This short video briefly shows students what fossil fuels are, how they were formed, and how human-caused greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This is a short video that can be used for different grade levels, as it uses simple terms and phrases.
Students read the animated text and connect it to the images on the screen.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with nonrenewable and renewable energy sources.
You may need to pause the video for learners that can't see the screen easily or need more time to read the text.
There is an error in the text of the video at 0:45. The text states "However, burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes climate change." The text is missing the word "to."
Differentiation
Students can be asked to summarize the video in one paragraph or in a drawing.
The teacher can ask students to write down key words from the video and then define them from a dictionary.
Geography students can research the main sources of energy in their local area and country.
Science students can use this as a hook for lessons about the Carboniferous Period and about the importance of decomposers in ecosystems.
This brief video resource explains what fossil fuels are, how they are formed, and what we use them for. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-5 Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)
Speaking & Listening (K-12)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
