Planning for rising sea levels
Summary information
Age range: | 11 - 14 year olds |
Curriculum links: | Geography, Citizenship |
Time needed: | 50 minutes |
Group size: | Pairs / small groups / plenary |
Setting: | Indoors |
Key vocabulary: | Coast, storm surge |
Sustainability learning outcome(s): | Pupils will:
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Preparation:
Pupils should have an understanding of the outcome of global warming and climate change
Resources needed:
Internet access
Procedure:
1. Display the following factual statements:
- 50% of the world's population currently live within sixty kilometres of the coast – more than 3 billion people.
- Global warming is causing sea levels to rise by approximately 5mm per year.
- Storm surges can cause sea levels to rise by as much as 2 metres for the duration of the storm.
2. Ask small groups of pupils to imagine that they have been asked to create a short briefing document explaining how the UK will be affected by rising sea levels.
Discuss with them the sorts of things they should include in their report (e.g. areas most at risk of flooding, major towns and cities at risk, numbers of people likely to be made homeless, affects to major road and rail links, loss of power stations, schools, hospitals, farmland)
Suggest that pupils might include a case study which illustrates the problems by focusing on one particular town or city. Ask the pupils to use the following websites for research:
flood.firetree.net
www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=8271&Pos=2&ColRank=1&Rank=224
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5279796.stm
www.bbc.co.uk/suffolk/dont_miss/floods/flash_map.shtml
3. Invite the pupils to discuss in a plenary session: What are the problems? What help will the government and local councils need to provide in an emergency? What are the long term solutions to these problems?
Extensions:
1. Invite pupils to look at the stories of WWF’s climate change witnesses to find out more about the ways people are being affected by rising sea levels in other parts of the world.
www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/problems/impacts/sea_levels/index.cfm
2. Pupils work with a partner to complete the following statements:
What to do if you’re told that your house is likely to be flooded one hour from now….
What to do if you’re told that your house is likely to be flooded thirty years from now….
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