Effects of Climate Change

Activity Overview

Global warming has been linked to many unfortunate changes on Earth. Ice has been melting worldwide as global temperatures have increased. This melting ice, alongside the thermal expansion of the oceans, is leading to an increase in sea levels. Rising sea levels can lead to more coastal flooding and could damage some aquatic habitats. The change in temperatures can also affect populations of animals, like the Adélie penguins, who have had a reduction in the amount of space they can dwell in Antarctica. This change in habitat has led to a reduction in their numbers. More extreme weather, like hurricanes and storms, have been experienced by many parts of the world. Floods and droughts could also become more common as the planet’s temperature increases further.

In this activity, students will create a spider map that examines some of the effects that global warming has on our planet. This activity could be carried out at the start of the topic to gauge students ideas, or at the end of a topic as a summative assessment to see what your students have learned. As an extension, have your students rank the effects in order of severity, then get them to justify why they chose that order. Have students look at how different parts of the world are affected by climate change.