Smelting iron ore to iron

Have you tried the ELI 'A smelter on a stick; smelting iron ore to iron on a gas burner'? This ELI gives a simple introduction to the smelting of metal ores by reducing them to the metal with charcoal. This linking of a small-scale activity to the real world of the blast furnace requires bridging skills.
Many more Earth-related innovative activities can be found on our website.

Watery world game: investigating the water cycle

The new ELI published today is another in our ELI Early years series. 'Watery world game; climb through the watery world but watch out for snakes!'

The game can be played in any science or geography lesson and has cross curricular links with literacy and numeracy. It is also a useful water cycle introduction or revision exercise. Although the pupils’ watery world diaries will all be different, it will be apparent that the stages of the water cycle are followed in each scenario.
Other ideas for this young age group can be found on the website in Teaching strategies. Other watery activities for all age groups are listed on the home page.

Classification of things 'found in the ground'

The ELI 'Found in the ground: sorted!' is an introduction to classification using things found in the ground.

This activity may be used in any lesson where the principles of classification are required. It forms a useful basis for further activities in Earth science. Unless pupils already know some geology, they usually arrange their groups on the basis of colour, ‘shininess’, ‘crystals’ and size of crystals, roughness, obvious fossils. It is important to tell them that they are not ‘wrong’, since they were
asked to devise their own criteria and not to have any preconceived method.
This is one of a growing number of activities in our ELI Early years series.
More ideas can be found on our website.

Fieldwork: the 'All powerful' strategy

The new ELI today is another in our fieldwork series. The 'All powerful' strategy; discussing geological histories in imaginative ways'.

This activity uses a ‘deep questioning’ approach to a plenary fieldwork activity, by asking what series of events would be necessary for the view before the pupils to be recreated. The activity can be used at a range of scales from a small quarry to a landscape-wide interpretation.
Many more ideas for teaching Earth science out of doors can be found on the website.

Sorting out rocks

Have you tried the ELI 'Rock detective - rocky clues to the past; investigating your local rocks to find out how they were formed'
Collect examples of different types of rock from your local area (and from
further away if you want to) and take your pupils through this investigation sequence - using the clues in the rocks to find out how they formed. Begin with two rocks, one made from sediment, a sedimentary rock, with obvious grains (eg. a sandstone) and the other, a crystalline igneous rock with big crystals (eg. a granite).
The following Rocks Song by Peter Weatherall could be used with this ELI.
 

Click here for the video clip

Fossilise! - fossil game for Early years

New today, 'Fossilise! - a game showing how fossils form and survive'. This is an Earthlearningidea written specially for young children; part of our ELI Early years series.

At the end of the game, pupils can explain what a fossil is, recognise some common fossils and realise that special conditions must exist for fossilisation to occur and also for fossils to survive. They can appreciate that there are many reasons why organisms are not fossilised and, even if they are, there are also many reasons why the fossils do not survive.
In playing the game children also learn that a player often has to go backwards and not everyone can win!
The game can be played in any science or geography lesson and has cross curricular links with literacy and numeracy. It is also great fun!
More activities can be found on our website.

Modelling the phases of the Moon with Jaffa cakes!

Have you tried 'Jaffa Moon' in which you model the phases of the Moon using Jaffa cakes? Having discovered how the light part of the Moon changes shape over a lunar month, pupils are asked to reinforce this learning by cutting Jaffa cakes into shapes to simulate the light part of the Moon. By placing these on second dark-side-up Jaffa Cakes, they can see how the dark part of the Moon changes shape at the same time. They then test their understanding by identifying correct versions of predictive sentences which are provided.
This is one of a number of Earthlearningideas about the Moon; all can be found on the website.