Topic: Global warming

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

General requirements

IV. Reasoning and applying the acquired knowledge to solving biological problems. The student:

1. interprets the information and explains causal relationships between phenomena, formulates conclusions;

2. presents opinions and arguments related to the discussed biological issues.

General aim of education

You will learn what is the phenomenon of global warming

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• explain what the greenhouse effect is and assess its significance for life on Earth;

• indicate sources of greenhouse gases;

• present ways to reduce global warming.

Methods/techniques

• activating

  • discussion.

• expository

  • talk.

• exposing

  • film.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

• Then he writes the subject of the lesson on the blackboard or interactive whiteboard. Students write it in notebooks.

Realization

• The lecturer designates a person who will discuss the role of the atmosphere in providing appropriate living conditions and explain what the greenhouse effect is.

• The teacher announces a movie „ Chemical structure of greenhouse gases”. He instructs his pupils to write a research question and a hypothesis in the form provided in the abstract. Then he plays the video and the students note their observations and conclusions. The teacher points the person who shares his insights and explains the reasonableness of the conclusions noted.

• The lecturer discusses the chemical structure of substances such as water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane and explains where these substances take in the atmosphere.

• The teacher divides the class into groups. Each group prepares one of the following topics: participation of anthropogenic and natural sources in the production of greenhouse gases; climate change in the history of the Earth so far; causal relationship between the emergence of Carboniferous forests and the occurrence of a cooling period; effects of global warming; threats to species or entire ecosystems associated with contemporary climate change.

• The pupils report the effects of work in groups successively. At the end of this part of the lesson, the teacher initiates a discussion on the potential human impact on the occurrence of climate change and the possibility of minimizing the effects of changes.

Summary

• The teacher asks students to carry out the recommended interactive exercise themselves.

• The teacher briefly presents the most important issues discussed in class. He answers the additional questions of the proteges and explains all their doubts. Students complete notes.

Homework

• Imagine that you have the opportunity to interview an academic - a specialist in the field of today's lesson. What questions would you like to ask him? Write them down.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Global warming

Our planet is surrounded by an atmosphere composed of various gases. The atmosphere acts as a protective coating: it blocks the harmful cosmic radiation from reaching the surface of the planet and absorbs some of the ultraviolet radiation originating from the Sun. Another important function of the Earth's atmosphere is the stabilization of the globe's temperature. Gases that determine the temperature of the planet are referred to as greenhouse gases. Thanks to them, the radiation from the Sun can reach the surface of the Earth, but the heat that is reclected by Earth cannot get back into space. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect. As a result, the average annual temperature on the Earth is around 15°C, which enables the existence of life. Therefore, the greenhouse effect is a natural and beneficial phenomenon.

Greenhouse gases are: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and others. The main greenhouse gas is water vapor. It enters the atmosphere primarily due to the evaporation of the surface of oceans and lands, as well as during volcanic eruptions and fuel combustion processes in industry and transport.

Carbon dioxide is a result of many natural processes: respiration of organisms, including that carried out by soil microorganisms decomposing organic debris, fires, weathering of rocks, and volcanic eruptions. More and more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere as a result of industrial and automotive activities.

The next greenhouse gas is methane a component of natural gas. It is produced in the process of anaerobic decomposition of organic remains. Methane is also a product of fermentation that takes place in the intestines, especially of ruminant animals. One of the sources of methane is industrial human activity: mineral mining and mass cattle breeding.

The greenhouse effect allows for maintaining a relatively high temperature on Earth, which, however, is subject to fluctuations. Geological research shows that, in the history of the Earth, periods of warmth have interchanged with the so‑called ice ages.

Temperature fluctuations were observed and recorded by chroniclers as early as in the Middle Ages, however, systematic measurements of air temperature were conducted only from the 18th century. They indicate that starting from the middle of the 19th century the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere has been constantly increasing, and the most rapid growth began around 1950. These changes are called global warming. There is no consensus among scientists whether this is a natural process or the result of the development of our civilization. Most likely, both of these hypotheses are partly correct.

Global warming is the cause of numerous changes affecting the entire planet, such as the melting of glaciers, the rising of sea and ocean levels, droughts, violent weather events and the extinction of many species.

The changes in the climate cannot be undone, but our impact on global warming can be limited. From all the greenhouse gases, we have the biggest influence on the carbon dioxide emission, which is why the European Union aims to reduce it. This requires, among others, reducing energy consumption, e.g. in industry, transport, households, and abandoning the use of fossil fuels.

• Thanks to the greenhouse effect, life on Earth has been created and maintained.

• The effects of global warming include: melting glaciers, the rising of sea and ocean levels, droughts, severe weather events, extinction of species.

• Reducing the consumption of energy obtained from fossil fuels can be a way of reducing global warming.