Lithosphere
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Geography4Kids.com This site is a virtual tour that begins with a macro-level view of the Earth with a shot of the planet from space and then proceeds to a more micro-level view, literally peeling away each layer. The tour even discusses how these layers have been affected by natural phenomena and disasters. Much later in the tour, students can further explore the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and climates, along with natural phenomena and human actions that have had impacts on each of these systems. This is an excellent site to start with when studying Earth’s structures. It’s not interactive, but it does contain beautiful pictures to visually complement the helpful text explanations. In the text itself, important terms and concepts are bolded. This site is suitable for use by both teachers and all students. |
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Internet
Campus This site is divided into 4 main sections: Earth, Ocean, Atmosphere, and Space. Within each section, the site presents the concepts and exercises related to that section. The site is suitable for beginning studies in Earth Sciences with basic concepts such as tectonic plates and earthquakes, but also contains many advanced concepts that are also suitable for older students such as hydrological cycles and the Coriolis Effect. This site introduces all its concepts and then follows up with interactive exercises and games. This is a very interactive site (Shockwave required). It is an excellent site for hands-on and visual students. The text is easy to understand and important terms and concepts are bolded. Accompanying the text explanations are interactive displays, exercises, and games that will help students apply the concepts presented to them in the text, which can then potentially extend into in-class activities. This site is suitable for use by both teachers and all students. |
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DiscoverySchool.com This site contains complete lesson plans for studying Earth Sciences at any level from K-12, including objectives and suggestions for evaluation in each lesson plan. Teachers can look forward to lesson plans on Earth’s surface, geological phenomena, oceans, weather, and tectonic plates, but this is by no means a complete list of lesson plans that can be found on this site. If that wasn’t good enough, many of the lesson plans even contain suggestions for adapting the lesson for different grade levels. This is hands-down one of the best resources for all teachers, and not just Science teachers. The site is colourful and well laid out. All sections of the site are accessible from the always-present menu. Some of the important concepts even have sound files attached to them so that you can listen to its pronunciation. This site is mainly geared towards teachers. |
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The
Geological Society of America This site contains complete lesson plans for studying Earth Sciences at any level from K-12, including any required worksheets. Lesson plans are organized by specific topics in Earth Sciences. The section on rocks and minerals is impressive on its own. Lessons for each topic are also further subdivided by grade level. Most lessons appear to be lab-based and very hands-on. Finally, there are literally tons of links to other educational resources within each topic. This is another amazing resource for teachers, but definitely geared towards Science teachers only. The site is colourful and well laid out. There are so many lesson plans and resources that are listed that the site even provides a handy function to sort by topic or age group. If that wasn’t enough, the site also provides suggestions for readings and class discussions of critical issues. This site is mainly geared towards teachers. |