• 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. A barometer reading falls steadily over a day. What weather is most likely? (clouds, wind and rain as low pressure arrives / no change at all / clear, calm sunny skies / snow in summer for certain) → clouds, wind and rain as low pressure arrivesPrompt: Falling pressure usually means a depression is coming.
2. Which kind of energy transfer is this: a hot-air balloon rising? (conduction / convection / radiation) → convectionPrompt: 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 1025 hPa to 1015 hPa over 6 hours. What does this suggest? (rain and wind are becoming more likely / settled, dry weather is becoming more likely) → rain and wind are 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 do coastal places have smaller temperature ranges than inland places? (Wind never blows at the coast / Coasts get less sunlight / The sea is always cold / Water heats up and cools down more slowly than land) → Water heats up and cools down more slowly than landPrompt: Water has a high specific heat capacity.
2. Which climate zone is this place in: the Congo basin? (tropical / temperate / polar) → tropicalPrompt: 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 8 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. The Gulf Stream (North Atlantic Current) affects the UK and Ireland. How? (It carries warm water north-east, giving milder winters than other places at that latitude / It makes the UK colder than the Arctic / It has no effect on climate / It brings sand from the Sahara) → It carries warm water north-east, giving milder winters than other places at that latitudePrompt: Compare winters in Ireland with those in Labrador, Canada, at a similar latitude.
2. Global climate: which statement is NOT true? (Mountains can cause heavy rain on one side and dry conditions on the other (a rain shadow). / Warm air rises and cooler air sinks. / Earth's rotation deflects winds (the Coriolis effect). / Winds blow from low pressure to high pressure.) → 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.