The demand for copper is increasing rapidly

Today, we are continuing our theme of 'Essential Minerals for the Green Revolution with Copper: an element for which the demand is increasing rapidly'.

This ELI involves an investigation into the need to increase mining for copper as demand rises abruptly and ores of lean (low) grade have to be used. 

Click here for other Earthlearningideas about minerals.

Classifying things found in the ground incuding rocks, minerals and fossils

An ELI Early years activity: 'Found in the ground: sorted! An introduction to classification using things ‘found in the ground’

 Teaching video to accompany the activity

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.

In the ELI Early years category, there are many other ideas.

Teaching geology to students with visual impairment

The new ELI today is 'Teaching geology to students with visual impairment (VI): modifying block models to teach map-work to students who cannot see'.

This activity describes how geology can be made accessible to all students. It will be followed by other ideas of how to teach students with visual impairment

How to distinguish different landscapes - granite, chalk, sandstone and limestone

 New teaching videos to accompany two popular Earthlearningideas:

'Geological postcards 1 – granite and chalk'' and 

'Geological postcards 2 – sandstone and limestone
Picture postcard puzzles'

These ELIs use ‘postcards’ of landscape features as clues to the nature of the underlying rocks.

Many, many activities about rocks can be found in our Earth Materials category - just search for 'Rocks' in 'Topics'.

New ELI today is 'Make your own aquifer – 2 The London Basin; model the aquifers in the London Basin with sponges'. 

Watch a video of the activity

This activity uses sponges to demonstrate water in pore spaces in sedimentary rocks. It may be used in science and geography lessons when studying the water cycle or water management.

Click here to find other watery Earthlearningideas.

Keeping our watery theme, have you tried - - 'Well, well, well! Making a working model of a well'?

Choose one version of the model to make, depending on the time and equipment available, and use it to demonstrate how water percolates through the spaces between the grains of a sediment or rock to accumulate at the bottom of a well.

Click here for other watery Earthlearningideas.

Make your own aquifer using sponges instead of rocks

New ELI today 'Make your own aquifer – 1 with sponges; a clean way to demonstrate water in pores in rocks'.

Teaching video

This Earthlearningidea uses sponges to demonstrate water in pore spaces in sedimentary rocks. It may be used in science and geography lessons when studying the water cycle or water management.

In the category Earth as a system, Water cycle, there are many related activities.