Unit 1: Earthquake!
Vince Cronin, Baylor University (Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu) Phil Resor, Wesleyan University (presor@wesleyan.edu)
In this opening unit, students develop the societal context for understanding earthquake hazards using as a case study the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake. It starts with a short homework "scavenger hunt" ...

Arctic Climate Curriculum, Activity 1: Exploring the Arctic
Karin Kirk, Freelance Science Writer and Geoscientist; Anne Gold, University of Colorado at Boulder
This activity introduces students to the Arctic, including different definitions of the Arctic and exploration of the Arctic environment and Arctic people. Students set out on a virtual exploration of the geography ...

Topographic Maps from the US Geological Survey
Eileen Herrstrom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This activity takes place in a laboratory setting and requires ~1.5-2 hours to complete. Students learn how to interpret a topographic map. They read contour lines, construct a topographic profile, and calculate ...

Contour Mapping With Playdough
Lynne Elkins, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
In this lab exercise, introductory geology/geography students create topographic maps for a playdough landscape of their own design. This lab was designed to teach students to learn how to work with topographic ...

Topographic Maps
Kyle Fredrick, Pennsylvania Western University - California
This exercise is a lab exercise to introduce elevation, landforms, and topographic maps to Introductory-level students. It is used to convey the principles of land variability and the processes that shape the ...

Northwest Passage
Glenn Richard, SUNY at Stony Brook
An investigation of changes in polar regions using Google Earth.

The Heat is On: Understanding Local Climate Change
Dan Zalles, SRI International
Students draw conclusions about the extent to which multiple decades of temperature data about Phoenix suggest that a shift in local climate is taking place as opposed to exhibiting nothing more than natural ...

Measuring the Earth
Peter Copeland, University of Houston-University Park
With a colleague at the University of Kansas, we measure the size of the Earth using the method of Eratosthenese. This is handy because the UH and KU campuses are almost directly on a N-S line.

In Search of GLOBE Data
Gary Randolph, GLOBE
Students use on-line GLOBE search tools to locate and display data from schools and use the data to answer questions regarding weather and climate. Answer key provided.

Google Earth, Streams, and Glaciers
Allison Dunn, Worcester State University
In this assignment, students download Google Earth and use it to investigate some of the fluvial and glacial processes introduced in lecture.