HSC Geography › Human–Environment Interactions › 13.1

# Teacher Lesson Plan — Characteristics of Climate Change

NSW Stage 6 Geography (2022) · Climate change · ~70 min (data-reading focus)
Teacher copy — includes model answers

## At a glance

### Companion resources

- Student study page
- Revision slides
- Activity handout (student, no answers)

### Big idea

The climate data show clear temporal (over time) and spatial (across place) characteristics of warming — global, accelerating, and confirmed by multiple independent datasets.

## Syllabus mapping (NESA Geography 11–12, 2022)

Focus area: Human–Environment Interactions · Content: climate change — the spatial and temporal characteristics of climate change.

### Outcomes addressed

GE-11-01 characteristics & spatial patterns GE-11-02 processes across scales GE-11-05 analyses & synthesises sources GE-11-08 mathematical techniques (graphs/data) GE-11-09 communicates

Outcome codes: the old pipeline lesson used GE-12-x codes here, but this is Year 11 (Preliminary) content — re-mapped to GE-11-x. Verify against your scope & sequence.

### Key geographical concepts

change environment scale place interconnection

## Lesson sequence & timings

Time | Phase | Teacher / student activity
--- | --- | ---
0–8 | Hook | Deck title slide. Quick poll: “Is climate change scientifically debated?” Unpack consensus vs political debate. Activity 1 (climate vs weather).
8–24 | Temporal data | Slides 5–6 + Activity 2 (read the anomaly graph). Model reading a value; stress that 5 datasets agree (reliability).
24–36 | Ocean warming | Slide 8 + Activity 3 (SST & storms causal chain). Distinguish intensity vs frequency.
36–48 | Spatial pattern | Slide 10 + Activity 4 (sort spatial vs temporal). Note Arctic amplification link to 12.1.
48–62 | Australia | Slide 12 + Activity 5 (BoM data file — homework). Link fire weather to Chapter 14.
62–70 | Consolidate | Activity 6 short response. Exit ticket: name one spatial and one temporal characteristic.

## Activities — model answers

### Activity 1 · Climate or weather?

Model
Weather: “raining right now”; “cold front tomorrow.” Climate: “Sydney summers are warm/humid”; “warmest decade on record.” Climate = long-term averages; weather = short-term conditions.

### Activity 2 · Anomaly graph

Model
(1) ~1.1 °C above baseline. (2) Steepest from ~1980 onward. (3) Independent datasets agreeing rules out a single method's error — strong reliability. (4) Temporal — it shows change over time.

### Activity 3 · Ocean warming & storms

Model
Chain: extra heat → oceans warm (SST rises) → more energy available → more intense storms. Intensity (not frequency) rises because warm surface water fuels the energy of storms that form — they can reach higher strength and rainfall.

### Activity 4 · Spatial vs temporal

Model
Temporal: warming since 1880; fastest in last 40 years; warmest years this century. Spatial: Arctic warms fastest; nearly all regions warmer; whole of Australia warmed.

### Activity 5 · Australian data file

Model (BoM)
~0.15–0.2 °C warming per decade since 1970; 2019 was the warmest year at the time of the source (accept a newer record if found); dangerous fire-weather days have increased across much of the continent.

### Activity 6 · Short response

Model
A strong answer names a temporal characteristic (e.g. ~1.1 °C warming since 1880, accelerating) and a spatial one (near-global, Arctic fastest; all of Australia), each with evidence, and cites a source.

## Key questioning (with answers)

- Q: Why isn't “scientists disagree” accurate?
  A: There is overwhelming scientific consensus on warming and its human cause; the disagreement is political/public, not within the peer-reviewed science.
- Q: What is a temperature “anomaly”?
  A: The difference from a long-term average — not the absolute temperature. It makes trends comparable across places and times.
- Q: Why report both spatial and temporal characteristics?
  A: They answer different questions — when/how fast (temporal) and where (spatial). The syllabus asks for both.

## Differentiation & assessment

### Support

- Annotate the graph together before Activity 2.
- Provide the SST causal-chain words to arrange.

### EAL/D

- Pre-teach: anomaly, consensus, sea-surface temperature, dataset.
- Sentence starters for the short response.

### Extension

- Compare two datasets' anomaly values for one year — why do they differ slightly?
- Research the “confidence interval” shading on climate graphs.

### Assessment / homework

- Complete the Activity 5 BoM data file.
- Write the Activity 6 short response in full.

## Useful resources & recent articles

- NASA — Global temperature
- NOAA — Climate at a Glance (make your own graphs)
- BoM/CSIRO — State of the Climate
- #ShowYourStripes (warming-stripes visualisation by region)

Live-data reminder: the “warmest year” and per-decade figures update — refresh from BoM/NASA before teaching, and have students cite the year.
Rose Bay Secondary College · HSC Geography · Human–Environment Interactions — Teacher plan (13.1) · NESA Stage 6 (2022) · HSC 2026
Aligned to the NESA Geography Stage 6 Syllabus (2022); facts verified to public sources; figures redrawn (no textbook images reproduced).