Lesson video

Mr. Robertson here.

And I am delighted to be learning with you again today.

We are going to be continuing with our big geographical question, Europe, how diverse are its landscapes and places? And we are going to continue exploring the amazing continent of Europe.

In this lesson, our outcome is going to be this.

I can identify different climate zones in the world and describe the climate of different countries in Europe.

So we're going to be continuing from our lesson where we explored the idea of maps and globes in Europe to really zoom in on climate.

We have some key words today.

As always, with our geography keywords, I'm going to say the word, and I want you to say the word as well.

So let's begin.

Our first word is weather.

Fantastic.

Our next word is climate.

Brilliant.

Our next word is equator.

Amazing.

Our next word is latitude.

Brilliant, well done.

And finally, climate change.

Brilliantly well done.

Fantastic geographical speaking there.

So what do these words all mean? Let's hear some explanations.

So the weather of a place is the day to day condition of the atmosphere.

For example, if it's sunny, or snowing, or warm.

Climate is an average of weather conditions, such as rain, sun, or wind, in a place taken over a long period of time.

And by a long time, we mean about 30 years or more.

The equator is the imaginary line encircling the earth at zero degrees latitude and is an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.

Lines of latitude are imaginary lines on Earth showing position north or south of the equator, measured in degrees.

Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet's climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.

All of these keywords are going to be coming up in our lesson today, so I look forward to helping you understand them in a bit more detail.

So our lesson on weather and climate in Europe today is made up of two parts.

The first part looks at climate zones.

And the second part is where we're going to be investigating the climate in Europe.

So, geographers, have you got your geography caps on? Have you got your explorer backpacks? And are we ready to go looking at climate zones? Let's go.

What do we mean by weather? Well, weather describes the day-to-day conditions in a particular place, such as the temperature or whether it's raining or sunny.

Everywhere has weather.

I wonder what the weather is like in your local area today? Maybe you can look outside the window of your classroom and see.

Maybe you've been out to break and you've noticed what the weather was like or you saw it on the way to and from school.

Why don't you pause the video and talk to the person next to you and think what is the weather like in your local area today? What was the weather like in your local area? Really? That's really interesting.

Andeep says, "In my local area, it's cloudy but quite warm and dry." Is that similar or different to what it's like with you today? Okay, so we know what weather is like.

It's the weather day-to-day.

But what do we mean by climate? Weather and climate are not the same thing.

(indistinct) describes what the average weather conditions in a place are like over a longer period of time.

So not just what the weather is like today, but actually what the weather has been like over a period of about 30 years.

So that's a really long time, isn't it? Some of your teachers or parents might be older than 30.

Does the climate vary around the world? Hmm, that's a good geographical question, isn't it? What do you think? Is the climate the same everywhere or does it vary? Maybe these photographs could help.

I could see a desert on the left-hand side there.

I know it's pretty hot in deserts.

The other one, I can see ice.

That means it's pretty cold.

Laura says, "The climate varies around the world.

Some places are really hot, whereas others are cold." So climate is not the same everywhere in the world.

Let's check what we learned so far.

I got a question for you here, a really good geographical question.

What does climate mean? Is climate a, what the weather is like today, b, what the weather is like over a year, or c, what the weather is like over a period of 30 years or more? Let's get those geographical thinking caps on.

Pause the video if you'd like to, then think about that question.

What did you think? Yes, correct.

Climate is what the weather is like over a period of 30 years or more.

So not just the weather today, but over a period of time.

Well done if you've got that correct.

So the world is divided into different climate zones.

These are the areas that have similar climates.

And on the slide you can see an atlas map of the whole world here.

And maybe you can see that there are different colours.

And there's a key as well.

And we can see the names of some different climate zones here.

We've got the equatorial climate zone, the tropical climate zone, the desert climate zone, the temperate climate zone, and the arctic and polar climate zone.

Lots of different zones around the world.

So a tricky geographical question for you now.

Why do you think the climate varies around the world? A little think about that question.

Pause the video, talk to your talk partner, and see what you can come up with.

What sort of things did you think? Interesting.

So the climate of a place is affected by its latitude.

The word latitude describes how far north or south a locality is from the equator.

This globe, can you see, around the middle of the globe we've got the equator.

The equator is an imaginary line that we draw around the middle of the globe.

It's not really there, but it's really useful for us geographers when we're thinking about things like climate.

Above and below the equator, we have a dotted line.

That's the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

And then right at the top, in the far north and in the south, we have the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle.

These are lines of latitude and they describe how far or north, or north or south somewhere is from the equator.

So how does latitude affect climate? If you look at this map, we can see that there are some red colours close to the equator.

That's because hotter climates are found nearer the equator.

So the closer to the equator you are, the hotter it's likely to be.

As we move away from the equator, either north or south, it gets cooler.

And so we find that cooler climates are found towards the poles.

And so the coldest climates of all are found at the highest part, highest latitudes towards the north of the Arctic Circle or down south towards the Antarctic Circle.

It's very cold in those places.

These are called climate zones.

Latitude is not the only factor that affects climate.

Climate is also affected by altitude.

You can see a photograph there of some mountains, and they're covered in snow, and you could imagine it would be quite cold up there.

Altitude is how high something is above sea level.

So if there's a really high mountain which is a bit further south, because it's high, it's still gonna be really cold as it gets towards the top.

Another factor that can affect climate is terrain.

That means what the shape of the land is like.

In this photograph, can you see it's quite hilly and there are some shadows? So it's going to be cooler where the shadows are, cooler in those places where the sun doesn't get as much.

Finally, climate can also be affected by the distance a place is from the ocean.

So climate is not just affected by latitude, but by altitude, terrain, and the distance from the ocean.

True or false question now.

The climate in Southern Europe is cooler than the climate in Northern Europe.

Hmm, is that true or is that false? Let's have a think about that question.

I'd like you to pause the video.

Did you think? Let's have a look.

It's false.

Well done if you've got that right.

It is not cooler in, the climate in Southern Europe is not cooler than the climate in Northern Europe.

But why is that false? We've got two possible answers.

Is it false because a, Northern Europe is closer to the equator, or is it b, because Southern Europe is closer to the equator? Again, pause the video and have a little think.

Which of those makes more sense? Brilliant.

Well done.

Southern Europe is closer to the equator, and so it is going to be warmer than Northern Europe because remember, as we move away from the equator, the climate gets cooler.

Okay, we're going to think about this and practise this task.

What I want you to do is this.

I want you to label the major climate zones on this world map.

We've got a world map there, and we've got the name of some of the major climate zones.

We've got desert, tropical, equatorial, polar, and temperate.

Now you're going to need an atlas map for this.

So I'd like you to use your atlas skills.

Can you work out where each of these climate zones are on the world map? And label them really clearly.

I look forward to seeing how well you've done with this.

Good luck, geographers.

Hey, let's see how well you did.

So where is the desert climate zone on this world map? Let's have a look.

Can you see? We've circled the area just to the north of the Tropic of Cancer and just to the south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

That area is known as the desert climate zone.

And some of the world's biggest deserts, such as the Sahara desert in Northern Africa, are found there.

Our second climate zone is tropical.

You could see that the tropical zones are to the south of the Tropic of Cancer and just north of the equator, just south of the equator and north of the Tropic of Capricorn.

These are tropical climate zones, where we have some incredible things such as the Amazon or the Congo rainforests.

The equatorial climate zone, the clues is in the name there, isn't it? That's the climate zone that is just around the equator in the middle of Earth.

Again, our next one, the clue is in the name, isn't it? The polar climate zone is found around the Arctic Circle to the north or the Antarctic Circle to the south.

And we know that's a place where it's going to be very cold, isn't it? Finally, temperate zones.

You can see there's a temperate zone to the north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Arctic Circle.

And also, we can see one to the south of Tropic of Capricorn and the north of the Antarctic Circle.

These climate zones are called temperate zones.

So lots of labelling, lots of geographical vocabulary there.

Well done if you did that correctly.

For our second learning cycle, we are going to be investigating the climate in Europe.

Okay, so we thought about what climate zones look like at a global level, but what's the climate in Europe like? What climate zones can we find in Europe? Pause the video if you want to make some predictions.

This map might be able to help you.

So if we zoom in to a map of Europe in more detail, we can see that, actually, Europe is divided into different climate zones.

So there are actually three climate zones in the continent of Europe.

If you look carefully, you could see that we have an arctic and polar climate zone.

That's the blue on the key.

We've got a temperate climate zone across the majority of Europe.

That's in green.

And towards the south of Europe, we have a Mediterranean climate zone.

Well, that's, on your key, in yellow.

The UK, you can see it there, is in the west of Europe.

Now the west of Europe receives more rainfall than the east of Europe because it's close to the Atlantic Ocean.

And you can see the Atlantic ocean there.

That explains why it's always raining here, isn't it? There's rain here because we are very close to the Atlantic Ocean.

And because we're close to a big ocean, that means we receive a lot more rain, which means we have to put our umbrellas up quite a lot, don't we? So what's the climate like in the UK? Well, we would describe the UK as having a temperate climate.

A temperate climate means we have moderate temperatures, which means it doesn't get really, really hot, it doesn't get really, really cold, certainly compared to the world anyway.

We also get quite a lot of rain.

We have four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

What's it like to live in the UK climate? Turn to the person next to you.

Let's talk about it for a few seconds.

What kind of weather do we get here? Laura says, "It's quite different between summer and winter, but it's pretty rainy all year." It's a shame, isn't it? But it's really good for the crops and for making things grow.

True or false question for you now.

True or false, there is more rainfall in the west of Europe than the east.

Do we think that's true or false? Pause the video, turn to the person next to you, have a think.

Well done.

It's true, isn't it? There is more rainfall in the west of Europe than in the east.

But why is that true? Why is there more rainfall in the west than the east? Let's think how we can justify our answer.

Is it a, because the west of Europe receives more rainfall than the east because it's close to the Atlantic Ocean, or B, the west of Europe receives more rainfall than the east of Europe because it's a lot colder.

Hmm, which of those is true? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done, geographers.

It's a, isn't it? The west of Europe receives more rainfall than the east because it's close to the Atlantic Ocean, it's that big ocean, which means that we get a lot more rain in the west of Europe.

Well done if you've got that right.

Let's think about some other parts of Europe.

Look at the blue key there.

Parts of countries like Finland and Russia have a polar climate.

A polar climate is only found in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

It's a dry climate with cool summers and very cold winters.

What do you think it would be like to live in this climate? What would it be like day-to-day? Talk to the person next to you.

See what they think.

Oh, I can hear some really great answers there.

Well done, geographers.

Laura says it would be very cold although it would change a lot between the seasons.

So summer would be cooler, but winter would be really cold, wouldn't it? Finally, we've got another climate zone in Europe as well, thinking about our yellow key there, the countries in yellow.

One example is Greece.

Maybe you've been to Greece or had friends or relatives there.

That has a Mediterranean climate.

Countries with a Mediterranean climate have warm, dry summers and cool, mild winters.

Mild means it doesn't really get very cold at all.

So what do you think it would be like to live in this climate.

Again, talk to the person next to you.

What do you think it would be like to live in a Mediterranean climate? Oh, I'm hearing some really great ideas there.

Yeah, a lot of you agree with Andeep.

It would be really hot in summer.

Wonderful for being on the beach, wouldn't it? And definitely no snow.

Well, maybe that would be great.

Maybe that would be sad.

But although we have these climate zones we've been thinking about, we're also seeing some changes.

Climate change is affecting the climate in Europe and other parts of the world.

Temperatures are increasing.

And there are more extreme weather events like flooding.

Look at this photograph here.

This beautiful plaza is in Venice in Italy.

What's going on in that photograph? Do you notice? Yeah, you could see a really terrible flood there, can't you? The water's risen right up and it's flooding these beautiful buildings.

So in Venice, they're having a lot more frequent flooding than they were before.

And that's due to climate change.

Okay, check what we've learned so far.

We're going to do some matching.

We've got three countries here, the UK, Greece, and Finland.

And we've got three climate zones, Mediterranean, polar, and temperate.

I want you to try and match the country to the climate zone.

Come on, geographers.

We can do this, can't we? Pause the video if you like, talk to the person next to you, and let's see, we can check our understanding.

Let's see the first one.

The UK has a temperate climate.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Greece has a Mediterranean climate.

Well done.

Excellent if you've got that.

And finally, Finland has a polar climate.

Congratulations if you were successful there.

Brilliant geographical thinking.

Okay, so our final task today, we're going to be doing some investigating.

I'd like you to choose three countries in Europe that you would like to visit.

If you could go to three countries, imagine now you've got a magic carpet, where would you like to go? I'd like you to do some research.

What is the climate like in each country and what activities could you do there? So you're going to think a little bit about how you're going to find this information out.

Maybe you've got an atlas map that you could use and we could find out what the information is like there.

Maybe you could search on the internet for some weather forecasts and see if we can find out what the climate is like.

Maybe we could look at some tourist information sites in different countries and find out what the climate is like.

However you do it, I'm really looking forward for you to find out what's the climate like in those countries and what kind of activities can you get up to.

Off you go, geographers.

Put your backpacks on and go and do some research.

What a lot of fantastic information you found out.

Laura did some research too.

And this is what she found out about the countries she researched.

First of all, she looked at Norway.

She found out that that country has a polar climate.

And that means that there are some incredible activities you can do there, skiing, hiking near the fjords, feeding a reindeer, visiting Tromso in the north.

Wow, I want to go to Norway.

She also looked at Poland.

That has a temperate climate.

There, you can visit the capital city, Warsaw.

You can hike in the mountains, they have bears in Poland, and visit some amazing museums. Oh, I want to go to Poland as well.

Finally, she looked at Italy.

That has a Mediterranean climate.

You can visit some amazing Roman ruins there, travel the Grand Canal in Venice, and end the day eating some pizza.

Oh, how do we choose? What amazing countries we have in Europe.

Well done for all your research, geographers.

Let's summarise what we've learned today.

Europe is in a temperate climate zone.

Its climate is seasonal and very varied.

Southern areas of Europe around the Mediterranean are mild in winter, and hot in summer, and attract a lot of tourists.

The west of Europe receives more rainfall than the east of Europe because it's close to the Atlantic Ocean.

I've really enjoyed learning with you today and your fantastic ideas.

I look forward to seeing you next time.

Bye.