Earth Science Week

October 10-16 is Earth Science Week.  Since we are studying the science of Earth and space this year, I have big plans for the week.  Although we don't do much unit study type of stuff, we will be that week!

The video Why Earth Science? was a great find.  I wish I had seen this before our first week of school!  I'll be showing it to the boys during Earth Science Week. 

We'll be watching Journey to the Center of the Earth [again :-)] and using this very cool guide (pdf) to go along with it.  In art, we've been talking about and making cartoons/comics, so this came along at the perfect time! 

We'll be becoming Junior Paleontologists on October 13th for National Fossil Day. 

We will be checking out cloud types and identifying those that we see in our own skies. 

We might be playing this Water Cycle Game.  I will definitely be printing this water cycle placemat.

We also might be using this Seismic Superheroes pdf document. 

That's what I have planned so far.  I have a feeling we will spend a lot of time on the Journey to the Center of the Earth and Junior Paleontologists activities, so doubt I'll add more....but with me, you never know! 

Earth and Space Science Plans

Next year we will be studying Earth & Space.  Our primary curriculum is R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey, but we'll be adding in plenty of activities from other sources.  One wonderful thing about R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey is the Try Before You Buy feature.  Click here --> RSO Earth & Space Level 1 (.pdf) to go directly to the try before you buy to see it for yourself. 

I'm working on my plans right now and will post them as soon as I am able.  I was going to post them right in the blog post, but quickly realized that I need more space than the column allows!  I'm working on a Word document that I will upload to Scribd as soon as I get it completed. 

Earthquakes & Volcanoes

Although we'll be studying earth science next year, the recent quakes in Haiti and Chile have sparked conversations in our household that can't be ignored.  In my research (because living in the snow belt of NY I have zero experience with severe weather of any kind other than blizzards) I came across some really great resources that I wanted to share.  Not all of these will be appropriate for the early elementary years, so please preview.

Easy Fun School - Unit Study on Volcanoes and Earthquakes 
Earthquake ABC
Weather Wiz Kids - Earthquakes
Weather Wiz Kids - Volcanoes
Mrs. Thonus's Third Grade Stars - Volcanoes & Earthquakes
Teacher Planet - Earthquake Resource Page
The NASA Sci Files - Just How DO Those Plates Move? Experiment
USGS - Earthquakes for Kids
             (quizzes, coloring pages, animations....awesome site!)
USGS - Learning Links & Earthquake Activities
USGS - Latest Earthquakes in the World 
USGS - Latest Earthquakes in the USA
NOVA - Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius Classroom Activity
              (Website)  (Video not required)
NOVA - Volcano Above the Clouds (Kilimanjaro) Classroom Activity
              (Website)   (Video)
PBS - Savage Earth
Exploratorium - Fault Line: Seismic Science at the Epicenter
Juicy Geography - Shaker Maker Earthquake Simulator Project
Lesson Plans for Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
                    (set during 1906 San Francisco earthquake)

R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey: Earth & Space

We've decided to go with R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey for our science curriculum.   I want to keep track of the web pages and resources that we use to enhance our studies.  Items I want to use will be colored blue, items we actually get around to using will be colored green.

Unit 1: Weather Changes
The Weather Channel Kids - Weather Encyclopedia
Web Weather for Kids
Vortex Storybook
Weather Coloring Pages

Windward: Outsmart the Weather in a Race Around the World game

Wild Weather Adventure 
Scholastic Interactive Weather Maker


Unit 2: The Water Cycle

Unit 3: Air Surrounds the Earth

Unit 4: Earth's Surface Is Changing

Unit 5: What Is Inside the Earth?

Unit 6: Rocks Are Made of Minerals

Unit 7: The Earth Recycles Rock

Unit 8: The Weather Makes Rocks Weather

Unit 9: Soil Is Dirt and Dirt Is Good

Unit 10: The Moon Is Staring at Us

Unit 11: The Sun is the Center of the Solar System

Unit 12: What's Out in Space

Earth and Space Science Links

I'm trying to organize my internet bookmarks and I decided to take the opportunity to post some of the links that I have collected.  I haven't checked out all of these sites, so forgive me if anything sneaks through that shouldn't have.  This list will be updated as I find new links, so check back often!

Earth and Space Science Links
Home Science Tools: Earth and Space Science Projects 
Kentucky Geological Survey: Key Earth Science Links 
Alphabetized Earth Science Animations
National Resource Defense Council
EPA Environmental Kids Club
Planet Pals 
Earth Day Lapbook free from Lapbooking Lessons
Meet the Greens 

Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service
National Weather Service JetStream online school for weather
weather links from Thinkfinity

Stellarium free open source planetarium!
Lunabar Digital Almanack
At Home Astronomy from UC Berkley
NASA Mission : Science
NASA: The Space Place teacher's corner
European Space Agency: ESA Kids
Discovery Education: Understanding the Universe
Classical Astronomy
SeaSky.org Astronomy Calendar of Celestial Events

Rocks for Kids
Geologic and Paleontologic Cookbook from Kentucky Geological Survey

Mysteries of Apo Island 
ExploringNature.org Biomes of the World
Debbie's Digest blog (forest lapbook)
National Park Service: The Everglades
American Museum of Natural History: Dioramas
Bio-geography of the Earth from U of Wisconsin Stevens Point