Volcanic eruptions in the classroom

The new ELI today is 'Best classroom eruption? Which type of classroom eruption best shows how volcanoes erupt?'

This activity allows pupils to evaluate different types of classroom eruptions to gauge which best shows how volcanic eruptions are triggered.
Many more activities related to volcanoes and eruptions can be found on our website.

Earthlearningidea photo galleries

Recently a member of the ELI team has organised workshops for teachers in Rwanda. They were doing one of the new activities which will be published on our website soon.

We have added the photos to the photo gallery which is now quite extensive.
If you have any photos of Earthlearningideas in action, please send them to us for the gallery. All the activities can be found on the website.

From river sediment to stripey sedimentary rocks

The new ELI today is 'From river sediment to stripey rocks; modelling the build up of different layers of sediment as seen in sedimentary rocks'.

The activity is useful in consolidating knowledge about sediment transport and deposition by rivers. It helps pupils to interpret patterns they see in ancient river sandstones and to understand that the environment is constantly changing. It's also fun to do!
Lots more activities about rivers and their erosion, transportation and deposition can be found on our website by using the search engine or the index.

What questions about weathering might be asked at any rock exposure?

This series of Earthlearningideas suggests questions about geological processes that might be asked when standing with pupils looking at rock in a cliff, road cutting or quarry. The first of the series is about planning for fieldwork and the second is all about weathering.

 
This activity can be carried out using any exposed surface of rocks, including natural and artificial rock exposures, but also building stones, monuments or gravestones. Manufactured materials such as bricks, tiles and concrete also show the effects of weathering.
Other activities associated with weathering can be found on our website.

When the youngest rock is not on top of the rock sequence

Today's new ELI is 'Modelling by hand ‘when the youngest rock is not on top’; illustrating how rock sequences can have older rocks on top of younger ones'

While the ‘Principle of superposition of strata’ states that younger rocks are found above older ones, there are certain unusual geological conditions causing older rocks to be found on top of younger ones. Through this activity, pupils can model the unusual geological conditions where the ‘Principle of superposition’ does not apply.
This is one of a series of activities using modelling with your hands. Many activities related to the topics in this ELI can be found on our website.

Rock cycle discussion about a sand grain

Have you tried the ELI 'Sand on a sill; what will happen to a sand grain left on a window sill? – a rock cycle discussion'?

This discussion activity has been devised to encourage pupils to think about rock cycle processes in the context of the area outside their own school. By leading the small group discussion using questions such as: ‘What might happen next?’, ‘And then?’ or ‘Can you think of another idea?’, teachers should be able to encourage pupils to consider a range of different processes and products of the rock cycle and how these link to other Earth cycles, as described in the activity.
Many other activities about the rock cycle and its processes and products can be found in 'Teaching strategies' or in the index on our website.
You can also take part in the international research project.

Earthquakes in art

The new ELI is 'Earthquakes in art: developing a scientific report based on evidence in historic paintings'

For this activity the pupils are divided into groups and told that they are science correspondents developing a news report for a quality newspaper or television or radio broadcast. Give each group a copy of one of the paintings and a list of criteria to consider for their reports.
Many more activities associated with Earthquakes can be found on the Earthlearningidea website. There are also other cross-curricular topics.