The emergence of digital tools, including tablets with a multitude of built-in sensors, allows gathering many geological observations digitally and in a geo-referenced context. This is particularly important in the polar environments where (1) limited time is available at each outcrop due to harsh weather conditions, and (2) outcrops are rarely…

Most students know that planetary orbits, including Earth's, are elliptical; that is Kepler's first law, and it is found in many science textbooks. But quite a few are mistaken about the details, thinking that the orbit is very eccentric, or that this effect is somehow responsible for the seasons. In fact, the Earth's orbital eccentricity is…

Picture a wet towel or a puddle of water on a hot, sunny day. An hour later, the towel is dry and the puddle no longer exists. What happened to the water? Where did it go? These are questions that reveal myriad interesting student ideas about evaporation and the water cycle--ideas that provide teachers with a treasure trove of data they can use to…

One tried-and-true way to hook students' attention and promote long-lasting understanding is to sequence science instruction in an explore-before-explain instructional sequence. In these lessons for the second through sixth grade band, elementary students investigate the interaction between "cold" and "hot" substances and…

We all experience firsthand many of the phenomena caused by Earth's Place in the Universe (Next Generation Science Standard 5-ESS1; NGSS Lead States 2013) and the relative motion of the Earth, Sun, and Moon. Young children can investigate phenomena such as changes in times of sunrise and sunset (number of daylight hours), Moon phases, seasonal…

A convenient place to begin discussing overall wind patterns on Earth is to explain coastal winds. If you live near the coast (that would be near an ocean) or even near a large lake, you probably know the general pattern of winds there. During the day, breezes tend to blow from the water in toward the land, and at night, this tends to reverse,…

This column focuses on promoting learning through assessment. The formative assessment probe in this month's issue can be used as an initial elicitation before students are introduced to the formal concepts of weathering and erosion.

By means of a simple mathematical model recently developed by the authors (2010 "Phys. Educ." 45 641), the passage of the seasons on the Earth is simulated for arbitrary latitudes, taking into account sunlight attenuation in the atmosphere. The method developed can be used to predict a realistic value of the solar energy input (insolation) that…

Problem-based learning (PBL) and inquiry learning (IL) employ extensive scaffolding that results in cognitive load reduction and allows students to learn in complex domains. Hybrid teacher professional development models (PDM) using 21st century social collaboration tools embedding PBL and IL shows promise as a systemic approach for increasing…

This paper is an examination of a teacher professional development program in northeast Louisiana, that provided 30 teachers and their students with the technology, skills, and content knowledge to collect data and explore weather trends. Data were collected from both continuous monitoring weather stations and simple school-based weather stations…

The "Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide 2.0" continues Project WET's dedication to 21st-century, cutting-edge water education. Now in full color, Guide 2.0 offers new activities on topics such as National Parks and storm water, fully revised and updated activities from the original Guide and the very best activities gathered from all of…

Introduces activities published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that can be used to explain the physical properties of a thunderstorm. Activities include cloud formation and the first step of thunderstorm development, cycle of a thunderstorm, the nature of lightning, ice in a thunderstorm, and tornado warning. Lists…

Summarizes the recommendations of the Lightning Safety Group (LSG), which was first convened during the 1998 American Meteorological Society Conference. Findings outline appropriate actions under various circumstances when lightning threatens. (WRM)

This book provides resources to teachers and librarians for creating thematic units on specific topics targeting grades K-8. Each topic includes key concepts, comprehensive teaching resources, teaching resources (nonfiction children's literature), reading selections (fiction children's literature), science activities, creative writing and art…

This CD-ROM provides an interactive multimedia approach to teaching about weather. Activities include making your own weather instruments, looking at the effects of wind, investigating sun and shade, looking at weather in the United Kingdom, looking at Europe, shopping the world's supermarket, shifting the seasons, the effects of the Earth's axis,…