Higher:
Offer solutions as to how we can reduce air pollution
Middle:
Describe and explain the impacts of air pollution on the environment and human health
Lower:
Describe air pollution at the harmful addition of gases and particles into Earth's atmosphere
Higher:
Evaluate results of the air pollution testing
Middle:
Make predictions and record results about what they might find
Lower:
Conduct a comparative fair test which explores pollution
Lesson Recap Starter: Think back to the last lesson. What does the word pollution mean?
Lesson Starter: Tell children to look at the picture on the starter slide. It's difficult to see the buildings clearly, but this isn't because it's foggy. Ask them for their ideas on what caused the air to become hard to see through.
Presentation - Starter Slide
Explore the presentation to learn about pollution in the air.
Key Concept:
During this unit, each lesson contains a key concept question housed in the '30 Second Challenge' slide. To help children master this content so the knowledge moves from their short term memory to their long term memory, at the beginning of the follow on lesson the question from the previous lesson is revisited.
The questions covered during this unit include:
1. Write a sentence that defines the term balance of nature.
2. What is an ecosystem?
3. Write a sentence that defines the word pollution.
4. Air pollution is an issue that is harming our world. What can we do to prevent damage to our planet in the future?
5. What can you do to reduce water pollution?
6. Has Alex been wasting or conserving water?
Presentation
Expert Film: Stephen Lowe an Arboriculturist at Network Rail talks about air pollution.
Expert Film: Jane Clarke from Thames Water discusses how they deal with air pollution.
How we deliver the Gatsby Benchmarks:
2 - Learning from career and labour market information: Pop along to Developing Experts career’s zone to find out about jobs in your area.
4 - Linking curriculum learning to careers: This unit showcases careers at Thames Water. Access our 360° virtual work tours.
7 - Encounters with Further and Higher Education: Pop along to Developing Experts career’s zone to find out about training providers in your area.
Presentation - Expert Film.
Air Pollution Catchers
Watch the Lesson Assignment film to help with this activity. We need to set up an experiment to test where there is the most pollution around our school or home. To do that, we are going to make air pollution catchers. Divide the children into small groups.
- Set up three cards by writing on them 'Location 1,' 'Location 2' and 'Location 3.' - Spread petroleum jelly onto each card, so it is fairly thick.
- Place the cards in three different environments. For example, a road, the back of a car and in a garden/woodland. Make sure you have adult supervision when choosing locations.
- Leave the cards in place for 3 days...
Take the cards off. Look at what has stuck to the cards and petroleum jelly. Take photos/draw what has got stuck to the jelly. Which area/environment has the most pollution?
What can children deduce from this? Where is it most healthy to live? And what if more of the countryside was used for building?
Index cards
Petroleum jelly
Sticky and masking tape
Cotton wool
Scissors
Hole punch
Handout
Quiz
With their talk partners, the children are to go through the quiz at the end of the presentation and answer the questions.
Handout
Quiz in presentation
Can children give examples of positive and negative impact of humans locally?
Can children design and record a comparative fair test which explores pollution?
Quizzes in pupil zone.
Unit knowledge organiser and test available in unit / lesson documents area.
Air pollution is dangerous because…
Air pollution can cause damage to the environment, such as...
The Science Behind the Science
Air pollution is the term given to any particulate substance being added to the air. Air pollutants can take the form of gasses or solids.
Burning fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, and sulphur oxides, which are gaseous. They also contain particles which are solids, which occur due to the incomplete combustion of the fuel. These particulates are very damaging to human health, especially to people that already have respiratory illnesses. This is because they are very small and can enter the lungs.
Acid rain occurs due to air pollution from sulphur dioxide. The sulphur dioxide reacts with water vapour in the air and forms sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid then comes down when it rains, causing damage to habitats, especially coniferous forests.
CFCs, or chlorofluorocarbons, were an air pollutant uses in refrigerants and aerosol canisters. They have been banned across the world because they caused a hole to form in the ozone layer. This happened because CFCs break down when they enter the atmosphere. One element that made them was chlorine, and chlorine reacts with ozone and destroys it.
Recognise that environments can change and that these changes can sometimes pose dangers to living things and explore examples of human impact (both positive and negative) on environments.
Materials - Chemical changes - I can monitor the environment by collecting and analysing samples. I can interpret the results to inform others about levels of pollution and express a considered opinion on how science can help to protect our environment. SCN 4-18a
The study of the characteristics, systems and behaviours of humans and other animals, and of plants; the interactions and relationships between and among them, and with their environment.
Carrying out simple comparative and fair tests
Setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests
Grade 5 Air
Grade 3 - Life Science - Ecosystems - Changes in Ecosystems - Living things and their environments - How can people protect their environments? Grade 4 - Life Science - Ecosystems - Exploring Ecosystems - Changes in Ecosystems - The role of human beings in changing ecosystems (deforestation, overcrowding, pollution, protection)
Understanding human life and production may cause damage to the environment