Instructional Video

Great Minds: Alfred Wegener

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet

The first person to theorize continental drift was a meteorologist with a PhD in astronomy. Alfred Wegener was generally mocked at for his continental drift theory, but later science would prove him right. The video discusses his polar research as well as how he pioneered the use of weather balloons. 

28 Views 18 Downloads
Additional Tags
Instructional Ideas
  • Discover the difference in Urkontinent and Pangea
  • Historically, many scientists are right about some things and wrong about some things; discuss topics scientists have proposed that are not currently settled and if students think they will turn out to be right or wrong
Classroom Considerations
  • Remember YouTube comments are not usually appropriate for the classroom due to foul language and terrible grammar
  • Video is the 24th in a 25-part series
  • This video is hosted on YouTube
Pros
  • Includes many cross-curricular connections to weather, astronomy, research, and history
  • Provides closed captioning for the hearing impaired
Cons
  • None