Earth Science

Sometimes the simplest things make the most memorable lessons. You can find rocks just about anywhere, and most kids have collected them at one time or another. Careful examination, comparison, and classification are a big part of rock collecting. Kids who enjoy finding and sorting rocks will learn a lot about geology and earth science while doing something they enjoy.

When my older sister was in elementary school, each student was given a starter rock collection. The rocks were stored in plastic boxes, where each little compartment housed a rock specimen nestled in some cotton batting. I most liked the samples that contained quartz, which caught the light and sparkled. Unfortunately, by the time I started elementary school, the starter rock collection program had been discontinued. Bummer!

One of my favorite guilty pleasures as a kid was to curl up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch cheesy old movies on TV – the cheesier the better. Anything by Ed Wood was good, as well as the early Godzilla movies. My all-time favorite, though, was Gorgo, a monster who emerged from the sea to wreak havoc on anything in its path. The thought of something utterly unknown and foreign under the sea was an irresistible thought as a kid, and something that continues to fascinate me today.

A few places come to mind when I think about uncharted frontiers: deep space, deep sea, and deep inside the tropical rainforest. (Deep, I know!) In a perfect world, our students would have the opportunity to explore these depths on extended field trips where they would get the opportunity make their own discoveries: authentic learning at its best. Since traveling to any of these environments with a class of 30 kids (or more) is nearly impossible, you will have to get creative to use the topics in your classroom. Fortunately, today’s technology can help you bring your students close to these uncharted frontiers without setting a foot outside the classroom.

With all of the news coverage of the recent tsunami and its aftermath in Japan, many teachers are looking for ways to explain the phenomenon to their students. Students are seeing videos and pictures of the devastation in Japan, and many of them don’t completely understand the science behind this type of weather disaster. This lack of understanding can lead to fear in students (and teachers) of all ages. Joann has been collecting resources for The Gateway to help teach students about tsunamis. The resources she is featuring in her column and social media posts this week look at tsunamis from many different angles. She has found a really nice variety of resources, and I really like the way they integrate the study of tsunamis into subjects ranging from art to science.

The recent earthquake in Japan has vividly illustrated just how powerful natural disasters can be. Most of the horrific, widespread damage was caused not by the earthquake itself, but by the resulting tsunami. After the earthquake, residents living on the northeastern coast of Japan had only minutes to seek high ground before the waves came crashing in. Many never made it.

This week we have a guest columnist, Terry Smithson the Director of Marketing for JES & Co., covering the topic of earthquakes. Peggy will be back in a few weeks.

On October 17, 1989 at 5:04 P.M., I was in the upper deck at Candlestick Park in San Francisco for game 5 of the World Series. I had a childhood friend that was visiting from North Carolina and had never seen a professional baseball game. Needless to say, he did not see this one either. The game was postponed due to a 7.1 magnitude earthquake centered on the San Andreas Fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Loma Prieta Peak which is about 50 miles south of San Francisco. This quake only lasted between 10-15 seconds. To put it in perspective, the recent quake in Japan lasted for just over 2 minutes.

Earthquakes are mysterious things. We understand why earthquakes happen, but still lack the ability to predict the magnitude of a quake or when such an event might occur. Once an earthquake begins, current technology can only provide a few seconds’ warning before severe shaking arrives at a specific location. For most people, the first sign of an impending earthquake occurs only once it’s begun.

Millions of people around the globe have been thunderstruck and horrified by the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear crisis that have unfolded in Japan in recent weeks. Stark images of the utter destruction left in the tsunami’s wake replay continuously on news reports, leaving viewers wondering how the affected communities can possibly rebuild after such a tragedy. Where does one start? The sheer scope of the destruction seems overwhelming.

This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. ~Barack Obama