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The students covered topic the solar eclipse in class. It just so happened that day there was an eclipse with a different planet that took place and I didn't happen to find out till after school. In class, though I tried to show the students a mini clip of a solar eclipse taking place. Also, I shared books from our school library and shared that they can go on the web or go to the public library to encourage learning to take place not only in the classroom but at home. What are some ways that you encourage your students to keep their interest alive and try to do research and learning on their own?

Amy, Don't feel alone, I've done the same thing! I love to use the newspaper to keep interest. We receive free newspapers in school from the NIE (Newspapers in Education) program, and the kids love to "find" interesting things happening in science on their own. The second/third page of the paper often list upcoming solar events also. Often the students will find these articles even before I do, then they like to jump on Google to find more details. Just another option for you.

I absolutely love when students ask me random questions about science phenomena or events that are happening! Having the Promethean board, I can do a google search and find answers and visuals for students. I'm thinking that if I had a computer center set up in class (I have 14 laptops), I could have students look it up on their own and report back what they found. Anyone have ideas on how to manage something like this?

I like to inform my students about up and coming events that I think would interest them. For example, I informed them about Red Bull's Stratos mission in the hopes that they would go online to learn more about it. Also, whenever I show them web sites during my lessons, I give them the URL so that they can explore the site further.

To keep students interest I would allow them to pick a topic within the earth science realm that they find most interesting, and then have them ask their own question and engage in inquiry based research, this way they are not only coming up with their own topic to research, but they are driving the question with their own personal interest, so they will be more likely to continue their learning at home instead of just in school. I know the things that I personally find more interesting I tend to read more about in my spare time without seeing it as "schoolwork".

I'm also a proponent of inquiry-based learning. I think students are way more likely to be motivated to do their own research, pose new questions and hypotheses, and get involved in general if they choose their own research questions. On another note: I recently worked on a project where I had to create an alien from Neptune. This was a very creative and fun way to learn more about our 8th planet. Even though my interest primarily started out with how I should make my alien look and what prospective outfits or equipment he/she could have, my interest quickly escalated because I had to know more about Neptune in order to give my alien what he needed to survive. I think this project will work well with children because it gives them a chance to lead their own investigation, with an element of creativity.