Science 3 - Earth Systems Videos

Duration: 23:02

Synopsis: With a great illustration of the tectonic plates as floating styrofoam in a pool, Bill Nye (as he does in many of his videos) will make sure that your students are familiar with the term "tectonic plates" by the end of this video.

Duration: 2:57

Synopsis: As National Geographic always does, the information is not presented too quickly, but seems to cover just the right amount of information to leave students able to answer any further questions regarding earthquakes by further research on their own part.

Duration: 5:01

Synopsis: No, you're not seeing doubles, National Geographic has two separate videos that help students understand earthquakes. They just have different footage and different examples (they just happen to have the same title and screen shot for the video). This one places earthquakes into many more geographic contexts around the world, while the one above is much more broad in talking about what causes earthquakes.

Duration: 4:58

Synopsis: While there are many pieces that can be found in some of the other videos, this video spends more time on the idea of what can happen between two plates than any of the other videos on this list. 

Duration: 6:30

Synopsis: The one key feature of this video is simply the sheer number (or should I say shear number) or examples in the form of videos that are included. This collection of examples truly gives students repeated examples of video footage looking at what takes place during an earthquake, which can really help them to see it as something that takes place, even if they are very small in scale in Alberta.

Duration: 3:46

Synopsis: While using the jigsaw puzzle analogy like other videos, ths video really elaborates on the idea of plates wanting to move, but for some reason cannot move, results in the increase of pressure; accumulated pressure ultimately builds up the energy that is expended in an earthquake. This analogy might be another one helpful for students.

Duration: 3:42

Synopsis: One analogy within this video that is really worth noting is that of the earth being a jigsaw puzzle, and that all of the plates fit together just right. The video then goes on to explain that these jigsaw puzzle pieces are moving very slowly, and the result of this movement becomes earthquakes. 

Duration: 3:47

Synopsis: Just as some of the other flood videos discuss that floods can happen almost anywhere, this video actually has a list of six of the most ocmmon means by which flooding is created. Discussion of these six different causes of flooding could certainly be used to consolidate that your students understand flooding.

Duration: 3:26

Synopsis: In this video, National Geographic really brings forth their own hypothesis: as more people move to the coasts and waterfront properties, more and more people will face the issue of flooding. It brings forth the idea that farming essentially depends on years with high amounts of precipitation, and that this has not been prepared for by people who choose to live in the floodplain areas.

Duration: 3:41

Synopsis: One key piece that this video looks at is the idea that floods, with enough rainfall, can essentially happen anywhere. This idea that floods can happen almost anywhere can allow for students to look at the history of floods in the area that they live. 

Duration: 3:31

Synopsis: Though the title of the video suggests it just looks at the naming component of hurricanes, it also delves into the use of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale of 1 to 5. The video concludes with an explanation of the naming system that was created for hurricanes. 

Duration: 3:17

Synopsis: Though a little short to look at any of the results of historical hurricanes, this video introduces the idea of a hurricane, and what causes for formation of a hurricane. 

Duration: 8:23

Synopsis: Even with this longer length, this is certainly a video that has information throughout; it might be the type that you need to pause to give explanation intermitently. One discussion in here (that you can find a worksheet in the Student Workbook) involves the naming of hurricanes and the category classification of hurricanes. One drawback to this video is that all of this video is in Imperical units.

Duration: 4:09

Synopsis: This video does go over the basic idea of what has a storm classified as a hurricane, and why areas closer to the equator have a much greater risk of being hit by a hurricane. The one notable credit that needs to be given to this video is it is the only one out of all the hurricane videos that uses metric measurements.

Duration: 3:57

Synopsis: This video does a great job of highlighting the idea of where hurricanes form (just north or south of the equator) and their movement away from the equator. 

Duration: 5:21

Synopsis: One of the reasons that this video might be used to introduce this topic is that near the opening of the video, your students are prompted with a question that could drive an enitre lesson: What makes hurricanes so dangerous? (1:30) By having your students answer that, you can play the last three-quarters of the video to really see how their answers align with the answers in this video.

Duration: 5:05

Synopsis: This is a video that can really bring together the relationship between earthquakes and tsunamis. This might be a great video to show after you have taught about each of them for students to then make associations between the two.

Duration: 4:26

Synopsis: Though it will likely be helpful to clarify with students that the majority of the video coverage was computer generated (and not acutal), this video does give some explanation as to why the actions taken throughout make sense as the means by which people can save themselves in a tsunami.

Duration: 3:36

Synopsis: This animated video starts out with a historic story of how a tsunami once assisted in the winning of a large-scale battle. The video then continues to explain both what causes tsunamis, how they differ from typical waves, and some of the worst disasters that have come as a result of tsunamis.

Duration: 3:00

Synopsis: This short video give some good explanation to the association of earthquakes and tsunamis. The relationship between the two is explained, and then students learn how a tsunami can pass right under boats that are at deep parts of the ocean unnoticed. 

Duration: 3:52

Synopsis: One key piece that is focused on in this video (that many of the others on this list miss) is the idea that tsunamis are rare. In this video, the hostess Jessi explains all of the various factors that need to be aligned in order for a tsunami to take place. 

Duration: 2:42

Synopsis: A great introductory video for this topic, this short video shows multiple videos of tsunamis taking place, and discusses some of the advancements in tsunami monitoring that has taken place after the catastrophic tsunami in 2004.

Duration: 4:58

Synopsis: The great piece of this video is that your host, Dr.Binoc, uses many metaphors and analogies to volcanoes. While explaining many of the various types of vocanoes (as seen in some of the other videos) he touches on the etymology of volcanoes being rooted to the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

Duration: 23:01

Synopsis: One of the notable components of this video that is not seen in any of the other volcano videos is the view of Bill Nye actually prying at lava prior to it solidifying; this is quite a demonstration to your students as to what lava can be like. 

Duration: 4:58

Synopsis: As National Geographic always does, the information is not presented too quickly, but seems to cover just the right amount of information to leave students able to answer any further questions by further research.

Duration: 6:12

Synopsis: One part of this video that isn't seen as much in any of the other videos is its focus on the number of volcanoes around the earth. This video also does a good job of differenciating two pieces of vocabulary: magma and lava.

Duration: 4:11

Synopsis: This video not only begins by explaining what a paleontologist is, but it discusses the importance of fossils to a paleontologist, and discusses the procedure that paleontologists use to find fossils.

Duration: 3:52

Synopsis: This video demonstrates the multiple stages from the discovery of a fossil to the display of the fossil at a location (like the Tyrell Museum, where this video takes place). Species of dinosaurs that are included in the 2023 Science Curriculum are also mentioned in this video; species such as the Albertosaurus.

Duration: 23:04

Synopsis: In this Bill Nye walks through many of the different types of fossils and how each type of fossil comes into creation. One key piece that is here that is not in any other video involving the dinosaurs is that of conceptualizing how long ago it was when the dinosaurs were alive. 

Duration: 4:07

Synopsis: This video does manage to show different types of fossils that can be created, and the means behind how each of these types of fossils are created. 

Duration: 3:49

Synopsis: This video uses animation to really show what takes place in the formation of a fossil. It shows the entire process of a living dinosaur becoming fossilized, and it demonstrates why the creation and discovery of a fossil is very rare.

Duration: 4:13

Synopsis: This video is an abbreviated biography on the scientist who is often accredited with many of the first discoveries in dinosaurs, Mary Anning. The video discusses that Anning received no formal schooling throughout her life, and yet she was accredited with discovering the first complete skeletons of various underwater spieces of dinosaurs such as the ichthyosaurus and the plesiosaurus.