Geological mapwork continued

The latest ELI is the second in our geological mapwork from scratch series; 'valley with simple geology - draw your own cross sections and geological 3D model'
Pupils are shown a photograph of a straight valley, a simple landform. They are given a very simple geological map of such a landform, with
horizontal beds. They are asked to draw topographical cross sections of the valley, adding the geology to produce geological cross sections.
As the cross-section drawing progresses, it involves more interpolation and more three-dimensional thinking skills. Pupils will realise that all the geological boundaries and therefore all the beds are horizontal. This will allow them to complete the 3D block diagram successfully.
Many more investigative activities can be found on our website.

Two ELI workshops in Italy

On 15th and 16th March the Istituto Sacro Cuore di Napoli was host to two Earth Learning Idea workshops run by Dr. Roberto Greco.
Lots of activities were carried out including,
'From clay balls to the structure of the Earth (ELI+)'
'Make your own rock'
'Laying down the principles'
'Himalayas in 30 seconds!'
'Rock, rattle and roll ...'
And, in Naples, of course - 'Eruption through the window' with Mount Vesuvius in the background!
Dr. Greco says that these two-hour workshops were really effective and involved the teachers in the use of these activities.
Many more practical, investigative activities can be found on our website.

Japan - tsunami and earthquake

This photo shows images of Yagawahama, Oshika Peninsula, before and after the tsunami struck the coastline. Click here for similar photos.
The earthquake struck on 11th March, 2011 at 5.46 a.m. - 38.322N 142.369E. It occurred 129km off Sendai, Honshu at a depth of 32km. Its magnitude was 8.9 - 9.0. The tsunami height was 10m and, to date, the estimated death toll is 18,000 people.
The following Earth Learning Ideas are relevant to teaching about this natural disaster:-
Tsunami through the window - what would you see, what would you feel?
Tsunami - what controls the speed of the wave?
Earthquake through the window - what would you see, what would you feel?
Plate tectonics through the window (ELI+)
For more actvities, search our website.

Conical hill - geological mapwork

Our latest ELI is 'Geological mapwork from scratch 1: a conical hill'. This guides students through the process of drawing their own topographical and geological cross sections from maps. It is the first of a series introducing simple geological mapwork. A table of the progression and spiralling of spatial thinking skills involved through the series is given on the final page.
This is one of many activities listed in our 'Investigating the Earth' category.

Distortion in rocks after Earth movements

Have you tried the Earthlearningidea 'Squeezed out of shape; detecting distortion after rocks have been affected by Earth movements'? A carefully made mould of a shell is deliberately distorted before a plaster cast is made, producing an artificial ‘fossil’. This represents the squeezing which often takes place when sedimentary rocks, with their included fossils, are affected by strong lateral pressures in the Earth, e.g. during mountain-building at active plate boundaries.
Search the website for other activities related to metamorphism and plate movements.