The purpose of this resource is to familiarize students with modeling as it relates to remote sensing and digitized images. Students will use the symbolic map created in the beginning activity to produce a digitized image and begin to see why ground verification of satellite data is necessary.

In this activity, students measure volume, mass, and calculate density for pennies of different ages as well as for a copper sample. They will answer questions about their measurements, and use internet resources to write paragraphs about the cause of the pattern they observed in their measurements of mass, and pose and answer a question about what they have discovered.

This module introduces D. Mendeleev's theories and the modern Periodic Table. Electron configuration as a function of table placement is discussed.

The purpose of this resource is to observe the flowering and leaf stages of selected garden plants throughout the year. After a phenological garden is planted, students observe the growth of leaves and blooming of flowers on the plants. These plants were selected because each plant blooms at a different time in the year.

The distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes around the world confirmed the theory of plate tectonics first proposed by Wegener. These phenomena also help categorize plate boundaries into three different types: convergent, divergent, and transform.

This module offers an introduction to the concepts explored by Alfred Wegener, Harry Hess, and others. It is the first in a series on plate tectonics.

This quiz for younger students asks them 10 questions about plate motions, rock types in continental and oceanic crust, crustal formation and mountain building, the supercontinent Pangea, and the theory of continental drift. A link to a page on continental drift provides information to answer the questions.

Students write a short essay using relative age principles to describe a fictional set of geologic events and processes (specified in the exercise) that occur in a hypothetical area. The essay is used to develop a geologic profile, and then it is given to another student who is tasked with producing the correct geologic profile (as a quiz), based on the essay information. A teacher-designed rubric is used to score the quiz and to allow students to complete a self-evaluation of their learning.

Visionlearning uses a variety of diffferent technology to innovate and make learning fun. This module explains the browser plug-ins and other programs that can be helpful when using Visionlearning.

In this exercise, sudents write a series of three stories that explain and/or illustrate rock-forming processes. As an alternative, they may write a single story that addresses the rock cycle. Describing these processes at a level appropriate for their target audience (second graders) requires an adequate understanding of the geologic processes involved and can reveal problems or misconceptions in the students' ideas of how rocks are formed. Teacher's notes and rubrics for teacher and peer review are provided.

In this exercise, students use U.S. Geological Survey and other websites to learn about the history of earthquakes in New York. Through their web research, they will learn what earthquakes are, how and where they occur, and the types of hazards associated with large quakes. They are encouraged to write a report summarizing their results.

This lesson is an introduction to the scientific method of observation, hypothesis formation and experimentation.

This laboratory activity demonstrates how seismic waves are generated and helps students understand how they can reveal the composition of Earth's inner layers. Students will construct models by filling shoe boxes with various materials, drop rocks on them to generate 'seismic waves', record the waves, and make observations about their differences.

In this decision-making exercise, students investigate what would occur if a dam were built along Nanticoke Creek, a real stream just north of West Corners near the Village of Endicott, New York. They will use topographic maps to determine how much area would be flooded by the new reservoir, to study river drainages, and to consider the impacts of dams on a region. They must also consider rivers in the context of their relation to humankind. The exercise can be extended to other, more local locations having similar topography.

In this activity, students investigate convection as it applies to Earth processes. They will assemble a model using a bread pan to view convection in two paired cells. They will also investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the model thay have constructed and answer some questions about what they are seeing.

In this activity, students are assigned a geologic profile based on a set of rock samples and are asked to arrange the samples from oldest to youngest. They then identify each rock type and record their observations of what processes might have formed it, what type of sediment it is made of, what sort of environment it might have formed in, and what agents of erosion or deposition might have been at work. Using this information, they will write a story explaining the geologic history represented by their profile and describe in detail how it might have formed.

In this activity, students use elevation and distance data to construct graphic profiles and determine the average gradients for three streams. A series of discussion questions addresses concepts of deposition, erosion, and nickpoints, and gives students practice compiling evidence to provide scientific explanations. Graphs can be constructed by hand on paper or generated using graphing software.

In this activity, students simulate deformational effects on Earth's crust using peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These common sandwich components are used to model geologic features such as synclines, anticlines, and monoclines, and to demonstrate the effects of stresses and strains.

This module discusses how taxonomic names for the genus and species categories are formed and standardized, and how the rules are bent when it comes to famous beasts, such as well known dinosaurs.