icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

Past climate change

I can describe different types of evidence of past climate change.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 7

Past climate change

I can describe different types of evidence of past climate change.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Climate change is the long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns.
  2. The Earth's climate varies naturally and continuously over time.
  3. Climate change can involve both global warming and global cooling.
  4. Evidence of climate change comes from analysing ice cores, tree rings and the instrumental record.

Keywords

  • Reliability - how accurate or able to be trusted something is considered to be

  • Global warming - an increase in Earth's average temperature over a long period of time

  • Evidence - a fact or piece of information that helps to prove that something is or is not true

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

Common misconception

Climate change and global warming are the same thing.

Global warming is the increase in Earth's average temperature over a long period of time, whereas climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.


To help you plan your year 7 geography lesson on: Past climate change, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Reinforce the use of the word evidence where possible.
speech-bubble
Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Correct answer: Weather is short-term, and climate is long-term
Weather and climate mean the same thing
Climate changes every day, but weather stays the same
Climate only exists in hot countries
Q2.
Which of the following is an example of weather?
The UK has mild summers and cool winters
Correct answer: It rained heavily in London yesterday
Deserts are hot and dry all year round
Q3.
What is the main gas responsible for trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere?
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Correct answer: Carbon dioxide
Helium
Q4.
What is one natural cause of past climate change?
Deforestation
Correct answer: Volcanic eruptions
Car pollution
Burning fossil fuels
Q5.
What is the name of the period when Earth was much colder and large parts were covered in ice?
The Greenhouse Period
Correct answer: The Ice Age
The Storm Age
Q6.
Which of these is an effect of climate change?
Correct answer: Rising sea levels
More stable weather
Fewer extreme storms
Lower global temperatures

4 Questions

Q1.
Match the key terms to their definitions.
Correct Answer:global warming,an increase in Earth's average temperature over a long period of time
tick

an increase in Earth's average temperature over a long period of time

Correct Answer:climate change,large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate
tick

large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate

Correct Answer:weather,short-term changes in the atmosphere
tick

short-term changes in the atmosphere

Q2.
How do we know what Earth’s climate was like in the past?
Correct answer: By looking at tree rings, ice cores, and fossils
By guessing based on today’s weather
By asking people who lived thousands of years ago
Q3.
True or false? Climate change has only started happening because of humans.
This is true because humans are causing the greenhouse effect
Correct answer: This is false because the climate has changed naturally over millions of years
This is true because humans invented climate change
Q4.
Some methods of collecting data are more __________ than others, for example ice cores are more __________ than historical data.
Correct answer: reliable
interesting
invalid