• Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Air pressure, fronts and forecasting the weather; Conduction, convection and radiation). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
• Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

1. Why does high pressure (an anticyclone) usually bring dry weather? (High pressure blocks sunlight / High pressure creates rain / Air rises and cools / Air sinks and warms, so clouds do not form easily) → Air sinks and warms, so clouds do not form easilyPrompt: Clouds form when air rises and cools.
2. Which kind of energy transfer is this: an infrared heater warming you? (conduction / convection / radiation) → radiationPrompt: Is the energy moving through a solid, carried by a moving fluid, or travelling as waves?
3. A weather station recorded air pressure changing from 1024 hPa to 1030 hPa over 6 hours. What does this suggest? (rain and wind are becoming more likely / settled, dry weather is becoming more likely) → settled, dry weather is becoming more likelyPrompt: Is the pressure going up or down?

• Show today's forecast and ask what it means for the class and how forecasters know.
• Share the objective: Global winds, ocean currents and climate zones. Read the success criteria together.

• Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
• Example: Why do coastal places have smaller temperature ranges than inland places?
• Step 1: The sea moderates coastal climates: cooler summers and milder winters.
• Step 2: So the answer is: Water heats up and cools down more slowly than land
• Answer: Water heats up and cools down more slowly than land
• Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

• Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
• Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

1. Why is it warmer at the equator than at the poles? (The poles have no sunlight ever / Sunlight hits the equator more directly, concentrating energy on a smaller area / The equator is closer to the Sun by thousands of km / The equator has more oceans) → Sunlight hits the equator more directly, concentrating energy on a smaller areaPrompt: Shine a torch straight down and then at a slant.
2. Which climate zone is this place in: northern Spain? (tropical / temperate / polar) → temperatePrompt: How far is it from the equator?

• Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
• Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

• Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

1. Which climate zone is this place in: New Zealand? (tropical / temperate / polar) → temperatePrompt: How far is it from the equator?
2. Global climate: which statement is NOT true? (Warm air rises and cooler air sinks. / Winds blow from low pressure to high pressure. / Mountains can cause heavy rain on one side and dry conditions on the other (a rain shadow). / Ocean currents move heat around the planet.) → Winds blow from low pressure to high pressure.Prompt: Why are the poles cold?

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-8.