In this activity, students play the roles of "time travel agents" creating an advertisement for a geologic time period which has been assigned to them. They will use the Earth Science Reference Tables (available on the internet) to learn some basic facts about their assigned period. A rubric for assessing student understanding is provided.

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding.
Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click within the layer that is entirely liquid."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding.
Students are shown these diagrams and instructed to "Click in the river where you expect to find the greatest rate of erosion along the river bed."
A follow-up question asks students to "Click in the river where you expect to find the fastest moving water."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Blank geologic timeline

Provenance: Nicole LaDue, Northern Illinois University
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding.

Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click on the line where humans appeared on Earth." A follow-up question instructs students to "Click on the line where dinosaurs appeared on Earth."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and told, "A storm event releases chemicals stored at the farm that end up in the groundwater. Click on the well that is most likely to be contaminated."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Yellowstone hotspot track

Provenance: Nicole LaDue, NIU

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and told, "The tectonic plate has moved southwest over this hotspot. If the plate started moving north, click where you expect the next caldera will form."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding.
Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click where the bottom of the lithosphere will be after the mountains have eroded away."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Provenance: Zebra Canyon, Utah. Photo by Diane Greer; used with permission.
Reuse: If you wish to use this item outside this site in ways that exceed fair use (see http://fairuse.stanford.edu/) you must seek permission from its creator.
Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding. Students are shown this diagram and instructed to click in the box where they expect to find the same layer as the one labeled with a dot. Click on the image to see a larger version.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This activity uses a physical model to facilitate students' understanding of elastic deformation of rocks and the episodic nature of motion on a fault, which leads to earthquakes and aftershocks.

In this activity, candy models are used to demonstrate the features of the Earth, including its internal structure and layers. Students learn why models are essential in Earth science and answer questions about how their candy models do and do not compare with the actual Earth.

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.

Stratigraphic profile

Provenance: Nicole LaDue
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Formative assessment questions using a classroom response system ("clickers") can be used to reveal students' spatial understanding.
Students are shown this diagram and instructed to "Click on a layer within the red box that is more resistant to weathering than the other two layers."

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This 30 minute activity engages students in ordering and spacing geologic history events on a meter stick. Students engage in an inquiry cycle, individually first, then with a partner before receiving feedback on their model. This process scaffolds their temporal reasoning of the vastness of geologic time.

Google Streetview image of Monument Valley. Image by Khashea N. Alnasrallah.

Provenance: Photo by Khashea N. Alnasrallah, accessed at https://www.google.com/maps/@37.0080155,-110.1880364,3a,90y,65.73h,76.64t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPAABHveLP_NZYyuXecNQ7yrcPXESv24W8ttQ_b!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPAABHveLP_NZYyuXecNQ7yrcPXESv24W8ttQ_b%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya298.5-ro-0-fo100!7i7168!8i3584?hl=en
Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

This exercise uses Google Streetview, in combination with 360 degree immersive photographs, to show students real-world examples of the sedimentary rocks, sedimentary structures, and weathering processes that they are learning about in class.
Examples are taken from Parfrey's Glen (WI); Zion National Park; Glacier National Park; Starved Rock State Park (IL); Monument Valley; and Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)