Lesson video

Hi, my name's Miss Gilyeat, and today we are going to be looking at the world's cold places.

We're starting a new unit of work called "Cold Places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?" We've got a very couple of exciting lessons and we're going to be looking at the most extreme places on earth.

So I'm glad that you've chosen to study with us today.

I think we're gonna have an absolutely fantastic time learning about these absolutely amazing places.

Today's lesson is called The World's Cold Places, and it's part of the topic "Cold Places: What is this like at the North and South Pole?" In today's lesson, we're gonna look at what can affect temperatures locally, so in a smaller area, and also look at what can affect temperatures globally.

We've got five new keywords to learn today.

Now, we are going to be using these keywords in today's lesson, but we'll also use some of them in the following lessons.

So it's really, really important that we understand, first of all, how to say the words, and also understand what they mean and how to use them.

Now, to make sure that we can pronounce them correctly, first of all, I am going to say each word, and I would like you to repeat it back to me.

When I put my hands like this, that's the cue for you to repeat.

The first one, temperature, axis, thermometer, hemisphere, solar energy.

So, quite a few keywords there, and they're also a little bit tricky to pronounce sometimes.

Now, what you may notice that on the slide here, the keywords are highlighted in bold.

To make sure that we can try and keep remembering these keywords as we go out through the lesson, they are always highlighted in bold on the slides.

The first keyword temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness in a place, which basically means how warm or how cold it is.

It's very important for lots of different types of people to know what the temperature is.

One, it gives us an idea of what kind of clothing we should wear.

Now, our topic, cold places, we are looking at the North and the South Poles.

Now, you may have guessed it, it is really, really cold up there.

In some places in Antarctica it's reached minus 89 degrees.

It is really important that we know what kind of clothing we have to wear.

Also, geographers use temperature as an idea to think about what the weather might be, but also what type of plants and animals you get in that area.

Some plants like to grow in cold temperatures and some like to grow in hot temperatures.

My next keyword is axis.

This is an imaginary line which goes through the centre of the earth and it's tilted on an angle, okay? So our planet sits on an axis and the earth rotates around it, but it isn't upright.

It's at an angle.

Now, it's this axis which actually creates the seasons that we see on planet Earth today, and we're gonna be learning about that later in the lesson.

Next word, a thermometer.

Quite a tricky word to say.

A thermometer is an instrument that we use to measure temperature.

Now, you can get lots of different types of thermometers.

You might have even seen one.

Sometimes if you've been unwell, it can be useful to check your thermometer.

So you can sometimes put it in your mouth or your ear and it tells you what temperature you are at.

In geography, we use thermometers to test the temperature of places.

Now, as I said earlier, the coldest temperature ever recorded on planet Earth was minus 89, which is pretty cold.

And that was in Antarctica.

So, next word, hemisphere.

Now, earth is split in half by something called the Equator.

And by doing that, we have got two hemispheres.

There's the northern hemisphere, which is north of the Equator, and there is the southern hemisphere, which is south of the Equator.

The UK, which I'm in at the moment, you might not be, is in the northern hemisphere.

The final word is solar energy.

Solar is another word for sun.

So it's basically sun, or energy coming from the sun.

Now, that energy can be seen in a few different ways.

So there is light, the sun gives us sunlight so that we can see things, but it also gives off heat.

If we were too far away from the sun, it'd be too cold for life on earth.

But by magic, we are literally just at the right point that life can exist on earth.

It's not too hot, but it's also not too cold.

Lots of keywords for us today, but I'm sure we'll learn them as we go through the lesson.

So, we're going to split today's lesson into two lesson objectives, really.

The first one is looking at what can cause differences in temperatures locally, so in a smaller area.

And then we're gonna think about it more globally.

So why is it cold at the North and the South Poles? So, air temperature, which is the temperature that we see outside today, can change within quite a small area.

Now, when we are measuring or looking at what temperatures different places are, we use a thermometer.

Now, you may have seen one of these before, you might not have done, either is fine, but they usually have got a red line in the middle and then they've got numbers up the side.

Where the red line goes up, it tells you what the temperature is.

So I want you to pause the video.

I want you to talk to the person you're sat next to and tell me what is the temperature recording on the thermometer that we can see there.

How did you do? I got about 22 degrees.

Did you get something similar? So, the air temperature that we see in different places around the world is often affected by the wind direction, or where the wind comes from.

So, if the wind comes from a cold place, it brings cold air with it.

If the wind comes from a warm place, it brings warm air.

Now, if we have a look at my map here that I've got on the right, we've got two arrows.

If wind comes from the north, it is coming from the Arctic and it is really, really cold up there.

So, it brings the cold air with it.

However, if we get wind from the south, it's likely to come from the Mediterranean.

So places like Spain, France, and even Portugal, all of these places have got relatively warm climates, which means that they bring warm air with them too.

The strength of the wind can also affect what the temperature feels like outside.

If the wind is stronger, it often makes it feel colder.

If an area is more sheltered, it can make it feel warmer.

Now, actually, the air temperature hasn't changed as much, but it just feels colder.

So, we've got a question there.

Where does cold air come from in the UK? A, Spain, B, the Arctic, or C, France? The answer's B, the Arctic.

Very cold up there.

And when the wind comes from that direction, it brings that cold air with it.

The sun gives off heat energy.

So if you stand in the sun, you are likely to feel the heat and the warmth for it.

Now, that means if you are standing in an area which isn't getting any sun, also known being in the shade, then it's likely to feel colder.

If we have a look at the photograph that I've got on the slide here, there's a nice, sunny park.

However, some of the trees are creating a little bit of shade.

So we can see here that some people are choosing to sit in the shade, maybe to stay a bit cooler as they've got too hot, and some people are deciding to sit in the sun.

Maybe they like being a little bit warmer.

So, what I'd like you to do is pause the video and chat to the person next to you.

Can you think of any places around the school which are cold or especially warm? Think about are they in the shade? Do they catch the wind? So, we have a picture here on the slide.

Now, I've got a question to you which you can either discuss or write your answer down.

So, why do you think it might be warmer on the left hand side of the wall? Think about what things you can see in the picture and look at my one direction arrow too.

Pause the video and either write your answer or say it to your partner.

What did you get? I thought it was potentially warmer on the left hand side of the wall because it's in the sun and it's also sheltered from the wind.

That will be a nice place to eat your sandwiches if you are out on a long walk.

Next question, either write your answer down, or speak to the person you're sat next to.

Will it be warmer on the left hand side of the street, or the right hand side of the street? Now, if you're not sure of your left or right, the person that's in the picture is on the right hand side.

What did you get? Warmer on the left or warmer on the right? I got it with warmer in the left, and it's because it's in the sun.

So, to check our understanding, which of the following does not affect temperature locally, A, wind direction, B, shade, or C, gravity? Gravity is the correct answer, because we know that a stronger wind can make it feel colder and if you are in the shade, it can make it feel colder too.

The first task I'd like you to do is fill in the gaps in the paragraph describing what can affect temperatures locally.

Now, to help you out, there's words to use at the bottom.

If you're a little bit stuck, do the ones that you can do first and then come back to the ones that you struggle with.

So, pause the video and we'll go through the answers.

So, you need to compare your answers and check that you've got these correct.

Wind direction can lead to differences in air temperatures.

When the wind blows from a cold place, it brings the air temperature down.

When the wind is stronger, it feels colder.

The sun gives off heat energy.

Places in the sun feel warmer and places in the shade feel colder.

How did you do? We are now going to move on to our second learning objective, which is looking, why is it cold at the North and the South Poles? So, we are thinking about temperature on a larger scale here.

So, not just about how it can be different if you stood behind a wall or a bank, but thinking about why places thousands of miles away are colder than places like the UK.

So, the first thing that we need to understand is that the earth is split into two hemispheres.

These are called the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere, and they are split by the line called the Equator.

Now, the Equator is an imaginary line which crosses the centre of our earth.

It goes around, it crosses through South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

So, on the map there we've got the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere located.

What I'd like you to do is have a think, which hemisphere are you in right now? I can tell you at the moment I'm in the UK, which means that I am in the northern hemisphere because I am north of the Equator line.

So, we'll check for our understanding, the earth is split into four hemispheres.

True or false? That's false.

Can you justify your answer? There are two or there are three hemispheres? That's right, there's two, the northern and the southern hemisphere.

Earth is orbiting the sun, which means that our planet is constantly going around in circles with the sun being in the middle.

Now, depending on what time of year it is, different parts of the earth are either tilted towards the sun or away from it.

So, we're gonna learn about how that can affect temperature.

Now, if we have a look at the picture I've got here, the earth is sat on an axis, which means it's at an angle basically.

Now, that means that at some points of the year, the North Pole and parts of the northern hemisphere are tilted away from the sun, which means it is darker than and it is also colder.

At the same time, when the North Pole is tilted away from the sun, the South Pole is tilted towards the sun, and that means that places in the southern hemisphere see longer days, more sunlight, and they are warmer.

This is what creates the season.

So it is why, in the UK winter, for example, it's dark at the North Pole, it's really, really cold, and we have shorter days.

However, at the same time as our winter, the South Pole and the southern hemisphere are experiencing warmer temperatures, longer days, more daylight, and their summer.

So, true or false, it is winter in the northern hemisphere when it is summer in the southern hemisphere? That's true.

Can you justify your answer? A, because earth is tilted on an axis, B, because they have different weather patterns? The answer is A, it's because earth is tilted on an axis.

So, the first task that I would like you to do is have a look at my diagram that I've got on the slide.

I'd like you to see if you can label one, two, and three with the words that I've got on the side.

So, South Pole, axis, and southern hemisphere.

North Pole and northern hemisphere have been labelled on there already to help you out.

Pause the video and have a go.

The second task I'd like you to complete is I'd like you to read the text below.

Now, the words that are underlined, there are two options.

What you are going to do is read both options and circle which word you think is correct for that part of the sentence.

So, pause the video and circle the words.

Let's see how we did.

So, number one is the axis.

So that's the line that the earth is tilted on, which creates the seasons that we see on our planet.

Number two is the southern hemisphere, and that's because it's south of the Equator.

And number three is the South Pole, so where the axis sticks out at the bottom of the earth.

So, let's check our answers for task two.

The North Pole in the diagram is in the shade.

This means it is in the winter.

The South Pole is tilted towards the sun.

This means the South Pole is in the summer.

How did you do? We know that earth is tilted on an axis.

When the North pole is tilted towards the sun, it's warm and it's sunny.

And that's when we've got the summer season in the northern hemisphere, like we see in the UK.

When it is tilted away from the sun, it's much colder and it's darker, and that's when we see a winter season.

However, that means that on the opposite end of the earth, we have the opposite happening.

So, in the North Pole, when it is their summer, that means that in the South Pole, it is very cold and dark, which also means it is winter in the southern hemisphere.

This is what creates seasons today.

So, that's the end of the lesson, guys, and I hope you've learned lots and lots of cool geography facts.

I can't wait until we have our next lesson together.

We'll see you soon.

Bye.