It’s January, so cold weather and even snow is possible in many areas. Now that most of the winter break is over, it can be difficult to get your students’ attention.
Creating video-based lessons that explore different concepts related to cold weather is a fun way to increase student engagement.
These TED lessons cover snowflakes, the coldest places on Earth, myths about the cold, and more.
The TED-Ed platform is especially great because it allows educators to build lessons around TED-Ed Originals, TED Talks, or YouTube videos. Once you find the video you want to use, you can add questions, discussion prompts, and additional resources using the TED-Ed Lesson Editor.
Use these TED-Ed lessons to give your mind a break, introduce a new lesson, or bring some fun and engaging conversation to your class.
1. The Science of Snowflakes: Some say snowflakes are simply frozen water, but if you compare snowflakes to ice, you’ll notice a big difference. Why are all snowflakes hexahedral? Why aren’t they all exactly the same? And how do we ski on them? Marcia Bradacci sheds light on the secret life of snowflakes.
2. A day in the coldest village on earth: In Yakutia, the coldest inhabited region on earth, daily life is a constant struggle against sub-zero temperatures that can drop to an alarming -71°C. How do people live in this harsh environment? Kiun B follows a hardy local family for a day in a remote and frigid Yakut village.
3. Does the cold make you sick? Have you ever heard someone say, “If you don’t bind yourself, you’ll get sick”? These words of forewarning can help you catch a cold or get sick when the temperature drops. It resonates around the world as the first step to preventing influenza. But can you really get sick if it’s cold? In this lesson, you’ll learn more about how and why that happens.
4. How to stay warm in an igloo: If you’re stuck in the snowy North Pole (or bored with Minecraft), you need to know how to build an igloo. But how can you keep warm if you build a house made of ice? Explain that it’s okay to be smart.
5. How does hibernation work? Arctic ground squirrels hibernate by burrowing beneath the permafrost and entering a state of suspended animation. Female Asian black bears can give birth during hibernation. Fat-tailed lemurs prepare for hibernation by storing fat in their tails and doubling their body weight. Why do these animals behave in such extreme ways? Sheena Lee Faherty details why animals hibernate.
6. What is the coldest thing in the world?The coldest substance in the world is not in Antarctica or on the top of Mount Everest. They are in the physics lab. Clouds of gas are kept at a temperature just a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. Lina Maryse Hoyos explores how such low temperatures give scientists a window into the inner workings of matter and enable engineers to build extremely sensitive instruments that can tell us more about the universe. I will explain how to do it.
Related:
10 TED-Ed Lessons to Get Your Students Thinking
5 STEM-Based TED-Ed Lessons to End the School Year
Laura Ascione is Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
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