How Can Rivers Flow Through the Air?
Scientific Reports
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Science Journal for Kids
What it is
- Science Journal for Kids provides this student-friendly adaptation of a scientific report detailing a study to learn more about atmospheric river storms.
- The report references extreme storms in California that caused damage and death in 2022 and 2023.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This text does an excellent job of breaking down a complex topic in a way that is easy for learners to understand.
- Students will likely be able to relate to heavy snow or rainfall, making them more engaged in the content of this report.
Prerequisites
- Teachers will need to enter their name, email, and school to access the Teacher's Key.
- Students should understand climate change and its impacts.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To emphasize the connection between atmospheric river storms and climate change, teachers can discuss how a warmer atmosphere can hold more water, leading to heavier rains.
- After reading about atmospheric river clusters, teachers can transition to a discussion about how stormwater runoff from farms and roadways can harm the watershed and the animals that live there. This article can help students explore this topic further.
- Teachers can show news coverage of the atmospheric river storms in California mentioned in the report to give students context for why it is important to learn more about atmospheric river storms.
From the scientist review
This resource is an adaptation of a peer-reviewed article on atmospheric rivers made accessible for middle and high school students. The article features clear text and figures, and a link to the original article is included. Several lesson plan ideas are also linked. This resource is grounded in current, high-quality scientific research and is recommended for teaching.
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