| |
Earth and space science explores the structure of the earth
system, Earth’s history, the solar system, the origin
and evolution of the universe, and geochemical cycles.
Be sure to look at the different
set of resources listed at the Student/Learner webpage
for this topic.
 Athena–Earth
and Space Science for K-12: Oceans, Earth, Weather, Space,
and More
This project is funded by NASA's Public Use of Remote
Sensing Data, now part of the Learning Technologies Project.
The curricular section includes lists of links to "instructional
material" and "resource material", nicely organized
into the sections listed in the title. The webpages for teachers
include a new user guide, introductory materials, and suggestions
for presentations.
 Auroras–Paintings
in the Sky
The Exploratorium and the Science Learning Network provide
this excellent website about auroras. There is a self-guided
tour of the subject, excellent links to websites with real-time
data, and a brief teachers’ guide. Don’t miss the
Aurora
Borealis daily forecast from the University of Alaska
 Bridge–Ocean
Sciences Education Teacher Resource Center
This website aims to give teachers a selection of the
best online resources for marine science education. There
are sections on biology, physics, geology, chemistry, climate,
and technology–all related to the world’s oceans!
There are links to lesson plan collections and online expeditions.
 The
Earth and Moon Viewer
This site allows for viewing a map of the Earth showing
the current day and night regions, or viewing the Earth from
the Sun or the Moon. The user can choose to view any location
on the planet specified by latitude, longitude and altitude,
by a particular satellite in Earth orbit, or above various
cities around the globe. The shape of the day/night regions
changes as the orbit of the Earth changes relative to the
sun. Given a globe (with the appropriate tilt of the Earth
on its axis), a light source, and this website, learners will
be able to explain the reasons why seasons occur on Earth.
This site uses the Universal Time Clock, so it leads to interesting
discussions about time and world time zones.
 Earth
from Space: An Astronaut’s Views of the Home Planet
This is a database of selected imagery of Earth from space,
including physical features, processes, and cities as seen
by astronauts. There are several ways to search the database,
including a clickable map. Each illustration has a caption
with a description of the image. This website is a useful
resource in teaching and learning about weather, habitat,
landscapes, regions, and Earth-human interactions. The website
is also useful as a springboard to writing and research.
 Earth
Observatory
The purpose of NASA's Earth Observatory is to provide
a website with public access to satellite imagery and scientific
information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth's
climate and environmental change, with wonderful data and
images. The categories include atmosphere, oceans, land, life
on Earth, heat & energy, and remote sensing. There is
an excellent glossary, and news features. One can subscribe
to a weekly distribution list of the latest stories about
the Earth. The type at this website is very small, and some
of the information is text dense. However, it is worth it
to visit here!
Earthquake
Hazards Program
The U.S. Geological Survey maintains this website, complete
with many resources and up-to-date information about earthquakes.
The webpages provide resources for teachers on the topics
of earth structure, earthquakes, plate tectonics, seismic
waves, and earthquake preparedness. There are activities and
curricular materials. Maps, graphs, and tables are available
for instructional purposes. On the day of the recent earthquake
in Seattle (2/28/01), this website had excellent information
about it within 15 minutes of the quake!
 El
Niño-Making Sense of the Weather
This contribution from NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise
presents short, well-illustrated explanations for El Niño,
the Southern Oscillation, global wind patterns, and condensation.
There are three short weather-related science activities,
using everyday materials. These activities encourage prediction,
observation, and analysis. The explanations and instructions
are clear and well-written.
 Eyes
on the Sky, Feet on the Ground
This website contains a collection of hands-on astronomy
activities for children. The explanations and diagrams are
clear. Many of the activities are appropriate for adults.
In addition, this is excellent background material for an
instructor. An instructor would need to review and revise
some of the activities’ directions and materials to make
the language age-neutral. Topics include Earth’s Rotation,
Earth’s Orbit, Time and the Calendar, Maps and Mapping,
the Solar System, and the Moon.
 Find
that Planet
This website is part of the Science Education Gateway
project. It provides learners with all the online resources
needed in order to find a planet in the night skies at any
time of year.
 Franklin’s
Forecast
The Franklin Institute and the Science Learning Network
provide a wealth of information, activities, and resources
having to do with weather.
 Geology
Labs Online
This website has web-based virtual lab activities designed
for learners to be an active part of scientific investigations.
The activities are aimed at a high school and college level–some
activities are quite sophisticated, so it is a good idea for
instructors to read them and adapt for class use. See Virtual
Earthquake and Virtual River Flooding.
 NASA
Observatorium
This website, newly revised, is even better than an earlier
version. It is a public access site for Earth and space data.
There are sections on aeronautics,
spaceflight, space science, and Planet Earth.
Within each of these sections there are explanations, activities,
and opportunities for teaching basic skills in interesting
contexts. For example, a section on the topic of the Million
Man March in 1995 demonstrates the method of estimating crowd
size by using aerial photographs, an application of remote-sensing
imagery. There is a good teachers’ guide for every topic
on this website. The guides
include summaries of the topic, questions for discussion,
other activities, vocabulary definitions, a quiz, and links
to related subjects and websites. At this site there is also
an image
gallery, in which one can go around the world in eighty
scenes or one can stay within the U.S. and visit each of the
50 state capitals via a clickable
map.
 National
Hurricane Data Center–Tropical Prediction Center
This website, produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, contains up-to-date information about hurricanes
with sections on preparedness, satellite imagery, forecasting
models, and historical information. This is the place to go
for hurricane data, especially when there is an active storm
system. In the storm season, the website can be overwhelmed
by use. Users are directed to other websites at that time.
 National
Weather Service-Interactive Weather Information Network
This is a wonderful source of information in many areas:
local weather (a "clickable map"allows one to get
hourly weather readings in seven categories), national and
world weather, and national weather warnings or advisories.
This site is user-friendly; start here for explorations about
weather.
 The
Nine Planets-A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System
This site, created by Bill Arnett, is a comprehensive
resource for Earth and space science. The website contains
an overview of each planet, with history, mythology, scientific
information, and wonderful images, diagrams, and movies. A
glossary is included in the site. It has been used as a model
site with which learners can practice website navigation
skills.
Ocean Drifters: Investigating Ocean Currents
The ocean is constantly in motion. Ocean water moves in waves, tides, and currents. But how, exactly? That’s what scientists want to know. This site explains current technology and provides three learning activities.
SEGWAY
The Science Education Gateway is a series of "learning
adventures" in Earth and space science. The site is designed
for "teachers, students, home-schoolers, and all science
fans". SEGWAY is a public resource center of the Science
Information Infrastructure, a partner with NASA’s Learning
Technologies Project. This is a collaborative effort among
museums, researchers, and educators. There are "Resource
Toolkits" for space science, light, cycles, Sun and Earth,
weather, and the solar system. Each toolkit contains complete
lesson modules as well as a grab bag of activities, images,
and interactive tools. The toolkits also contain templates
for making online lessons.
 Stargazers
This NASA website contains information and educational activities related to Earth-Sun connections and the “Living with a Star” project.
 TEA–Teachers
Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic
Each year, the National Science Foundation selects a few
teachers to accompany scientific field research expeditions
to the Arctic and the Antarctic. Each teacher writes a daily
online journal, complete with photos and activities, when
possible. This website provides links to the teachers currently
at the poles, so that learners can send email messages to
them (and receive answers)! There are activities for classroom
use, and an archive of past expeditions to the poles!
 Volcano
World
This comprehensive site has images, maps, a glossary,
virtual tours, and data about current and historic volcanic
eruptions. There is a teacher’s
guide of 16 different earth science lesson guides from
reputable sources. There are very specific
demonstration activities as well, such as the ll different
hands-on experiments in building volcano models.
|
