Is This the Real Reason Weather is Getting Wilder?

• This interesting video discusses what the jet stream is, how climate change affects the jet stream, future projections related to the jet stream, and its impacts on extreme weather and the climate.
• Students will learn about specific historical examples of extreme weather patterns related to the jet stream, long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns, and how the jet stream patterns may be changing.

Positives

• This video has an articulate, engaging narrator and also includes interviews with climatologists and other experts on the topic.
• This resource uses a combination of nonfiction features to increase comprehension, such as maps, diagrams, graphs, and video footage to illustrate their points.

Additional Prerequisites

• This video contains ads at the beginning and throughout the video.
• Activate students' background knowledge by asking what they know about shifting temperatures and weather patterns or extreme weather events.

Differentiation

• It may be helpful to pause the video when graphs, maps, or diagrams are displayed in order to give students time to process the information presented.
• The video is divided into five sections, as can be seen in the time bar, so consider providing students with a note-taking guide that organizes their notes according to these sections in order to organize thinking and increase comprehension.
• For a deeper dive into this topic, consider also watching this other video about how climate change is disrupting the jet stream and triggering a feedback loop.
• Pair students up to research other factors that affect weather events and the jet stream, such global wind patterns, the albedo effect, and the warming arctic.
• In order to inspire action-based conversations, provide students with time to research ways to prepare for mass climate migration, mitigation and adaptation approaches, or other ways to prepare for the changes that climate change is bringing about.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.