Teacher guide · Curious Lab · Harder · about 40 min
🌍 Climate Choices Council
Pupils practise curiosity through "Climate Choices Council": Tell weather from climate and weigh local actions.
Lesson guide
1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🌍 mission title and read the opening: "Climate describes…". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Sniff the Beagle's line as your prompt: "Great question! Ready to dig one layer deeper? Pick your next mission below."
3. Do · 15 min
Pairs work through the 5 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used curiosity today.
Discussion questions
- What was the hardest choice in "Climate Choices Council", and why?
- Climate describes… — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Why can burning fossil fuels warm the climate — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Which can reduce transport emissions — explain your reasoning to a partner.
- Where could you use curiosity outside school this week?
- If you did this again, what would you change?
Adapting it
Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.
Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.
Curriculum links
- National Curriculum: Geography: locational knowledge, place and map skills
- National Curriculum: Science: working scientifically — asking questions and observing
- National Curriculum: Geography/History: enquiry and using sources
- PSHE: Living in the wider world: media literacy and checking information
Pupil sheet
🌍 Climate Choices Council
Name: ____________________ Date: __________
1. Climate describes…
☐ Long-term weather patterns
☐ Only thunderstorms
☐ Only today’s temperature
2. Why can burning fossil fuels warm the climate?
☐ It adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
☐ It makes Earth stop spinning
☐ It removes all sunlight
3. Which can reduce transport emissions?
☐ Driving every short trip alone
☐ Leaving engines running
☐ Walking or cycling suitable journeys
4. Connect the clues to their meanings.
Rain this afternoon → ________________
Average rainfall over decades → ________________
Carbon dioxide → ________________
5. Propose two climate-friendly changes for an imaginary town. Explain one benefit and one practical challenge for each.