The light and heat that come from the sun's rays are solar energy.

The Equator is an imaginary line of latitude going around the centre of Earth.

The North Pole is at the northern end of Earth’s axis and the South Pole is at the southern end of Earth’s axis.

Introducing climate

Geography

Using lines of latitude to locate the main climate zones

Climate data and patterns

The differences between climate zones and biomes

Adaptations of plants and animals in different biomes

Climate change

This unit directly links to settlement, understanding connections between climate and where people live. This also underpins understanding needed in 'The Americas: How diverse are its places and landscapes?', 'South America: Why does the Amazon matter?', 'Natural resources: what are they, where are they and why are they important?' and 'Farms and factories: Where does our food come from?'.

This unit builds on learning about the water cycle to develop understanding of the spatial patterns of water and energy. It also builds on 'Cold places: What is it like at the North and South Poles?' and 'Hot places: What is it like near the Equator?'. It develops on 'Contrasting locality: What is it like to live in (named location) in Jamaica?') by introducing the major lines of latitude.

This unit introduces climate zones around the world. Pupils use maps and climate data to spot patterns, compare environments, and explore how plants and animals adapt to different conditions. The unit also introduces climate change.

Climate zones: what are they and why do they matter?

Lines of latitude are imaginary lines on Earth showing position north or south of the Equator.

The weather of a place is the day to day condition of the atmosphere, e.g. sunny, snowing, warm etc.

Temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of a place.

A location is the particular position of something on Earth.

A climate graph shows the amount of precipitation and the temperature each month for a location.

Data is a collection of information that can be analysed to help us answer a question.

The horizontal axis is the line of figures or data along the bottom of a graph.

The vertical axis is a line of figures or data that is at the side of a graph.

Climate is an average of weather conditions (e.g. rain, sun, wind) in a place taken over a long period of time (usually 30 years or more).

Climate zones are areas that have similar weather conditions and climate, e.g. the tropics.

A biome is a large region of the world with places that have similar climates, vegetation and animals that have adapted to living there.

Adapt means to make changes to suit different conditions.

Interdependent means two or more things depend on or rely on each other.

An environment is all the living things in an area, such as plants and animals, and the non-living things around them, such as air, water and soil.

Greenhouse gases are gases in Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat.

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

Drought is when there is a long time without enough rain and can cause a water shortage.

A heatwave is a period of time in which the weather is a lot hotter than usual.

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Climate zones: what are they and why do they matter?

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