Weather Unit Study-Helpful Video Resources

I wanted to share a couple of resources that worked really well for us these past few weeks during our science unit about weather.

The Magic School Bus books and videos have always been a big hit around here. A few weeks ago, we used The Magic School Bus Wet All Over to introduce the water cycle. The Magic School Bus Kicks Up a Storm was a good introduction to different weather vocabulary.

This week we watched a video to review wild weather. Stormchasers narrated by Hal Holbrook was a very informative 38 minute video (we watched it on Amazon Instant Video).

Why I liked it:
*The factual information was great, and many things that we had learned were reinforced with pictures and diagrams. I also liked the emphasis on actual work of scientists.

What I didn't like:
*The vast majority of the movie was appropriate even for my 5 year-old. I did fast forward through a 3-minute segment in the middle when a couple tornado survivors described their experiences. (It was a little intense.)

I always try to preview these types of things beforehand for language or violence. After some hit-or-miss experiences while teaching at home and in school, it just makes me most comfortable this way.