Hello, my name is Mrs. Mehrin and I'm so excited to be learning all about reducing air pollution with you.

Let's begin.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit, "Climate change and sustainability." Your learning outcome is, "I can describe how some harmful gases and small particles get in the air and harm our environment and how this can be reduced." Now, I know that learning can sometimes be a little bit challenging, but that's okay because it just means that we are going to work really hard together and we're going to learn some fabulous new things.

Let's begin.

So here are your five keywords for today's lesson.

I am going to be referring to these keywords and the definitions throughout today's lesson.

However, if you find it helpful, you can pop the video one pause, and you can jot these down.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So our lesson today's split into two parts.

Let's begin with the first part, air pollution.

So some children are talking about air pollution.

John says, "Air pollution is when harmful substances are put into the air around us.

But what causes air pollution?" Aisha says, "I think it's from exhaust fumes on cars." And Lucas says, "I think air pollution is when the weather is foggy." What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So Alex says, "The weather is not foggy in this busy city with lots of cars and buses on the roads." And Sam says, "Well, air pollution is not a type of weather and you can't always see it in the air.

It can be caused by many different things." So one action that causes air pollution is burning fossil fuels, and these are fuels that have been formed from the remains of living things over millions of years.

Examples of fossil fuels are oil, natural gas, and coal.

So here we have a picture of crude oil.

We've got natural gas burning, and you might have seen this on your cooker if you have a gas cooker.

And coal, which you might have seen on barbecues.

Now, fossil fuels are burned in all sorts of places, including in homes, schools, and in industry.

So for example, many cars run by burning petrol, which comes from crude oil inside their engine, and many people have gas ovens or boilers, which provide heat by burning natural gas.

Now, even if you aren't burning any fossil fuels yourself, it's possible you are using electricity that has been generated by burning fossil fuels in power stations.

And you might have seen these.

Often you can see them when you're driving on the motorway.

Now, burning fossil fuels in our homes, cars, and in industry causes what? A , plastic waste? B, air pollution? C, biodiversity? Or, D landfill sites? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answer is B, air pollution.

Now, when fossil fuels burn, they release substances into the air, including different gases and tiny particles of solid material.

And some of these can be harmful to the environment and the animals and plants that live in it.

So for example, tiny particles of soot are released into the air when fossil fuels are burned, and soot can cause breathing problems. It can also damage plants, making it harder for them to grow and produce their own food.

Now, some of the gases produced when fossil fuels are burned can be harmful.

And because gases spread out to fill the space they're in, these gases can quickly spread far from their original source, polluting the air across great distances.

Now, what is produced when fossil fuels are burned? Is it A, gases? B, small solid particles? Or C, large volumes of liquids? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answers are A and B, gases and small solid particles.

Now, burning fossil fuels produces lots of carbon dioxide gas.

And carbon dioxide is not always harmful.

Plants need it to survive.

It's in the air around us all of the time and is even inside the bubbles in our fizzy drinks.

However, there are some risks of harm from the carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels because it's a greenhouse gas, and greenhouse gases are needed to keep earth warm enough for living things to survive, but burning more fossil fuels releases more greenhouse gases, which contributes to the warming of the earth and it's to levels that we do not want.

Now, sometimes we can see air pollution such as times when there's thick smog.

And much of the time though, air pollution cannot be seen or smelled.

It may be in the air around you, even if it doesn't seem to be.

Carbon monoxide, which is very harmful, is another of the gases released when fossil fuels are burned.

It's colourless and odourless so it's not easy to tell when you are breathing it in.

And often the only way to tell if there's carbon monoxide in the air is by using a special detector like this one.

Now let's do a quick check-in of your learning before we continue.

So what are greenhouse gases? Is it A, gases that are making the earth warmer? B, gases that are easy to see? Or C, gases that are lowering global temperatures? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answer is A, gases that are making the earth warmer.

Now, why are the substances released when burning fossil fuels a problem? Is it A, some of them leave Earth's atmosphere? B, some are greenhouse gases? C, some use up drinking water? And D, some of them can be harmful to living things? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is B and D.

Now, here is your first activity.

It says, "Are these statements always, sometimes, or never true?" So, "Burning fossil fuels releases substances into the air.

Gases released by burning fossil fuels are harmful.

Burning fossil fuels contributes to air pollution.

You can see air pollution.

Air pollution is beneficial to the health of living things." So what I'd like you to do is to pause the video here and have a go at doing this activity.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So the first one is always true.

The second one is sometimes true.

"Burning fossil fuels contributes to air pollution" Is always true.

"You can see air pollution" Is sometimes true.

And the last one, "Air pollution is beneficial to the health of living things" Is never true.

So now we are onto the second part of our learning, which is reducing air pollution.

So scientists and engineers are always investigating ways to reduce air pollution, and one way of doing this is inventing new ways of transportation which cause less air pollution.

Now many cars that use electricity rather than petrol are now on our roads, and engineers try to find ways to make these even more efficient.

And scientists are also working on developing planes that are able to run on electricity rather than the fuels they currently use that produce a lot of air pollution.

Scientists are also working on generating electricity using renewable sources such as water, wind, or light from the sun.

Now, a lot of our electricity is currently generated by burning fossil fuels, which heats up water, and this water becomes steam, which then pushes round large turbines, generating electricity.

And this process produces lots of air pollution.

So you may have seen wind turbines generating electricity in a similar way.

They use the power of the wind to turn the turbines instead, so nothing is burned and no harmful substances are produced.

Scientists and engineers are working on developing this technology so it can become more efficient and help reduce the burning of fossil fuels.

Let's do a quick checking of your learning before we continue.

Which of these professionals investigates ways to use renewable energy sources and reduce air pollution? So which of these professionals investigates ways to use renewable energy sources and reduce air pollution? Is it A engineers? B, architects? C, scientists? D, botanists? Or E, science communicators? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answers are A and C, engineers and scientists.

Now, Aisha says, "How can I help to reduce air pollution? I'm not an engineer yet, but is there anything I can do now?" What do you think? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So there are lots of actions everyone can take to help reduce air pollution.

We can choose ways of travelling that do not require the burning of fossil fuels.

So walking, cycling, scooting, or skating are all good ways of getting to school without burning fossil fuels.

Izzy says, "I have to come to school in the car because I live too far away to walk.

I don't think I can reduce the air pollution from my car journey." Do you agree? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So Izzy can do things to reduce air pollution, so she could take public transport.

So taking public transport like a bus or a train is better than travelling in a car because many people can fit in one vehicle instead of using lots of individual cars, Izzy could also travel to a street close to her school and then walk the last short distance.

This way, the car is used for less time and so little less air pollution is produced, and every little helps.

So true or false, "There is nothing that humans can do to help to reduce air pollution." Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answer is false.

And that's because air pollution can be reduced by human actions such as walking and cycling instead of using the car.

There are also lots of things we can do at home to reduce our use of electricity as this will help to reduce air pollution as less fossil fuels will be burned in power stations.

Here we have a picture of the power station.

Now we should make sure any lights and other electronic devices are switched off and when not using them.

So this makes a difference at school as well as at home.

Now, are there any electronics near you that could be switched off when you leave the room? I'll give you five seconds to have a think.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

So you may have said, obviously we've got lights, which we've spoken about already.

You could turn off, for example, the TV if you're not using it, if you're walking away, or the radio or anything like that.

iPads or any other electronics like that as well.

So it's better to fully turn electronics off rather than leaving them on standby or sleep mode.

And many televisions and games consoles still use small amounts of electricity when they are left on standby or sleep mode.

And turning them off completely will help reduce the amount of electricity that you use in your home.

Now we can also help to reduce air pollution by having shorter showers, especially if your home has a gas boiler that burns natural gas to heat up your water.

So which of these actions could help to reduce air pollution by reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned to generate electricity? A, using a car instead of taking a train? B, taking a shorter shower? C, using standby mode on games consoles? Or D, switching off lights when we leave a room? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

The answers are B and D.

So task B says, "Create a poster that will help people to see how they can help to reduce air pollution.

You should include ideas about what they could do at home and how they travel to and from school." So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing this activity.

Off you go.

Fantastic.

Well done.

So this is Izzy's poster and it's wonderful.

It's nice and clear, it's colourful and it really grabs your attention.

So she's put, "You can help reduce air pollution.

Ditch the car, walk cycle or scoot instead.

Turn lights off when you leave a room, including classrooms. Don't use standby or sleep mode, turn things off instead.

Take shorter showers.

And did you know you can't always see or smell air pollution?" So now we are onto the summary of our learning today.

So burning fuels at home in our cars and in industry produces gases and small solid particles, which cause air pollution.

Some of the substances produced when we burn fossil fuels can harm living things or add to greenhouse gases.

There are lots of actions we can take to help reduce air pollution, such as walking or cycling rather than using cars or using less electricity in our homes.

Well done for today, you have worked so hard.

I am so proud of your fantastic work, your brilliant creativity with your poster and for working so wonderfully.

Well done.