Climate Curriculum Learning Outcomes NOV19.Indd
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CLIMATE What should young people know about 1 13 ACTION The Big Ideas: Climate Action by the time they leave school? Climate Curriculum Learning Outcomes KEY IDEAS SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND By the end of Year 2: By the end of Year 4: By the end of Year 6: By the end of Year 9: By the end of Year 11: → Pupils understand that → Pupils understand that → Pupils can clearly → Students can clearly explain → Students can name a range of some human activity burning coal, oil and articulate the link the scientific consensus that greenhouse gases and describe in causes pollution in the gas has an impact on between burning human burning of fossil fuels is detail the processes that lead to air which is affecting the the climate and have a fossil fuels and the main and original cause of their increasing concentrations in world’s climate / making basic understanding of climate change using today’s climate change the atmosphere the world hotter the scientific processes appropriate scientific Students can describe Students know where uncertainties involved vocabulary → → → Pupils understand the processes that undermine or remain in climate science, e.g. how distinction between → Pupils are familiar with → Pupils can name key boost carbon sinks atmospheric water vapour will ‘weather’ and ‘climate’ the terms ‘atmosphere’, carbon sinks such as change; when tipping points may Students are aware that in ‘Climate Change’ forests, peatlands, → be reached; climate inertia; how Pupils know that the the public arena there are → and ‘greenhouse gas oceans, algal blooms, ocean currents will change… climate is always changing alternative points of view and emissions’ and healthy soil but is changing faster can begin to use scientific → Students can give examples of today than it has before → Pupils know that some → Pupils know what the evidence to assess arguments confirmation bias (cherry-picking) natural processes like Intergovernmental for themselves both by climate deniers and by Pupils know that trees → trees growing, healthy Panel on Climate proponents of Near Term Human help to cool the world Students have explored vested soils and oceans take Change is and can → Extinction down. interests and understand how greenhouse gases out of discuss some recent these may shape arguments. Students understand the process of the atmosphere. findings → peer-review in science, and why it exists. This is a draft climate curriculum currently in development (October 2019) in collaboration with schools and with climate scientists. We value feedback from schools, especially mapping the learning objectives to the national curriculum and lesson ideas and resources to support each learning objective. Feedback to [email protected] greatly appreciated. CLIMATE What should young people know about 2 13 ACTION The Big Ideas: Climate Action by the time they leave school? Climate Curriculum Learning Outcomes KEY IDEAS URGENCY OF NEED FOR CLIMATE ACTION By the end of By the end of By the end of Year 6: By the end of Year 9: By the end of Year 11: Year 2: Year 4: → Pupils know → Pupils can → Pupils can give examples of institutions that have → Students can explain the → Students can explain that some explain declared a ‘climate emergency’ at different scales and significance of the threat that key climate feedbacks impacts of why many are aware of synonyms such as ‘climate crisis’ climate change potentially poses in detail e.g. albedo our changing institutions to life-forms on earth. They are changes, permafrost They are familiar with the concept of emissions climate are have declared → aware that the global average melt, soil degradation reduction targets and can identify different targets and happening a ‘Climate temperature rise is accelerating and wildfire frequency begin to connect these with current scientific estimates now and others Emergency’, for degrees of warming Students are familiar with current Students can will happen in and what → → targets and understand what summarise current the future this means Pupils understand that 2030 is a scientific estimate of → computer models suggest the actions being taken at (see below a year by which global emissions must have peaked impacts will be of achieving or regional, national and re impacts in order to give humanity a reasonable chance of not achieving these targets international levels to of Climate controlling eventual warming levels, and that it is not a reduce greenhouse gas Change) deadline for an end-of-the-world scenario Students know about current → emissions and boost trends in global emissions and → Pupils Pupils know about current trends in total global climate carbon sinks in response → carbon sinks know about emissions, i.e. whether they are rising, peaking or falling to the current situation some of the → Students are familiar with a Pupils begin to understand what climate tipping points → Students are aware of impacts → range of climate feedbacks and are and can connect these with the urgency to act geoengineering options, that higher understand their significance how they would work temperatures → Pupils are familiar with the findings of cost-benefit in theory, and recent are having → Students can discuss their views analyses comparing quicker and slower global evaluations of their on people about the risks associated with responses. potential already. different global responses. This is a draft climate curriculum currently in development (October 2019) in collaboration with schools and with climate scientists. We value feedback from schools, especially mapping the learning objectives to the national curriculum and lesson ideas and resources to support each learning objective. Feedback to [email protected] greatly appreciated. CLIMATE What should young people know about 3 13 ACTION The Big Ideas: Climate Action by the time they leave school? Climate Curriculum Learning Outcomes KEY IDEAS IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE By the end of By the end of By the end of Year 6: By the end of Year 9: By the end of Year 11: Year 2: Year 4: → Pupils → Pupils can identify → Pupils understand how climate change is a → Students can explain current impacts of → Students can explain understand a range of impacts factor in the current loss of biodiversity and climate change on ecosystems locally a range of benefits the impacts of of past and / or can describe some future predictions in and across the world, including habitat and additional stresses our changing present climate connection with this loss, food chain disruption and heat caused by climate climate on change on plants stress, and how these are contributing to change on a range of Pupils understand the impact of climate some animals, and animal → the 6th mass extinction of species species and ecosystems change on ecosystems locally and across plants and species, including the world, both in the present and a range Students can identify different future Students can environments extinctions, and → → of future scenarios scenarios for species and ecosystems, give examples of both in our on environments and connect these projections with technologies that may locality and locally and across Pupils can identify a range of impacts of → different levels of additional heating be deployed to help elsewhere the world our changing climate on people in the past species and ecosystems and present, in their local area, in the UK, → Students can explain current impacts of → Pupils know → Pupils can adapt to climate change and also across the world climate change on humans locally and some of the identify a range of across the world → Students can give impacts of observed impacts Pupils can identify current impacts, and → several examples of our changing of our changing a range of predicted future impacts Students can identify different future → expected impacts climate on climate on people depending on levels of heating, including scenarios for the impact of climate of global heating on people, both in locally and across human migration. change on humans, and connect these human health our locality and the world the projections with different levels of elsewhere world heating → Students consider current issues and future predictions for climate conflict This is a draft climate curriculum currently in development (October 2019) in collaboration with schools and with climate scientists. We value feedback from schools, especially mapping the learning objectives to the national curriculum and lesson ideas and resources to support each learning objective. Feedback to [email protected] greatly appreciated. CLIMATE What should young people know about 4 13 ACTION The Big Ideas: Climate Action by the time they leave school? Climate Curriculum Learning Outcomes KEY IDEAS RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE By the end of By the end of Year 4: By the end of Year 6: By the end of Year 9: By the end of Year 11: Year 2: → Pupils can name → Pupils understand how using less → Pupils are familiar with a range of → Students are familiar with some strategies for → Students can offer some actions energy can reduce emissions different climate action strategies climate action at different levels and can evaluate opinions about the aims which would including reducing consumption, their effectiveness and methods of political have a positive → Pupils understand what renewable using renewable energy and groups / movements impact on the energy is and can explain why it is protecting/ restoring carbon → Students understand that climate action is taking that are responding to climate and important in reducing