How Ocean Currents Work (And How We Are Breaking Them)

Positives

• This video gives students an opportunity to understand the ways in which ocean currents play a significant role in keeping the planet healthy.  
• This is an engaging video loaded with humor, relatable examples, and visual science experiments.

Additional Prerequisites

• This video has ads before and during the video on the YouTube platform, but the video is also available without ads on the PBS site.
  

Differentiation

• Cross-curricular connections with social studies classes could be made by discussing how ocean currents may have impacted political and economic conditions and events in Europe.  
  
• Teachers could stop the video after the term AMOC is introduced to ensure that students understand the meaning of this acronym before diving into its significance.
• Because there is a lot to unpack in this video, note-taking guides could benefit students.  Guiding ideas might include: "If climate change eventually leads to a slowdown in the ocean's circulation, what are some consequences we could see?" and "Watch to find out how the temperature and saltiness of ocean water impacts ocean circulation patterns." 
• Many informational text features are presented in the video (including line graphs and maps) that could be used in math and science classes.
• Other resources related to this topic include How Do Oceans Circulate?, Climate Change and the Oceans, and Aquarius: Ocean Circulation.