Cloud Lab

Notes from our reviewers

The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials.

• Teaching Tips
  Clouds are important to climate and climate change, and this resource has a unique focus on them which isn't found in many other climate educational resources. The ability to use pieces of this interactive in multiple ways can allow teachers to find room in the curriculum to include cloud dynamics. From homework enrichment to science fair projects to a week-long lesson module, the individual Cloud Lab components gives you a range of options for addressing the topics of weather, climate, Earth systems, and scientific modeling with your middle school or high school students.
• About the Science
  This is an interactive challenge for students to study different aspects of cloud dynamics and impact of clouds on weather and climate. It is particularly good at providing stand-alone pieces that can be used in many ways. Access to additional data is provided so that users can see more recent storms. Cloud dynamics are one of the last frontiers of climate science in terms of our basic understanding. This makes an exploration of this topic particularly valuable for showing students how science is conducted and how our knowledge moves forward. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
• About the Pedagogy
  Learning outcomes, teachers guide and tips are all listed. The lab website is organized effectively and sequences materials smoothly. The resource includes multiple choice questions that adds structure and an evaluation component.
• Technical Details/Ease of Use
  In this activity, students classify clouds, analyze data, and look at satellite imagery. Students learn about scientific processes for understanding weather patterns and storms. This is a nice, organized lab that is easy to use and follow for students/teachers. Data is readable and varied to give a wide range of what atmospheric scientists are working on. Users must create an account to access the resource, but creating an account is free and users can also access the resource with a Google account or a guest account.