Monday 31 March 2014

Ice power

ELI website is back!

The new ELI, published today, is 'Ice power; freezing water in a syringe to measure the expansion'. This activity may be used in either science or geography lessons on weathering. It can also be used in discussions of molecular theory and changes of state.
All activities on the ELI website are free to download and we are always pleased to hear your views. Can anyone send us more photos for our photo gallery?

Monday 24 March 2014

Dust bowl extension

Children add their own extension to the Earthlearningidea 'Dust bowl'.


This activity was part of a children's session looking at the ways in which the landscape is eroded and shaped. The children investigated erosion and transportation
- by rivers  'Mighty river in a small gutter'
- by the sea 'Changing coastlines'
- by ice 'Grinding and gouging'
- by the wind 'Dust bowl'
All these activities, and lots more, are free to download from the website.

ELI website down

We are very sorry; the ELI website is down at the moment.
Hopefully, it will be up and running again very soon.
Please contact us and we will forward any pdfs that you require.

Monday 17 March 2014

Sole marks - sedimentary structures

The new ELI today continues our sedimentary structures series with 'Sole marks - evidence from the base of a sedimentary bed'. This activity is based on diagrams and photographs of sole marks, where pupils are asked to look for evidence of past environments and the orientation of the samples.
Many more exciting and stimulating ideas for teaching Earth science or geography can be found on our website.

Saturday 8 March 2014

William Smith - 'The Father of English Geology'

Next year we shall be celebrating the bi-centenary of the publication of William Smith's first geological map. This Earthlearningidea encourages pupils to try to think like William Smith. The pupil learning outcomes from this activity are as follows:-
Pupils can:
• explain that fossils are the remains of living organisms;
• describe how sedimentary rocks occur in layers or strata which may be horizontal or dipping;
• realise that the layers of rock may be broken by faults;
• explain that, if they are fossiliferous, each rock layer contains a specific set of fossils;
• realise that these rock layers with their particular fossils can be correlated (linked together in time) from one place to another;
• realise that scientific thinking in the 18th century was greatly influenced by religious beliefs;
• realise that in the 18th century it was very difficult for a clever man from a poor background with little education to join the world of the rich and educated.
This is one of a series of activities about great scientists. The rest are listed in Teaching strategies on the ELI website.

Monday 3 March 2014

'Rockery 1' - rock game

The new Earthlearningidea is 'Rockery 1 - rock game'. The pupils are divided into groups and asked to model the different characteristics of the three main rock groups. This can be a game as the first group to get into the correct position for the rock group or rock mentioned gets one point. This ELI is not only great fun but also helps pupils to remember the fundamental differences between rock types.
There are lots of other activities about rock types on the website.