Ideas and evidence in Science

3. Predicting floods

Required Resources

• Video: UK flooding 2007
• Student Worksheet 1
• Slide 10

Delivery

• Students have an opportunity in this Episode to extrapolate and evaluate some climatic research data which is available to the DCDC from the Met Office, an agency of the MOD.
• They are required to draw their own conclusions and to consider the reliability of their findings. Divide students into pairs for this exercise and distribute a copy of Student Worksheet 1 to each team.
• Video provides further material to support this Episode, detailing the impact of flooding in Britain throughout July 2007 and the required aid response. You may wish to play this prior to the distribution of Student Worksheet 1.
• Some students may need clarification about what is meant by reliability and accuracy of data. Slide 10 explains the difference and provides a simple example.
• Answers to Student Worksheet 1 are included in this download.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

Lower ability students may need support in the analysis of multiple data-sets. Invite classroom discussion of findings under specific headers and collective agreement of definitive and less definitive statements.

Higher Ability:

Invite students to present their findings and the case for the reliability (or otherwise) of their findings. You might want to encourage use of 'should' and less definitive statements such as 'will'.
Students can then append to their statement a recommendation of the resources and skills the MOD should invest in to minimise the risk of flooding.