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Geology is the primary Earth science. The word means 'study of the Earth'. Geology deals with the composition of Earth materials, Earth structures, and Earth processes. It is also concerned with the organisms of the planet and how the planet has changed over time.

NSTA has Sci Guides available for this area of Earth Science. SciGuides are a collection of thematically aligned lesson plans, simulations, and web-based resources for teachers to use with their students centered on standards-aligned science concepts.

The High School Sci Guide Earth Structures and the Middle School Sci Guide Rocks
can be found at http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/sciguides.aspx.

These materials are outstanding, I wish I would have discovered them sooner!
Alyce

I am a brand new user, in fact in the orientation meeting with Greg Sherman right now. I plan to use the Earth Science SciGuides and SciPacks to increase and reinforce my content knowledge! Josh Kohn St. Paul, MN

Yes, this does seem to be quite a useful site. Lynn

Even though I'm a geoscience major, I have turned to the NSTA geology resources as a refresher. Definitely agree that they are very helpful. I would like to see as closer tie-in to life and physical sciences though. Earth science often falls to the wayside in science budgets, we could bring it back by making connections with other science disciplines. Besides, who doesn't like to learn about fossils? Thanks everyone, Kendra

Hi Kendra,
I agree...Earth/Space Science is often not given the center stage attention that so many of us 'fossil lovers' would like!

I teach at an alternative middle school and am always searching for curriculum that weaves the science disciplines. One of my students' favorite units is designing, constructing and maintaining a 'Lunar Plant Growth Module'.

Data, graphing, scale drawing, water cycle, control of temperature, choosing the right seeds, consideration of the moon's (or mar's) temperature, length of days/nights, construction and maintaining miniature solar panels, storing solar energy, investigations of the light spectrum...the skills in earth/space, life and physical science that could be integrated is almost endless.

I'm attaching the link to NASA's web site 'Lunar Plant Growth Module Design Challenge' and another link to a NASA lesson I found 'Photosynthesis on Saturn'. Let me know if you try any parts of the Saturn plan - this is one I recently discovered. I thought this lesson had great potential for a branch off on the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

Enjoy your busy days, Alyce

We are all learning!! This attachment for the Lunar Plant Growth Module is very stubborn. :) Enjoy, Alyce

Attachments

Photosynthesis_on_Saturn_-_NASA_Lesson.pdf (0.17 Mb)

Lunar Plant Growth Module - NASA Site (External Website)

Lunar Plant Growth Module Collection (1 item)

Lunar Plant Growth Module - NASA Site

- User Uploaded Resource

Hi,
So many of my colleagues cringe when asked to teach Geology courses. The courses tend to be electives and often not in their science area of expertise.

I recently encouraged some friends to log onto the NSTA site, click on 'My PD Tools', and go to 'My PD Indexer'. Once at the indexer you are able to choose a science discipline and take a series of five questions in any of the content areas for that discipline.

When you complete the series of questions you will receive your score and professional development suggestions. My colleagues looked at their scores to find areas of strengths, and were thrilled to see areas that they had perceived to be weak end up being strong! This awareness of content knowledge gave them the extra boost they needed to feel competent and move forward with planning and writing curriculum for new elective offerings.

How have you used NSTA's Professional Development Indexer? Do you find the suggestions offered meet your needs? I'd love to hear how you use NSTA's PD tools.

Enjoy your week, Alyce

Hi Friends,
I found a great site that highlights the documentary 'DIRT!'

'Floods, drought, climate change, and even war are all directly related to the fate of humble dirt. Made from the same elements as stars, plants, and human beings, dirt is very much alive. One teaspoon of dirt contains a billion organisms working in balance to sustain a series of complex, thriving communities that are invisibly a part of our daily lives. DIRT! The Movie tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility — from its miraculous beginning to its tragic degradation.'

Enjoy your day! Alyce

Wow! Thanksfor this video link. I am finishing a soil unit this week and my students are "obsessed" with dirt at the moment. What a fun way to show its importance!

Hi Misty,
I'm glad you found the 'Dirt' website useful! I'm never tired of seeing my middle school students mesmerized as they look at a spoon of soil from our school's creek area under a microscope. My students' homes are scattered throughout the county and every year I have them bring samples of soil from their homes for us to analyze. The kids have so much fun finding out how different or alike their soil is to classmates that may live next door or across town.

Would you mind sharing some of your soil unit ideas? I love using activities that other educators found sparked their students' learning!

Enjoy your week, Alyce

Hello,
NASA Astrobiology Institute recently funded and co-produced a podcast titled, 'Ediacaran Fauna Fossils', which is in the series One Specias at a Time.

In this episode a diverse group of organisms that lived in the world's oceans about 580 million years ago. Paleontologists explain how they are working to reconstruct this ancient ecosystem by studying fossils and shed light on the enduring evolutionary puzzle of how and why the first complex life forms arose.

Listen to the podcast at http://education.eol.org/podcast/ediacaran

Has anyone else located any good podcasts or videos that we could use in our classrooms about the discovery of ancient ecosystems and evolution of species?

Enjoy your week, Alyce

Science Courseware has two versions of an on-line earthquake. An easier version on their main Virtual Earthquake page can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom where it says "EXECUTE VIRTUALEARTHQUAKE". Click on the NEW Version for a more difficult, but also excellent simulation. It has good background info, too. http://sciencecourseware.com/VirtualEarthquake/

I've done this earthquake activity with my advanced 6th graders. It's a little complicated but they seem to have fun with it. I made sure they went through the instructions before starting the actual simulations using a worksheet. Otherwise, they are confused and ask a lot of questions. The teacher signs up through the instructor tab, they give you a code, and then when the kids take the quiz at the end, they enter the code and you can look up their scores on the website. http://sciencecourseware.com/eec/Earthquake/ The older version is a bit easier and can be found at http://www.sciencecourseware.com/VirtualEarthquake/

Hello, I would like sugggestions from readers of this thread for ideas to document student interactions and learning when they participate in online simulations or content sites. Do most of you develop an activity sheet that students complete while on the site? Or do your students react/write a summary in a science log? Also, do you believe that students develop a stronger sense of understanding when they interact with a site with a partner? Thank you for your feedback! Alyce

Hi,
I have 60 middle school students at an alternative middle school where I teach Life, Earth, Space and Physical Science. The majority of my are not successful learners in traditional settings. I strive to incorporate activities for all learning modalities, and especially kinesthetic and visual science models and interactions.

I found a site that offers many FREE patterns for Earth Science foldables/models. A large majority of these items are even labelled as high school level. These ideas are going to be a great resource in my earth science program.

Visit: http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/information/pages/3d_papermodels.aspx

Hope some of you find this helpful in your support of various learning styles!
Alyce

http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=earthquakes '' target="_blank"> http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=earthquakes ' target="_blank"> http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=earthquakes " target="_blank">HowStuffWorks.com is a free site for educators that contains articles, weblinks, images and video clips. Earthquakes is an Earth Science topic that begins in preschool with the captivating baking soda/vinegar demonstration and continues through deeper development and understanding of earth's layers and plate tectonics. If you haven't had a chance to view or download resources from http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx?action=browse&tex...cy&coll=2' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx?action=browse&tex...ncy&coll=2 " target="_blank"> NSTA's Collections created by their Online Advisors you will want to visit that page of the NSTA Learning Center! NSTA has 55 different collections of resources to support education students, classroom teachers, curriculum developers, mentors and department heads. [b]The collections usually include: pedagogy assessments lesson plans / ideas weblinks simulations, images, video clips, podcasts and NSTA's Journal Articles, SciPacks, Science Objects,Sci Guides [/b] The collections I have used are excellent for resource support in your planning! Alyce

The following are some great articles you can use as geology lesson ideas

Attachments

NASA "ROCKS" Problem-Based Learning (Journal Article)

Science Sampler: The Sweet Earth (Journal Article)

Tried and True: Volcano résumés (Journal Article)

Geology on a Sand Budget (Journal Article)

by Alyce Dalzell, Sat Dec 18, 2010 2:33 PM [i]Hello, I would like sugggestions from readers of this thread for ideas to document student interactions and learning when they participate in online simulations or content sites. Do most of you develop an activity sheet that students complete while on the site? Or do your students react/write a summary in a science log? Also, do you believe that students develop a stronger sense of understanding when they interact with a site with a partner? Thank you for your feedback! Alyce[/i] Hi Alyce, I use notebooks to document and record my students work. Sometimes I do use activity sheets to help guide my students on independent work, but the sheets are either glued into their journals or I use a laminated sheet at the work station and the students record the data/results into their journals. I've attached a collection of some journal articles related to using science notebooks/logs. Here are the links to several NSTA resources in the Science Store: http://nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781412954037 '' target="_blank"> http://nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781412954037 ' target="_blank"> http://nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781412954037 " target="_blank">Teaching Science with Interactive Notebooks http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781933531038 '' target="_blank"> http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781933531038 ' target="_blank"> http://www.nsta.org/store/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781933531038 " target="_blank">Using Science Notebooks in Elementary Classrooms http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781936137046 '' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781936137046 ' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/product_detail.aspx?id=10.2505/9781936137046 " target="_blank">Using Science Notebooks in Middle School Classrooms Enjoy! Maureen

Hi Alyce, For some reason the collection is not attaching to my previous post. I'll try one more time on this post, and if it doesn't attach, I'll email it to you directly. Maureen

Science Journals Collection (10 items)

Project Notebook

- Journal Article

Science Notebook Essentials

- Journal Article

Five Good Reasons to Use Science Notebooks

- Journal Article

View All 10 Items

Hi Earth Science Readers! Now that we've returned from winter break and have had a couple weeks back with our students, I wanted to report to you about the awesome changes that are taking place with my students as they return to their Science Journals.

I'm often hearing snippets around the classroom such as, 'Let me look back at how I labelled the river erosion, I don't think I wrote deposition' or 'I remember building a circle graft when we did the lab about atmosphere, do you want me to help you?'

Of course every teacher is giddy when their students refer back or draw connections in their learning...thank you Maureen for sharing your Science Notebook/Journal strategies and resource collections! If you missed her posting, take a look above and you will be given a wealth of information to begin Science Notebooks with your students or engaging strategies to rejuvenate a 'stale' activity.

I returned to school in January with several strategies and was able to renew student interests and am planning to have them available during our conferences next month.

Enjoy your week! Alyce

Hello,

If you have not had the opportunity to conduct an Advanced Search in NSTA's Learning Center using the keywords, 'NASA, Rocks' you will be thrilled to discover several, high quality and engaging resources for your planning and student learning!

NASA resources are free, and have been reviewed and correlated to National and your State's Standards. (scroll to the bottom of the resource description page,enter your state's name and NSTA will show you the matching standards. :)

I highly recommend 'External Resource:Geology Jeopardy'! The kids had so much fun I had wished a video camera was running in the classroom. Another excellent NASA resource is 'Rock Cycle Animation'. I found that my 6th and 9th graders were captivated, and both groups left their computers having learned new concepts.

Have any of you discovered some engaging activities that you have used with your students?
Please share, Alyce

Maureen Thank you so much for sharing your science notebook information! I have been using Science Notebooks for 2 years, and I love them!! It is a great way to track student learning and development throughout the year. Thanks for sharing the articles Liz

Hello Geology Thread Readers,
Misconceptions abound in all science disciplines. My middle school scientists are often very confused when it comes to the rock cycle.

NSTA is offering a free downloadable chapter Is it Possible to Turn Coal into Diamonds? from William Robertson's Answers to Science Questions From the Stop Faking It! Guy series.

I've had the enjoyment of meeting Robertson at several book signings and NSTA conferences. His publications are written with humor and explanations of misconceptions that would make any educator feel as if they are highly qualified in all science disciplines!

Enjoy educating our young, Alyce

Hi there fellow Earth/Space Science Teachers!

I was looking at the amazing site that Don Boonstra mentioned in another thread and wanted to pass the information on to this thread as so many students are really engaged by the study of other planets. It becomes a wonderful way to study our own planet, and to delve deeper into geology as students compare and contrast different objects in our solar system to our home planet.

Here is the information that Don has posted:
The NASA Planetary Science people have put together a pretty cool web site The Year of the Solar System (YSS) .

I was browsing NSTA's best pics section of their website and ran across a review for the book, http://www.nsta.org/recommends/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=20614 '' target="_blank"> http://www.nsta.org/recommends/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=20614 ' target="_blank"> http://www.nsta.org/recommends/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=20614 " target="_blank"> "Dinosaur Mountain" by Deborah Kogan Ray. I was intrigued with the reviewer's comments,[b] [i]"How does "another dinosaur book" earn a prestigious place as an NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2011? By emphasizing the processes of science and integrating history and culture in ways that will fascinate every young reader. Step back 100 years to join Earl Douglass on his Utah quest to find, excavate, and preserve dinosaur bones. "The Bone Wars" describe the race by honest and not-so-honest excavators in the 19th century. Very few paleontologists were as careful or as scientific as Earl Douglass. This book is not only great reading for elementary through high school but can be used as a basis for a discussion of the methods of science. A glossary, a bibliography, and diary notes add value to this book." [/i][/b] This book must be well written and carefully researched to be suggested for elementary through high school and receive such an excellent review. I am curious if any of you have read or used this title in your classroom readings or as a "kick-off" to your Geological Timeline unit of study? Alyce

As we get ready to plan and implement our geology unit, I thought I would ask this forum for some lab activities that those of you who teach this subject simply couldn't teach it without! We will begin with plate tectonics, then learn about earthquakes, and finish up with volcanoes. So, do any of you have lab activities for any of these subjects that middle school students that you would suggest? Thanks!! Thanks!

A great way to explore Earth science and geological processes, I think, is to do Earth-Mars or Earth-Moon comparisons. The Mars probes have taken very many amazing pictures that can be compared with Earth satellite pics. The best program I know of is the Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP) - part of Mars ed program at Arizona State U. Try it out. There are different levels of engagement, but the full up program involves heavy inquiry with students writing a proposal to get time on a Mars camera to capture an image that they then analyze. I consider MSIP as the engagement, elaboration and evaluation phases of the 5E Learning Cycle.

Thank you, Dorian. The Year of the Solar System uses themes to explore major concepts in planetary science - and Earth is a planet. Every month is a new topic and all months are archived. April's topic is 'Water, water everywhere', May's is 'Volcanism!', June's is 'Impacts!', July's is 'Asteroids: Leftovers from Planet Building', August's is 'Windy Worlds'. Because the year of the Solar System is a martian year (about 23 Earth months, we started in October 2010 and will go to August 2012. All months from October 2010 to August 2011 are currently online. Each topic has images, classroom activities, activities for clubs and organizations, featured missions, events and bios of 'Solar System Explorers'. You can also get involved via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube - share your experiences.

My former middle school had an aerospace technology emphasis, and I developed our science courses so that they fell into that theme. To replace our traditional 6th grade geology and biology units, I developed two courses- one is "Comparative Planetology and Orbital Mechanics", and basically students learn about Earth and geological processes as they compare and contrast the planets in our solar system. The other course was entitled, "Mission:Planet Earth", and in this course students studied biodiversity and life science concepts. They focused on astrobiology and also learned about the search for life on other places in our galaxy. Needless to say- our students were heavily engaged in learning!!!

New - Geology course teaching Assignment!

Hello Everyone -

I just learned this week (July 5th) that I have been assigned to teach a high school Geology course this fall semester (junior/senior elective course). I'm looking forward to the challenge, but will need to prepare to teach this course very quickly over the summer.

I've been enjoying this discussion forum. Thanks for posting some fantastic geology teaching resources!

I have taught middle school Earth Science before, so have a starting point for Geology topics ..... but I'll need to gear up the content depth and level to advanced high school. In the past, I have generally taught courses in Biology, Environmental Science and Ecology.

I would deeply appreciate it if you would continue to share your favorite Geology teaching resources, both teacher background resources (reference/curriculum books, sci packs, podcasts) and student learning resources (websites, webquests, simulations, etc.). We are a Laptop Initiative campus, so all students have access to computer technology resources. I teach in Wisconsin, so have already pulled-out my copy of the Roadside Geology of WI to review.

If any of you have ever taught a high school geology course, I'd love to get in contact with you to discuss your approach to your course. Especially, your overall course outline, syllabus and any creative hands-on interactive inquiry labs or learning activities. (Note - if you use the Private Message button under my name, you can leave me a message with your e-mail address, we can continue a more detailed discussion via e-mail).

I'm reviewing all the excellent journal articles, sci packs, sci guides and websites/webquests that have already been posted to this forum.

Thanks for your professional assistance as I prepare to teach Geology this fall!

Dorothy Ginnett

Alyce- I love using fold-a-bles in my classroom. My 6th grade students are very awkward at this age and brain research has shown the the kinesthetic value of cut-and-paste at this age is helpful in many more ways than just learning content, so I try to find quality hands-on that I can incorporate into my curriculum. Your web site had several models that I had not tried before. I will be making several of them soon and I'll report back to this forum as to their student/teacher ease-of-use and value. Thank you again. Sue Garcia http://www.consrv.ca.gov/cgs/information/pages/3d_papermodels.aspx

Hi Tina - Thanks for sharing some amazing geology teaching resources. I like the project you had the students do. I you ever find the third handout, please post itl One follow-up question. Does the Geology Image Bank allow you to download images for free for internet or powerpoint use? (e.g. are these public domain photos?) I see they are selling "photo quality" images on their site. Dorothy

Hi Tima - Thanks for the additional information. I like that they include the reference information (photographers name, etc.) with the photos. I agree, it's great for teaching proper referencing. Dorothy

I saw the link for the "Dirt" movie and it seemed to be just a preview. Is there a way to watch the full movie or is it one to rent? If so where does one rent it?

Alyce: Love the lunar plant model! Definitely an inquiry-based project that the students will love and yet be challenged. And to have them work with seeds that have been into space will excite them. thanks for sharing! Ken

Hi Shawna,
Thank you for bringing the broken link to my attention for 'The Dirt' DVD/videocast. I will continue my search tomorrow and let you know when I have the information!

Enjoy your week, Alyce

'Teacher's Domain' is a free site for educators to access video clips from various reputable sources that include: PBS, NOVA, Design Squad, and The Annenberg Foundation.

Many of Teacher's Domains' video clips can be downloaded or embedded into your visual presentations. Often, the clips include blackline note taking guides or a video quiz. The quality of the blacklines and quizzes are not always well written, but I have used lesson background information that is provided as a basis to engaging lessons I create.

Three other free resources for quality video clips are found on our NSTA site! Check out Blick's Picks , NSF Clips and Lessons, and NSTA's NBC Learn Video Clip of the Week.

Enjoy your week,
Alyce