Topic: Earth climate zones

Supplementary material for use in lessons in the group of natural sciences (nature, biology, chemistry, geography, physics), additional classes, science clubs. It can serve as a resource for expanding knowledge, preparing students for science competitions.

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school (geography).

Core curriculum

Grade V Geography
IV. Landscapes of the world: humid equatorial forest and temperate forest, savannah and steppe, hot and ice desert, taiga and tundra, Mediterranean, high altitude Himalayas; zonation and climatological vegetation in the world. Pupil:
7) determines the relationship between the location of selected landscapes on the globe, climatic conditions and the main features of landscapes.

General aim of education

Students characterize the climatic zones of the Earth.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to explain the relationship between climate and latitude;

• to list factors affecting the climate;

• to list the climatic zones of the Earth;

• to discuss the importance of climatic factors for the life of plants, animals and people.

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;

• printed black and white map of the world with the outlines of continents,.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Volunteers get acquainted with the content of the abstract and prepare a knowledge quiz for their colleagues.

Introduction

• The students, selected by the teacher, refer the lesson they read at home before the classes.

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

Realization

• The teacher asks the chosen student to point the equator, tropic of Cancer and Capricorn on the world map. Explains to students what the indicated lines on the map are..

• The teacher uses the text of the abstract for individual work or in pairs, according to the following steps: 1) a sketchy review of the text, 2) asking questions, 3) accurate reading, 4) a summary of individual parts of the text, 5) repeating the content or reading the entire text.

• Students carry out the interactive exercises checking the level of knowledge learned during the lesson. The teacher initiates a discussion during which the correct solutions for all the exercises performed by the students are discussed.

• The teacher gives students a printed map of the world with the outlines of the continents.

• The teacher gives students a printed map of the world with the outlines of the continents.

Summary

• The teacher chooses one student by random method and asks him or her to explain in own words the meaning of a given word or concept learned during the lesson.

• The students, selected before the lesson, present their knowledge quiz related to the topic of the lesson. The class answers questions. The teacher assesses the activity and involvement of students.

Homework

• Develop a lap book containing issues learned during the lesson and bring your work to the next class.

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Earth climate zones

Weather is short‑term condition of atmosphere. The climate is all weather phenomena in a long term. When determining the climatic condition, one has to take into consideration the information about numerous weather factors from many years.
The factors impacting climate are: temperature, the difference between the lowest and the highest temperature, precipitation, wind, insolation or pressure. The climate can also be impacted by oceanic currents, the distance from the sea coast, the terrain (e.g. in the mountains, the higher given place is situated, the colder the weather is).
Considering the annual air temperatures and their distribution in time, as well as the size and type of precipitation, 5 climate zones have been distinguished. They are distributed symmetrically in relation to the equator on both hemispheres. These zones create belts along parallels on the Earth surface. It is associated with the Earth’s shape and the fact that the exposure to sunlight is the longest and the biggest near the equator. The further from the equator, the less sunlight and heat reaches the Earth surface. Therefore, the parallels are the factors deciding about the climate. The other factors, such as the layout of land, oceanic currents or distance from the sea affect the shifts of the boundaries of individual climate zones and the types of the climates of each of the zones. It is worth to have in mind that the hottest month on the northern hemisphere is July, and on the southern – January. The coldest month on the northern hemisphere is January, and on the southern – July.

Individual climate zones differ from each other very much in respect of their features affecting the life of plants, animals and humans. In some climate zones predominate favourable conditions, while in others unfavourable. However, identical climatic conditions can be favourable for one group of organisms, and unfavourable for another.

• The latitude is of major importance for the climate.

• Based on the average annual air temperature and the total of monthly precipitation, five climate zones have been distinguished: equatorial, tropical, subtropical, temperate and circumpolar.

• The climate zones are roughly aligned along parallels.