• 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 / snow in summer for certain / no change at all / clear, calm sunny skies) → 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 1022 hPa to 1032 hPa over 24 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. What causes global wind patterns such as the trade winds? (Mountains blow the air / Ocean waves push the air / The Moon pulls the air / Uneven heating of Earth makes air rise at the equator and sink elsewhere, and Earth's spin bends the winds) → Uneven heating of Earth makes air rise at the equator and sink elsewhere, and Earth's spin bends the windsPrompt: Think about convection and the Coriolis effect.
2. Which climate zone is this place in: Greenland's ice sheet? (tropical / temperate / polar) → polarPrompt: 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. Global climate: which statement is NOT true? (The poles are cold because they are farther from the Sun. / 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).) → The poles are cold because they are farther from the Sun.Prompt: Why are the poles cold?
2. What causes global wind patterns such as the trade winds? (Mountains blow the air / Ocean waves push the air / Uneven heating of Earth makes air rise at the equator and sink elsewhere, and Earth's spin bends the winds / The Moon pulls the air) → Uneven heating of Earth makes air rise at the equator and sink elsewhere, and Earth's spin bends the windsPrompt: Think about convection and the Coriolis effect.

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