment is threatened by human activity, namely animal hunting for sport by tourists or wealthy individuals. The main part of the lesson consists of students having to use information cards placed around the room to organise the impacts of hunting (positive/negative for less able, with positive/negative alongside social/economic/environmental categories for more able), a continuum line where students position themselves according to their personal viewpoint on animal hunting in Africa, finished with students drafting a letter to the United Nations (could be amended to an entry in a School Newsletter) where they explain in extended writing form their viewpoint towards animal hunting.
Learning Objectives:
To explain the impacts of animal hunting in Africa.
To evaluate whether you believe animal hunting in Africa should be allowed.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated scheme of work on ‘Energy’. All lessons contain a set of clear activities to meet a set of differentiated learning objectives. They should be taught in the following order:
Where Does Our Energy Come From?
Why Is Using Renewable Energy Important?
Are Biofuels Really A Good Source of Energy?
What Are The Problems With Using Fossil Fuels?
Is Wind Power A Good Source of Energy? (Two Lessons)
What Makes A Good Site For A Wind Turbine?
Wind Turbine Data Collection
Wind Turbine Report (Two Lessons)
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated set of lessons in order to carry out a survey around a school environment to decide the best site for a new wind turbine (you will need to amend the material slightly so it is suited to your own school). It can act as end-of-unit assessment on energy.
The first lesson helps students to prepare for the wind turbine survey, paying particular attention to the physical and environmental factors that can influence the location of wind turbines.
The second lesson involves students going around a school environment, in groups, collecting their wind turbine data. Recording sheets are provided for students.
The third lesson involves students writing up their report to show the results of their survey.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the factors that contribute towards creating a good site for a wind turbine.
The main part of the lesson involves students producing a spider diagram outlining different factors that make a good site for a wind turbine (predominantly physical factors), completing an environmental impact assessment for two sites in order for students to gain an appreciate of the environmental factors that can influence the siting of wind turbines, and students making hypotheses as to which area of the school site would make the best site for a wind turbine.
Learning Objectives:
To outline the factors that make a good site for a wind turbine.
To explain the environmental factors that can affect the site of a wind turbine.
To construct your own hypothesis for a school wind turbine project.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on whether wind is a good source of energy. The main part of the lesson involves students using a video clip to order statements that correctly describe how wind turbines generate electricity, a card sort activity organising cards into advantages and disadvantages of the energy source followed by a ranking exercise, finished by students working in groups to write speeches and engage in a town hall meeting to discuss whether a wind farm development should be allowed to go ahead or not (based on a local case study). There is enough material here to last approximately 2 hours.
Learning Objectives:
To describe how wind turbines generate electricity.
To explain the advantages and disadvantages of using wind energy.
To explore different viewpoints towards the use of wind energy.
To evaluate whether wind is a good source of energy
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on fossil fuels.
The main part of the lesson involves an extended note taking exercise on the advantages and disadvantages of using fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and a written exercise evaluating their effectiveness as a form of energy.
Learning Objectives:
To describe how fossil fuels form.
To explain their advantages and disadvantages.
To evaluate the effectiveness of fossil fuels as a source of energy.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the use of biofuels as a renewable energy source. The main part of the lesson involves students working in pairs to discuss what biofuels might be and how they may be used to generate electricity (aided by visual cues), a colour coding task on the advantages and disadvantages of using biofuels, and the use of a mini case study for students to explore whether biofuels are ultimately an effective source of energy (including a video clip about Virgin Atlantic proposing to use jumbo jets powered by nuts, and an extended writing exercise).
Learning Objectives:
To describe what biofuels are.
To explain their advantages and disadvantages.
To evaluate whether they ultimately provide an effective energy source.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the different types, and importance of using, renewable energy. The main part of the lesson involves an extended note taking task on the different types of renewable energy, and a written exercise where students evaluate the effectiveness of these sources.
Learning Objectives:
To describe how different forms of renewable energy work.
To explain the advantages and disadvantages.
To evaluate the effectiveness of these energy sources.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the different sources that comprise the total world’s energy mix. The main part of the lesson involves students producing a mind map of different energy sources which is developed in stages (initially in pairs writing down sources they are aware of, then using a video clip to add further sources and relevant facts with teacher input, then labelling into renewable and non-renewable sources), followed by a worksheet task classifying statements into advantages/disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources, finished with students using a table of data to answer questions about the world’s current energy mix.
Learning Objectives:
To describe the different sources of energy.
To explain the advantages and disadvantages of these sources.
To investigate how energy sources are used around the world.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated scheme of work on ‘Coasts’. All lessons contain a set of clear activities to meet a set of differentiated learning objectives. They should be taught in the following order:
Why Are Coastlines Important?
How Is The Coastline Weathered?
How Is The Coastline Eroded?
What Causes Waves?
How Do Headlands and Bays Form?
How Does a Stump Form?
What Is Longshore Drift?
How Do Spits, Bars and Tombolos Form?
How Can We Protect The Coast?
How Do Coastal Defences Affect People?
Should Happisburgh Be Protected From Coastal Erosion?
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on whether Happisburgh should be protected from coastal erosion - forming an end-of-unit assessment for a Coastal Environment Scheme of Work. The main part of the lesson is split into two parts: firstly, a short written exercise describing the location of the settlement and an information hunt to obtain the viewpoints of different stakeholders on whether the settlement should be protected from coastal erosion (with a grid extension task evaluating the strengths/weaknesses of these arguments); secondly, designing a newspaper article which answers the question ‘Should Happisburgh be protected from coastal erosion?’.
Learning Objectives:
To describe the location of Happisburgh.
To explain the arguments for and against protecting Happisburgh.
To evaluate whether you ultimately believe Happisburgh should be protected from erosion.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the viewpoints different groups of people can have towards the use of coastal defences.
The main part of the lesson involves a discussion activity where students have to consider the potential views of a range of key stakeholders, a popcorn reading activity and follow-up written exercise where students use a textbook page to concisely explain the viewpoints of a range of key stakeholders (based upon a case study, Scarborough), finished by drafting a letter addressed to a newspaper outlining their views about the proposed coastal defence scheme.
Please note that the exact textbook page is not incorporated with this lesson, but it is believed to be a recent iteration of the Geog. 2 textbook.
Learning Objectives:
To identify different points of view towards sea defences.
To explain the reasons for these viewpoints.
To express a justified opinion towards the scheme.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on how we can we protect communities from coastal erosion. The main part of the lesson involves a fact-hunting exercise where students compile a table with how each methods works as well as its advantages and disadvantages, followed by a a written exercise where students rank each defence in terms of its percieved effectiveness and justify their choices.
Learning Objectives:
To explain how various defences protect the coast.
To assess the effectiveness of different forms of coastal defences.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the sequence of events that leads to the formation of stumps. The main part of the lesson contains a critical thinking exercise where students have to indicate what order they believe the images should be organised in (leading to the formation of a stump), a statement ordering task, and a small group exercise where students construct a model coastline out of plasticine showing how a stump forms.
Learning Objectives:
To explain the sequence of formation leading to a stump.
To recreate this process through the construction of a labelled model.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on how headlands and bays form. The main part of the lesson involves a critical thinking exercise where students have to theorise how headlands and bays form from the diagram provided, then following a class discussion/teacher explanation they produce to a labelled diagram to explain how they form, which is followed by a group activity where students have to use a set of clues to assess in detail the influence of geology which leads to their formation.
Learning Objectives:
To explain how headlands and bays form.
To assess the importance of geology in its formation.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the three types of weathering that can affect coastal environments. The main part of the lesson involves a teacher-led introduction on the definition of weathering using visual images to promote whole class discussion, a card sort activity on how each type of weathering works, and a photo analysis activity where students have to justify the type(s) of weathering they believe are operating in each image.
Learning Objectives:
To identify what is meant by weathering.
To describe the different ways in which the coastline is weathered.
To interpret signs of weathering from the physical landscape.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated scheme of work on ‘Weather and Climate’. All lessons contain a set of clear activities to meet a set of differentiated learning objectives. They should be taught in the following order:
What is the difference between weather and climate?
What factors influence climate?
What is the climate of the UK like?
How do we use climate graphs?
How does the water cycle work?
What are the causes of rain in the UK?
What are the different types of cloud?
How does air pressure affect weather?
How do we measure the weather?
How do different factors affect microclimate?
How do we measure school microclimates?
School microclimate survey
School microclimate report
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the instruments that are used to measure the weather. In the main part of the lesson students have to work in pairs to try and work how two instruments (rain gauge, wind sock) using visual cues, compiling a fact file with how a set of instruments work to measure different elements of the weather, and a final written exercise where students have to consider the level of accuracy of these instruments.
Learning Objectives:
To describe the equipment used to measure different weather types.
To explain how the accuracy of this different piece of equipment may vary.
This contains a fully resourced, differentiated lesson on the Beatitudes. In the main part of the lesson students complete a think-pair-share exercise to define air pressure, use one of two sources to create their own diagrams to explain the processes involved in low and high pressure systems, and colour code a table with whether each weather element is typically associated with low or high pressure systems.
Learning Objectives:
To describe what air pressure is.
To explain the movement of air in a low and high pressure system.
To analyse their associated weather conditions.