For us humans, especially in urban settings, the seasons come and go with regularity and cause relatively painless changes in our lives — longer days, shorter days, setting clocks forward or backward as we just did. But for most other animal species seasonal changes do not go unnoticed. Further, when climate change impacts patterns of […]
Archive for the 'Earth Science' Category
Seasonal Changes Are Impacted by Climate Change
Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 8:11 pm
Written by: Mary LeFever
No Child Left Inside! Earth Science Week 2008
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 8:07 pm
Written by: Mary LeFever
If you fear taking your students outside might be misinterpreted by observers as an undeserved recess, think again. With the slogan, No Child Left Inside–actually an official act of Congress–the American Geological Institute (AGI) is once again promoting Earth Science Week. Need a little more motivation? Read this excerpt from Last Child in the Woods, […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Earthquakes, Science, Weather
Granite Helps Scientists Piece Together Rodinia
Thursday, July 24th, 2008 12:35 pm
Written by: Brittany Wall
If you’ve taught plate tectonics at the middle school level, you’re probably quite familiar with the supercontinent Pangaea. But did you know that Pangaea was not the only supercontinent in earth’s history – just the last to date? Millions of years before Pangaea, another supercontinent known as Rodinia united all of earth’s landmass in an […]
Posted in Topics: Biodiversity, Earth Science, Education, Evolution
Phoenix Explores Mars
Friday, May 30th, 2008 2:40 pm
Written by: Mary LeFever
Middle school students are often intrigued by the excitement of exploration and the adventures of explorers, as their enthusiasm for Indiana Jones attests. Space exploration should be no exception. With new images now available from the Mars explorer, Phoenix, teachers can capitalize on student interest in exploration to meet some of the Earth and Space […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Methods of Science, Nature of Science, Science, Space, Technology
Earth Day
Thursday, April 17th, 2008 10:14 am
Written by: Mary LeFever
This week’s blog focuses on Earth Day, April 22. There is no news article accompanying today’s blog. Instead, we provide you with an assortment of resources related to Earth Day. Do you know how Earth Day started? You can find the answer to that question and more in The History of Earth Day by Gaylord […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Environment, Life Science, Science
Why Did the Anasazi Abandon Mesa Verde?
Friday, April 11th, 2008 3:16 pm
Written by: Mary LeFever
Many middle school curricula include attention to ancient American people and their cultures. This blog entry may be helpful in making connections to the nature of science and scientific enterprises as part of an integrated approach in studying the Anasazi or ancient Peublos. The story titled “Vanished: A Pueblo Mystery,” published in the New York […]
Posted in Topics: Archaeology, Earth Science, Environment, Methods of Science, Science, Social Studies
When Did the Grand Canyon Begin to Form?
Friday, March 14th, 2008 7:25 am
Written by: Mary LeFever
This week’s blog draws from several news sources—washingtonpost.com, The New York Times, Science News Online and Science Friday. All these sources have stories and photos related to a study published March 7, 2008, in Science by researchers Victor Polyak and Carol Hill. (Science Friday features a 15-minute audio clip of an interview with Polyak.) The […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Methods of Science, Science
Texas Economy Prospers With the Wind
Thursday, February 28th, 2008 7:26 pm
Written by: Mary LeFever
Talk of a looming recession and sky-high oil prices don’t seem to worry many Texans. Instead, they’re cashing in on the benefits of an alternative energy source, wind, literally.
Many Texans are happily trading defunct oil rigs for wind turbine installations on their land. One Texan is being paid $500 a month for each turbine he […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Energy Transfer, Environment, Science
The Relationship Between Sea Surface Temperature and Hurricane Activity
Thursday, February 7th, 2008 7:52 am
Written by: Mary LeFever
Is your unit on climate and weather approaching? Here’s some current research you can use to enrich students’ understanding of weather. It can help you make real-world connections from the textbook and classroom to the research scientists working to understand the science of hurricanes.
The news comes from ScienceDaily. The article, Increased Hurricane Activity Linked to […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Energy Transfer, Environment, Methods of Science, Science
Greenland Might Actually be Green Someday
Thursday, January 17th, 2008 9:56 am
Written by: Mary LeFever
The irony of Greenland’s name has intrigued many of us, but according to a January 8, 2008, New York Times story, In Greenland, Ice and Instability, the irony may be short-lived. A series of unusually warm springs has increased the ice melt, and contributed to a cascade of related events. The melting ice is darker […]
Posted in Topics: Earth Science, Environment, Methods of Science, Science, Technology
Posted in Topics: Climate, Earth Science, Ecology, Life Science, Science
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