Presentation: Data Visualisation: Climate Change Trends

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · Science · Year 8

5 minutes

Data visualisation: climate change trends

Table 1 on your worksheet holds 3 real measurements of the Earth’s climate, taken every 5 years from 1990 to 2023: temperature anomaly, sea level rise and carbon dioxide.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then read Table 1 carefully.

Starter task: write 2 things you notice in the box “Two things I notice”. One of them must use a number from the table.

DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy No computers needed · the data is printed on the sheet

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: one worksheet per pupil and one sheet of squared or graph paper each. Pupils need a pencil and a ruler. The dataset is printed on the worksheet as Table 1, so no computers are needed.

Say aloud: “Good morning. Write your name, class and date at the top of your worksheet. While I take the register, read Table 1 and write 2 things you notice in the box. At least 1 of them must quote a number from the table.”

Starter answer: any 2 sensible observations, for example: the temperature anomaly rose from 0.44 °C in 1990 to 1.18 °C in 2023; carbon dioxide rose from 354.45 to 421.08 parts per million; sea level rise grows by roughly 16 mm every 5 years; the temperature dipped to 0.42 °C in 2000, lower than 1990 and 1995.

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key words · Science · Year 8

3 minutes

Your brief: one column, one properly labelled chart, 4 sentences

You will turn 1 column of Table 1 into a chart with axes, labels, units, title and source, and then write 4 sentences saying what the chart shows. A chart with no axis labels, no units and no source is worth nothing, so those are the marks.

Temperature anomaly

How much warmer the Earth is than the 1951 to 1980 average, in °C.

Scale

What 1 big square is worth on each axis. It must be even and reach your highest value.

Source

Where the data came from. Copy the source line from under Table 1 onto your chart.

Anomalous year

The 1 year that does not fit the overall pattern.

LNF: Numeracy → Representing data Line graph or bar chart: your plan and your chart must agree

Slide 3 of 7 · Step 2: the chart plan · Science · Year 8

5 minutes

Step 2: fill in your chart plan before you draw anything

Choose 1 column. Work out your scale from the lowest and highest values in that column, then sketch your axes in the frame on the worksheet.

Plan question	Model answer (temperature column)
Which column am I charting?	Temperature anomaly, in °C above the 1951 to 1980 average.
Line graph or bar chart, and why?	Line graph. The years are a time sequence, so joining the points shows the trend between them.
Lowest and highest values I must fit in	Lowest 0.42 °C (2000); highest 1.18 °C (2023).

Step 2 on your worksheet · 8 minutes in total Check your scale reaches the highest value

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Fill in all 8 rows of your chart plan. The first 3 rows for the temperature column are on the board as a model; if you pick sea level or carbon dioxide, your numbers will be different. Then sketch your axes in the frame and check the scale reaches your highest value.”

Quick check: horizontal axis is Year, 1990 to 2025; vertical axis is the column name with its unit. For temperature, 1 big square is worth 0.2 °C going up and 5 years going across, with the scale running 0.0 to 1.3 so 1.18 fits. Title: Global temperature anomaly, 1990 to 2023. Source: NASA GISS surface temperature analysis. For sea level the range is 22.5 to 131.5 mm; for carbon dioxide it is 354.45 to 421.08 parts per million.

Slide 4 of 7 · Step 3: draw the chart · Science · Year 8

22 minutes

Step 3: draw the chart on graph paper

Axes, labels, units, title, source. Plot every one of the 8 years. Use a pencil and a ruler, and label each plotted value.

Year	Temperature anomaly (°C)	Sea level rise (mm)	Carbon dioxide (ppm)
1990	0.44	22.5	354.45
1995	0.46	38.1	360.97

Checklist as you draw: horizontal axis labelled Year · vertical axis labelled with the quantity and its unit · even scale that reaches your highest value · all 8 points plotted · a title · the source line copied on.

Step 3 on your worksheet · 22 minutes Plot all 8 years, then label the chart

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “22 minutes to draw your chart on the graph paper. Draw the axes from your plan first, then plot all 8 years from Table 1. Label both axes with units, add a title and copy the source line on. The first 2 rows of Table 1 are on the board; the rest are on your worksheet.”

Quick check: the 8 temperature values in order are 0.44, 0.46, 0.42, 0.68, 0.72, 0.90, 1.02, 1.18. Sea level: 22.5, 38.1, 54.2, 70.9, 88.4, 105.1, 120.3, 131.5. Carbon dioxide: 354.45, 360.97, 369.71, 379.98, 390.10, 401.01, 414.21, 421.08. The last point is 2023, not 2025, so it sits slightly before the end of the axis.

Walk the room: look for a vertical axis that starts at 0 for a bar chart, an even scale (the same gap between every number), and a chart that can be read without the pupil explaining it. Do not show the worked example yet, or you will get 30 copies of it.

Slide 5 of 7 · Step 4: the interpretation · Science · Year 8

10 minutes

Step 4: write your interpretation, one sentence per line

Use the 4 sentence starters on your worksheet. Quote real values from the table, give the total change, and name the 1 year that does not fit the pattern.

“Between 1990 and 2023 the… increased from… to…”

“That is a total change of…”

“The year that does not fit the pattern is… because…”

“This data came from… which means I can/cannot trust it because…”

Model first sentence: “Between 1990 and 2023 the global temperature anomaly increased from 0.44 °C to 1.18 °C above the 1951 to 1980 average.”

Step 4 on your worksheet · 10 minutes Use the numbers, not “it goes up a lot”

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “10 minutes to write 4 sentences using the starters on the board. Put the real numbers in. The model first sentence is for the temperature column; if you charted a different column, use its numbers.”

Quick check: temperature total change is +0.74 °C in 33 years (about 0.22 °C per decade); sea level total change is 109 mm; carbon dioxide total change is 66.63 parts per million. The anomalous year is 2000, at 0.42 °C, lower than both 1995 (0.46 °C) and 1990 (0.44 °C), so the line dips for the first 10 years. The data came from NASA GISS, NOAA and the NASA Sea Level Change portal, national science agencies that publish their raw measurements and methods, so it can be trusted more than a figure in a social media post with no source.

Slide 6 of 7 · Step 5: self and partner check · Science · Year 8

3 minutes

Step 5: swap with a partner. Could you read their chart without them explaining it?

Tick each success criterion your partner’s chart meets, then write 1 improvement on their sheet.

I chose a chart type that suits data collected over time, and I can say why.
Both my axes are labelled with what they show and the units.
My scale is even and reaches the largest value in the column I chose.
I plotted all 8 years accurately and gave the chart a title and a source.
My interpretation quotes real values from the data and names 1 anomalous year.

3 minutes · partner check Finished early? Try the “If you finish early” tasks

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Swap your worksheet and graph paper with a partner. Can you read their chart without them explaining it? Tick the 5 success criteria they have met and write 1 improvement. A common one to correct is a vertical axis with no unit.”

Extension answers: carbon dioxide (421) and temperature (1.18) cannot share 1 vertical scale because the temperature line would be flat along the bottom; solve it with a second vertical axis or 2 separate charts. Change per decade for temperature is 0.74 ÷ 33 × 10 = about 0.22 °C; sea level 109 ÷ 33 × 10 = about 33 mm; carbon dioxide 66.63 ÷ 33 × 10 = about 20.2 parts per million. One 10-year window is weak evidence because single years move up and down with natural cycles in the Pacific Ocean, so you must look at the whole 33 years rather than picking 2 years that suit you.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary review · Science · Year 8

2 minutes

Quick-check answers before handing in

Check your main answers before your work is collected.

Question	Correct answer
What was the total change in temperature anomaly from 1990 to 2023?	+0.74 °C, from 0.44 °C to 1.18 °C.
Which year does not fit the pattern, and why?	2000, at 0.42 °C: lower than both 1990 and 1995.
Name the 5 things every chart must carry to score.	Labelled axes, units, an even scale, a title and a source.

Staple your graph paper to your worksheet Check your name and class are on the sheet