Take A Hike Assignment part of Activities
Students are assigned to take a hike in a location of their choice and write a concise summary of their observations of Earth Science features and processes. This assignment is used near the end of an Earth Systems ...

To Teach is to Learn: Final Project in Envronmental or Intro Geology part of Activities
This assignment asks students to create their own geological educational activity or demonstration (and corresponding write-up) which all students then present/enact during a conference-style presentation session ...

Discussing Earth part of Activities
Students are invited to hour-long discussions of controversial geologic topics on Sunday afternoons. Those who attend (about half the class) submit page-long essays through Vista for comments and assessment. A ...

Evolution of Whales part of Activities
The students read two articles on the evolution of whales and search the web. The students' writing assignment requires them to outline the evolution of whales using major fossil finds. Students start with ...

Sediment and Depositional Environments lab part of Activities
Students will investigate sedimentary materials and depositional environments utilizing microscopes, hand samples, and internet data.

Darwin and the Galapagos Islands part of Activities
In this assignment the students read the Chapter 17 "Galapagos Archipelago" from The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin, and they examine a website about the Galapagos Islands. The students answer two ...

The Biosphere: Sample Socratic Questions part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Socratic Questioning:Examples
Sample Socratic questions and answers regarding the biosphere. -

Coral Bleaching: Making Our Oceans Whiter part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Role Playing:Examples
This lesson plan deals with coral reefs and the recent crisis of coral bleaching. It suggests that students engage in a role-playing debate about modifying human activity to protect reefs. -

Question of the Day: Efficiency of Food Production part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Interactive Lectures:Question of the Day
The figure below shows a simple food chain for land production. How much solar energy does a vegetarian utilize when eating 1,000 calories of plant material? Use the information from the figure to calculate this. ...

Question of the Day: Regeneration of Fish part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Interactive Lectures:Question of the Day
The two figures shown above are from the The Fishing Game (more info) game. They show the number of new fish per year that are added to the fish "stock," depending on the maximum number of fish that the ...

Explorations of Spatial Distributions of Environmental and Health-Related Data part of Cutting Edge:Geology and Human Health:Workshop 04:Activities
This activity introduces the student to basic concepts of spatial distribution of environmental and health data with an easy to use on-line mapping program. -

Gallery Walk Questions on Earth's Radiation Balance part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Gallery Walks:Examples
created by Mark Francek, Central Michigan University The following are potential questions that could be used in a gallery walk activity about the Earth's Radiation Balance. The questions are organized ...

Gallery Walk Questions about the Biosphere part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Gallery Walks:Examples
created by Mark Francek, Central Michigan University The following are potential questions that could be used in a gallery walk activity about the biosphere. The questions are organized according to the cognitive ...

Gallery Walk Questions about Energy and Material Cycles part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Gallery Walks:Examples
created by Mark Francek, Central Michigan University The following are potential questions that could be used in a gallery walk activity about energy and material cycles. The questions are organized according to ...

JiTT - Neanderthals and Modern Humans part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Just in Time Teaching:Examples
1) What are Neanderthals? How do they differ from modern humans? 2) Discuss some of the new ideas as to why early human ancestors dispersed from Africa. 3) What are DNA studies telling us about human migrations and ...

JiTT - The Big 5 Extinctions and Then Some part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Just in Time Teaching:Examples
1) What are the three leading ideas for the cause of the Permian mass extinction? What is the evidence for and against each? 2) Why are tropical forest species going extinct the quickest? 3) What are the ...

JiTT - Dam Removal - A Good Idea or Not? part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Just in Time Teaching:Examples
1) What are some of the biological effects of dam removal (good and bad)? 2) What are some of the more pressing/compelling reasons to remove a dam? Explain. 3) The Stanley and Doyle (2003) article states that, ...

JiTT - The Legs of Snakes and Whales part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Just in Time Teaching:Examples
1) What are the adaptations needed to move from water to land (whether it be an arthropod or a "pioneering amphibian")? 2) Could snakes be linked to marine lizards? What your view and interpretations of ...

JiTT - Threats to Biodiversity part of Starting Point-Teaching Entry Level Geoscience:Just in Time Teaching:Examples
1) How is climate change a threat to biodiversity? 2) What are the impacts of pesticides on animals (including insects) and humans? 3) Can human population growth really impact biodiversity? Explain your viewpoint.

Pathogenic Microorganisms in Water part of Cutting Edge:Hydrogeology:Activities
This activity introduces students to sampling and testing for microorganisms in different water sources. It also tests iodine tablets to kill coliform bacteria which interest many students. The activity utilizes ...