What drives the ocean's motion? Get your class moving toward understanding by using this video. Viewers find that thermohaline circulation is caused by the concentration gradients of temperature and salinity. Using adorable animation in which water and salt molecules have arms and faces, middle schoolers are sure to stay engaged.

Concepts

ocean currents, oceans, concentration gradient

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Additional Tags

concentration gradient, ocean current, thermohaline circulation, science

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Pros

• Can be used in preparation for meeting Next Generation Science Standard MS-ESS2-6
• Multiple choice Think questions can be used as an assessment, or can be customized to your liking
• A huge selection of related websites can be accessed through the Dig Deeper feature

Cons

• Some may not know what a Roomba is, and the definition flashes on the screen rather briefly; make sure to pause the video to explain that it is a self-propelled vacuum cleaner

Common Core

RI.6.7 RI.8.7 RI.9-10.7 RST.6-8.9 RST.9-10.9 RST.11-12.9