Messy soils

 Continuing with soils, have you tried 'Soil doughnuts; sorting out soils'?

 

This activity can be used in any lesson about the environment, rocks and landscape, agriculture, gardening or investigations out of doors.

Click here for other soil related Earthlearningideas.

Soils Testing

The new ELI today is 'Soil pH testing; a way of introducing scientific practice into environmental education'.

Testing the pH of soil using shop-bought kits.

Other related soil activities can be found in this category.

Make your own easy model of magnetic Earth

Continuing our theme of magnetism, the ELI today is 'Recipe for a magnetic Earth and a magnetic detector; using a stress ball and small magnet, with a needle and thread to model magnetic Earth'

Once pupils have made their ‘magnetic Earth’ this can also be tested using a Magnaprobe™ to show the direction of Earth’s magnetism at different altitudes.

Many activities related to magnetism can be found on our website.

Measuring changes in magnetic declination to investigate the Earth’s core

The new ELI (published a few weeks ago) was 'Magnetic Manchester; measuring changes in magnetic declination to investigate the Earth’s core'.

The Earth’s changing magnetic declination, recorded at the world’s airports, can
be used as evidence for the composition and nature of the Earth’s core.

Related activities can be fund in our Magnetism category. 

Landslide danger

"Rescuers continued their search on Saturday after a landslide in Nepal swept two passenger buses carrying over 60 people into the Trishuli River on Friday."

In view of the recent fatal landslide in Nepal, today, the ELI Team is publishing "Landslide danger – and climate change; case studies of how landslides work and the likely effects of climate change."

This ELI gives a comprehensive introduction into landsliding processes and the likely impacts of climate change. It uses two case studies.

Related Earthlearningideas can be found in the 'Landslides' group in the Natural Hazards category.

Can you recognise these landforms of mass movement?

The latest new ELI in the 'Picturing' series is 'Picturing Landforms – 5: Mass Movement B; visualise and draw landforms from a verbal description'.

This ELI enhances pupils’ skills of description and interpretation using photographs of landforms.

Related activities can be found in our Geomorphology category but, as you will see from the table, there are many ELIs in this series.

Play the Rock Cycle game

Continuing our theme of games, today ELI presents "‘Rockery 2’ - rock cycle game; model the stages of the rock cycle - with your pupils."

This activity models the stages of the rock cycle and can be used in both science and geography lessons  - - - it is great fun!

Other related activities about the rock cycle can be found in our Rock Cycle category.

An investigation into the environmental impact of making new paper or recycled paper

The new ELI today is 'New or recycled paper? - the card game; an investigation into the environmental impact of making new paper or recycled paper'.

This activity gives a visual representation of the environmental impact of making new paper as opposed to making recycled paper.

Related activities can be found in our Resources and Environment categories,

How coastlines change shape

'Changing coastlines; investigating how wave erosion, transportation and deposition can change the shapes of coastlines'.

This activity can be used to study the processes of coastal erosion, transportation and deposition. It can also be used to investigate the problems these processes cause and the ways in  which people try to solve those problems.

Many related activities can be found in our Sedimentary processes category.

Describing and interpreting photos of mass movement.

 The new ELI today is another in our 'Picturing landforms' series, 'Picturing Landforms – 4: Mass Movement A; visualise and draw landforms from a verbal description'.

This ELI enhances pupils’ skills of description and interpretation using photographs of landforms. They start to notice and be able to explain the landscape around them.

Other activities in the picturing landforms series can be found in Geomorphology on our website.

Using Jelly Babies(TM) cut at the dip angle to highlight structures on geological maps

The innovative ELI today is 'The sliced Jelly Babies TM approach to understanding 3D geological maps; using Jelly Babies TM cut at the dip angle to highlight structures on geological maps'.

This ELI shows the dip of fold limbs on a geological map using sliced jelly sweets to show bedding plane dips.

Methods like this one and the Earthlearningidea series ‘Mapwork from models’ can help pupils to develop spatial skills.

 

Another in our geomorphology landforms series

Today's new ELI is another in our 'Picturing' series - 'Picturing Landforms - 3:  Visualise and draw landforms from a verbal description'.

This is another ELI that enhances pupils’ skills of description and interpretation using photographs of landforms.

Related activities can be found in our varied 'Picturing' series, the table for which can be found on the last page of this activity.

 The new ELI today is Modelling remote sensing geophysics 

 Using a mock gravimeter and magnetometer set up in the classroom

 

 

 

Many articles relating to  geophysics can be found on the ELI website.

Properties of Lithospheric plates

The new ELI today is 'Chocolate Plates; simulating the properties of a lithospheric plate'.

This ELI is a simulation of the mechanical properties of a lithospheric plate using chocolate bars - popular with students for obvious reasons!

Many activities related to Plate tectonics can be found on the ELI website.

Measuring the electrical resistance of the ground to find buried objects

Today we have the ELI+ 'Electrical ground probing; measuring the electrical resistance of the ground to find buried objects'.

 

This ELI is a laboratory demonstration of the principle of ‘remote sensing’, using the electrical properties of Earth materials.

Related topics can be found in 'Geophysics' in our Investigating the Earth category.

Landforms - work them out from a series of photographs and a few clues

Our new ELI today is another in our 'Picturing' series - 'Picturing Landforms -2; visualise and draw landforms from a verbal description'.

This activity enhances pupils’ skills of description and interpretation using photographs of landforms. It requires careful observation and is great fun to do!

Similar activities can be found in the 'Picturing' series.

More on Greenhouse effect

We continue our theme of the Greenhouse effect with 'Is the greenhouse effect happening outside today? A classroom discussion to consolidate understanding about the greenhouse effect'.

 

This ELI involves a discussion to reinforce learning and to counter misconceptions about the greenhouse effect.

Related activities on climate change can be found in the 'Climate change' category.

Greenhouse effect

The new ELI today continues our climate change series with 'Greenhouse effect in a bottle: how to simulate the effect of increased CO2 level on Earth's temperature'.

This ELI is a simulation where students test the effect of increased CO2 on the heating of the air in a bottle. This introduces the students to the phenomenon of global warming.

Related activities on climate change can be found in the 'Climate change' category.

Solar eclipse

Because of the solar eclipse which is happening today, we are publishing 'Why does the Sun disappear? Demonstrate what happens when the Moon hides the Sun'.

This activity can be carried out when investigating our Solar system. It compares the
relative sizes and positions of the Moon and the Sun in relation to the Earth.

Related Earthlearningideas can be found in our 'Eclipses - solar and lunar, Earth in Space' category.

Records of Earth's past temperatures

Our latest ELI+ is "‘Earth’s oxygen thermometers’ - simulating how ocean sediment and continental ice cores record past changes in Earth’s temperatures."

This activity is a simulation of how oxygen isotope analysis of deep-ocean sediments and continental ice-cores provides a record of past changes in Earth temperatures.

Other related activities can be found in 'Climate change' in our Resources and Environment category or within the alphabetical index.

Modelling the flow of seawater of different densities through straits

'Exploring current flows through straits; testing the L. F. Marsili model of Bosphorus currents (1680)'.

This activity models the flow of seawater of different densities through straits, addressing several concepts within Earth sciences (concentration, density, diffusion) by means of modelling.

Related activities can be found in our Oceanography category.

'Ocean acidification – The other carbon dioxide problem

The ELI team is now publishing three more activities which will be useful when teaching climate change. The first is: 'Ocean acidification – The other CO₂ problem; see how acidified water affects calcareous marine organisms'.

 

A demonstration, involving blowing into neutral water to produce a weak acid. Powdered seashells are added and react with the acid, as a quick-acting laboratory example of how an acidifying ocean affects the life of many marine organisms.

Other related activities can be found in 'Climate change' in the 'Resources and Environment' category.
 

Investigation into scratches on rocks caused by ice

'Ice-thickness from scratch: visualising past processes by calculation
Modelling glacial striation-formation by calculation – thinking through the assumptions'.

This ELI involves a field simulation of the scratching of striations on bedrock by the debris frozen into an ice sheet, used to approximately calculate the thickness of the ice sheet and to discuss the assumptions made. The activity has been devised to enable pupils to gain a deeper understanding of the glacial processes which erode bedrock surfaces.

Related activities can be found in 'Sedimentary processes' in the Earth energy/processes category.

Investigating and understanding spectacular landforms

The new ELI today is another in our very popular 'Picturing . . .' series - 'Picturing Landforms -1; visualise and draw landforms from a verbal description'.

Pupils learn to describe spectacular and popular landforms sufficiently accurately that they can be drawn by someone else. This can lead to an in-depth understanding of the particular landform.

Other activities in the series can be seen in the 'Picturing . . .' table.

Simple Rock Identification

'Rock detective – rocky clues to the past; investigating your local rocks to find out how they formed'.

 

This activity is all about sorting rocks according to their properties, which depend upon how they were formed. Pupils use the characteristic properties of a set of rocks to sort them into sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rock groups. This works reasonably well for most rocks, but there are exceptions which are explained in the activity.

Other ELIs about rocks can be found in the Rocks section of Earth Materials.

Teaching geology to students with visual impairment (VI)

Our new ELI today is the third in a series of 'Teaching geology to students with visual impairment (VI) - modifying geological materials for students who cannot see'.

Using the three ELI activities in this series, pupils with visual impairments can actively participate in learning geology. They can engage with real geological materials used so frequently when teaching the subject. They can also share in learning, using these models alongside visually acute students.

The other activities in the series are in the Cross Category topics lists.

How pure are limestones and calcium carbonate minerals?

Keeping our theme of limestone - - '‘I’m pure calcium carbonate’ – the calcium carbonate question; a discussion focussed on common misconceptions about calcium carbonate'.

 

 

This activity helps pupils to understand the likely purity of minerals and rocks. Rocks are normally less pure than minerals.

There are many ELIs about minerals and about rocks.

Lime kilns and limelight

New ELI today is 'Make a mini lime kiln and discover limelight; investigating the results of heating limestone.'

This ELI is a pupil activity to decompose limestone by heat and to discuss the uses of the resulting quicklime. It's a good activity for science, geography or environmental science classes.

Click on Engineering and Industrial Geology for related activities.

What is a mineral?

'Mineral or not? Discussion about what is a mineral and what is not'.

 

This is an activity centred around pictures or samples to enable pupils to distinguish between a mineral in the Earth science sense and other ways in which the term is commonly used.

Many related activities about Minerals can be found in the Earth Materials section of our website.

For the Green revolution, how is a critical mineral different from an essential mineral?

The new ELI is the last in the current series of Essential Minerals for the Green Revolution. It is "Essential mineral – critical mineral: what is the difference?"

This activity defines the purpose of a national critical minerals list for the future needs of the UK’s technology. It could form a summary of the Earthlearningidea series on metal ores which are essential for the “new” technologies as well as for the growth of existing industries.

The full series of 'Essential Minerals for the Green Revolution' can be found in the Minerals section of Earth Materials on our website.

Alligators spotted in London

'Back in time, “Alligators spotted in London” @ELI_Earth - July 1 

Retrieving and communicating information'.

 

 

Pupils obtain information and use it to interpret past environments. The activity could be used in science, geography or environmental studies lessons. Writing the story involves a cross-curricular link with the arts.

 Other related activities may be found in 'Visualising deep time' and in Cross-Curricular ELIs.

Imagining the enormity of geological time

The new ELI today is 'Counting to one million? - trying to imagine the enormity of geological time'.

 

This activity helps young children to understood the meaning of one million and from there hundreds and thousands of millions. Related activities can be found in our 'Visualising deep time' category.

Relating minerals and rocks to everyday objects

'What is it made of? Relate each mineral or rock to the everyday object containing it.'

This activity emphasises the presence of geological resources in many of the things used in our daily lives.

Other related activities can be found in 'Engineering and industrial geology'  in our Earth Materials category.