Useful Web Links
Resources for
Teachers
Teachers
General Earth Science
- The Earth Science World Image Bank (Images)
- The Earth Science World Image Bank is a service provided by the American Geological Institute (AGI). This Image Bank is designed to provide quality geoscience images to the public, educators, and the geoscience community.
- Earth Revealed (Background Information, Videos)
- This site hosts a video instructional series from Annenberg Media on geology for college and high school classrooms and adult learners - 26 half-hour video programs.
Geosciences
Paleontology
- The Discovery Channel's Dinosaur Guide (Resource, Images)
- Go beyond dinosaur pictures and view these fascinating enigmas in 3-D. Explore the age of the dinosaurs with these Discovery programs and see what prehistoric animals may really have looked like.
- DinoBase (Background Information, Resource, Images)
- Search the Dinobase for your favorite dinosaur, see current news in the field of paleontology, or see pictures of dinosaurs on the dinosaur Web Site at University of Bristol, UK.
Geologic Dating
- Stratigraphy Time Scale Poster (Resource)
- The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) has a detailed Time Scale poster you can download and a Time Scale Creator program that lets you use various user defined criteria to make a time scale poster.
- Clocks in the Rocks (Resource)
- Discusses radioactive dating of various materials and discussed the question "How Old is the Earth?"
Rocks & Minerals
- Structure of the Earth (Lesson)
- Teach your students to classify rocks, explain differences between the three types of rock, and to describe and explain the rock cycle. This site includes ideas on how to make the three types of rocks and rock cycle experiments.
- Wonderful World of Rocks and Minerals (Background Information, Lessons)
- This site has Web-Based Unit for Sixth Grade. It includes background information and a variety of lessons for both rocks and minerals.
Plate Tectonics
- Earthquake Center (Resource)
- This USGS site lets you discover where and when Earthquakes have occurred. Includes historic earthquakes, recent quakes, and allows you to search regionally, globally, by size, ect.
- Professor Larry Braile's Earth Science Education Activities (Lessons)
- Lesson plans for teaching about seismology and other Earth science topics. Includes descriptions of demonstrations, experiments and activities for teachers and students. The lessons are designed primarily for teachers of grades 5-12 but can be adapted.
- This Dynamic Planet (Resource)
- World Map of Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Impact Craters, and Plate Tectonics. Download a pdf version for free or order a print version from the USGS.
- Volcanoes Lesson Plan from USGS (Lessons, Background Information, Images)
- Nice overview of a variety of volcano related topics. The teachers guide and lessons area has lessons for grades 4-8 and are downloadable.
Remote Sensing
- CRISM Curriculum Guide (Lessons, Background Information)
- A great resource for comparing Mars and Earth features (Grades 5-8) The hands-on activities in our comprehensive curriculum guide will take students and teachers alike into the incredible world of Mars exploration.
- National Atlas Map Maker (Resource)
- An easy to use map making site. You can add layers of geologic, environmental, climate, history, boundaries, and a ton more.
- ESRI Free GIS Software (Resource)
- ESRI is the company that makes ArcExplorer, a free Geographic Information System (GIS) software. They are based in California and have a very large user conference every year.
Atmospheric Sciences
General Atmosphere
- Cycles of The Earth and Atmosphere (Lessons, Background Information)
- Several modules on Atmosphere, Ozone, Climate, and the "Greenhouse Effect". Each section provides background information, learning concepts, and activities. Designed for middle school though it has enough detail for introductory high school courses.
- Introduction to the Atmosphere (Lesson, Background)
- A brief overview of the properties associated with the atmosphere. Includes a very good background knowledge section and seven activities. Middle school level.
Weather
- Stormy Weather (Lessons)
- This page provides a simple lesson plan for static electricity. Not the wow factor except with little kids. However, these lessons do demonstrate the concept well.
- Weather Maps (Resource)
- These maps can show the almost seamless movement of weather systems across the country over a period of several hours. Includes weather maps as well water, air quality, and more. Can mouse over to see forecast maps for the next three days.
Climate Change, Global Warming, and the Greenhouse Effect
- Project Vulcan (Resource)
- This site has an online CO2 emmissions database for the entire country. The tool was made in attempt to
quantify North American fossil fuel carbon dioxide emmisions. You will need to download the Google Earth
Plugin if your browser lacks it.
- Bringing Climate Change Into the Classroom (Lesson, Background)
- This link is to a PDF unit covering Greenhouse Effect, Climate Change and Sea Salt. The teacher background is very good and the lessons are not overly complicated. Could be used just to beef up your knowledge also.
Hydrosphere
- Marine Geology and Geophysics Images: Visualizing Data (Images)
- NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) has posted an array of both high and low resolution images that you can download including the Great Lakes Geomorphology, Sediment Thickness of the Ocean Floor, Globes, Seafloor topos, and others.
El Nino
- El Nino (Lessons, Background Information)
- El Niño begins when water warms up by more than 1°F along the equator in the eastern Pacific and off the coast of Peru. Nutrients normally found in the cold waters of the area disappear. More information and a variety of lessons are provided. To get to the lessons go to the "Educators" tab in the header bar. Grades 4-8.
- El Nino (Background Information, Resources)
- El Niño theme page posted by NOAA. Includes information, and resources, and frequently asked questions about El Niño and La Niña.
- Watersheds and Sediment Transport (Lessons, Resources)
- The National Center for earth-surface dynamics has a few activities posted, which generally deal with sediment transport, and at the 3D maps that can be projected onto a screen or printed out.
Additional Online Resource Pages
- The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE)
- A distributed community effort involving educators, students, and scientists working together to improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency of teaching and learning about the Earth system at all levels. DLESE resources include electronic materials for both teachers and learners, such as lesson plans, maps, images, data sets, visualizations, assessment activities, curriculum, online courses, and much more. Funding for DLESE comes in part from the National Science Foundation.
