From polar to tropical: moving through climate zones
Learning Outcomes
Learners will be able to:
- define the term climate zone and identify the five major Köppen climate groups
- describe some of the characteristics of different climate zones, including temperature and precipitation
-use movement to communicate characteristics of a climate zone
National Curriculum Statement linked to:
Describe and understand key aspects of climate zones
Before the lesson
Consolidate your understanding of the concept of climate zones, the characteristics of individual zones and the relationship between the distribution of climate zones and the Equator
Open and check external links
Floor-safe tape
Post-it notes / flip chart paper (optional)
Key Vocabulary
climate, climate zone, classification / classify, tropical, polar, dry, temperate, continental, Equator
Prelude
Use this as an opportunity to retrieve and pool prior knowledge.
Ask learners:
What do you think climate is?
Therefore, what are climate zones?
Do you know any examples of different climate zones?
You might pool prior knowledge by using post-it notes or large / flip-chart paper.
Exposition
Explain to learners the definition of climate zones:
“Climate zones are areas with distinct climates. These zones might correspond to weather patterns, latitude, or communities of plants and animals.”
Discuss vocabulary meanings where necessary.
Explain that the Köppen climate classification groups climates into five major climate groups, being tropical, dry, temperate, continental, and polar climates.
Ask learners:
What two broad factors do you think are used to decide the climate zone classification for a place?
Explain that the Köppen classification uses patterns of temperature and precipitation to classify climates.
Explain the characteristics of the main climate zone categories.
Show a simplified map of the Earth’s climate zones (one example available to access here: Climate zones - Met Office).
Ask learners:
Is there anything you notice about the climate zones?
Help learners identify the broad relationship between latitude and temperature: places close to the Equator tend to have warmer climates, while places closer to the poles tend to have colder climates. This is not always the case, however, as other factors such as rainfall, altitude, oceans and prevailing winds also influence an area's climate.
Development
Exercise 1: Lead a warm-up exercise (you can access our free warm-up exercise collection here).
Exercise 2: Embodying climate zones.
Create a line representing the Equator with tape, dividing the middle of the space in two. Use tape to further subdivide the space into tropical, dry, temperate/continental and polar climate zones (see reference 4).
Explain to the learners that they are going to move through the different climate zones, modifying their movements according to each climate’s environment. You may wish to divide learners into two groups and have them move towards the equatorial line simultaneously, or have all students start on one side and then move through the equatorial line, creating a cyclical experience.
In this first case, you decide when the learners progress into each new climate zone but don’t feel this needs to be time-bonded. Be led by the learners' explorations and move on the learning when there comes a moment of natural progression.
Bank of movement ideas:
Polar: Polar: small movements, protecting the body from cold, moving cautiously over ice, responding to strong winds, exploring ways of keeping warm
Temperate / continental: less extreme movements, varying between different movement qualities, responding to rain/wind/sun
Dry: Searching for shade, navigating through sand, responding to intense sun/wind
Tropical: negotiating dense vegetation, responding to heavy rainfall, exploring sensations associated with heat and humidity
Exercise 3: Moving through climate zones.
Explain that now learners have experienced the individual climate zones, they can now move through the zones as they wish. Start with 5 learners in the space and the remaining learners around the outside. Learners can move through the space and leave when they wish. When one learner leaves, another must take their place. If learners are apprehensive, you could put in a ‘tag’-style system for students to tap in / out.
Challenge / formative assessment opportunity: Task a learner with moving through the climate zones without stopping. Engage observing learners at various points by asking them which climate zone they think the moving learner is in and why they think this.
Coda
Lead a warm-down, followed by a reflection on learning which has taken place (formative assessment opportunity). This might take place in the form of a “think-pair-share” process.
Prompts you may wish to use:
How did you feel when engaging in the activity?
When observing, what did you notice in the movements? Were they any commonalities between the learners’ movement patterns?
What geographical characteristics did you try to communicate through your movement?
What did you learn about climate zones that you didn't know before the activity?
Which climate zone was most interesting to you? Why?
Which climate zone was the most difficult for you to embody? Why?
References
1. National curriculum in England: geography programmes of study. Available to access here: National curriculum in England: geography programmes of study - GOV.UK
2. Met Office definition. Available to access at: Climate zones - Met Office
3. Köppen climate classification, originally developed by Wladimir Köppen in 1884 and subsequently revised. Available to access at: Climate zones - Met Office
4. For the purposes of this movement activity, the climate zones have been arranged spatially to support learners' exploration of changing environmental characteristics. This is a simplified representation and does not reflect the geographical distribution of all climate groups.