NASA eClips: Our World: Cool Clouds

Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

• Teaching Tips
  This is a good video to accompany with a [link https://serc.carleton.edu/resources/57907.html 'cloud-in-a-bottle'] hands-on activity or to use in a unit about weather or gas properties. Reviewers recommend pairing this video with a diverse female activity in order to iterate that the male-dominated stereotype in this video is incorrect. Or teachers can potentially use this to lead into a discussion about representation in science.
• About the Science
  The topic of this video is how clouds form, what the different types of clouds are, and what differentiates them. In this 7-minute video, students will learn how clouds are formed and watch an experiment to make a cloud using liquid nitrogen. They will find out how scientists classify clouds according to their altitude and how clouds reflect and absorb light, giving them different colors. There is mention early on that dust particles are important for cloud formation, but this could have been reiterated later on when cloud formation was described again. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  The video shows demonstrations, graphics, and adds humor to make the topic engaging for students. The video is accompanied by links to more background info and related activities. There is no video-specific teachers guide. Teachers may want to consider creating their own discussion questions.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  Video length is 7:14 min