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Earth Processes
Teacher Resources

Stories in Stone, a GEMS Teacher’s Guide. Glenn T. Seaborg, Principal Investigator (multiple contributing authors, Jacqueline Barber, et al). The Regents of the University of California, 1993. ISBN Number 0-912511-93-1
This guide provides a wonderful exploration of rocks and minerals, emphasizing observing properties that lead to an understanding of the processes that form different rocks and minerals and what this reveals about the changing crust of the earth.

Earth, Moon, and Stars, a GEMS Teachers Guide. Glenn T. Seaborg, Principal Investigator (multiple contributing authors, Jacqueline Barber, et al). The Regents of the University of California, 1986.
In the TEAMS Science Earth Processes Module we take a look at planetary geology - if this has peaked your students interest in looking at the sky, check out this teachers guide. It includes a great model of the moon’s phases for kids and explores topics such at ancient models of the world, eclipses, and observing the moon and stars.

River Cutters, a GEMS Teacher’s Guide. Glenn T. Seaborg, Principal Investigator (multiple contributing authors, Jacqueline Barber, et al). The Regents of the University of California, 1989, most recent revision 1997. ISBN Number 0-912511-67-2
This is the guide that pioneered using diatomaceous earth in stream tables. Some great explorations using stream tables are included here. How about using stream tables to explore the hidden location of buried toxic waste? - cool! Use this guide to get the full advantage out of the stream tables and initial explorations that are a part of TEAMS Science Earth Processes.

Moon’s of Jupiter, a GEMS Teacher’s Guide. Glenn T. Seaborg, Principal Investigator (multiple contributing authors, Jacqueline Barber, et al). The Regents of the University of California, 1993. ISBN Number 0-912511-84-2
This guide is a great companion to our investigation of earth processes and includes a very nice section on cratering. It is accompanied by a great set of twenty-three 35mm slides that show the moons of Jupiter and other resources for the investigations.

Water, Stones, and Fossil Bones. Karen Lind, editor. The National Science Teachers Association. Arlington, VA, 1991 ISBN Number 0-87355-101-x
This book is a compilation of more than 50 activities in earth sciences, published jointly by the Council for Elementary Science International (CESI) and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Many of the activities include excellent modeling techniques and a few of them you can even eat!

Craters! A Multi-Science Approach to Cratering and Impacts. William K. Hartman with Joe Cain. The National Science Teachers Association. Arlington, VA, 1995 ISBN Number 0-87355-101-x
If your students enjoyed the cratering activity, even just a little bit, consider going further with this resource! - the single best resource on cratering I have found. The explorations build in a nice sequence and encourage students to model and explore cratering in much, much more detail than the scope of the TEAMS Science Earth Processes module allows. Craters! is a joint Project of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), the Planetary Society, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Craters! includes a CD-ROM containing more than 200 images for use with the activities in the guide. You’ll have plenty of excellent images of craters at your fingertips with this cross-platform, Mac and PC disk. Many of the images in the book are cross-referenced to their digital version on the CD-ROM. This allows you to print custom sets of images and project them for viewing by the class.

How the Earth Works. John Farndon, A Reader’s Digest Book, Dorling Kindersley Limited, London, 1992. ISBN Number 0-89577-411-9
I’ve referred to books in this series before - they’re great. Very visual, great graphic presentation along with clear and readable text. The emphasis is on models and explorations kids can do, along with photos and diagrams that connect the student’s exploration and observations to professional models and representations. Good stuff.
Project Earth Science—Geology. Brent A. Ford. The National Science Teachers Association. Arlington, VA, 1996. ISBN Number 0-87355-131-1
This is a brand new guide for me and although I haven’t finished reading it, I am sure it needs to make this list - for one thing, it is new enough to address the national science standards!

Dictionary of the Earth. John Farndon. Dorling Kindersley Limited, New York. 1994 ISBN Number 0-87355-131-1
This is an excellent teacher resource for brushing up on your earth science and a great way for kids to explore answers to questions they pose. This is a very visual, richly illustrated resource of 2,000 key words arranged thematically. You’ll love this book - own it or encourage your local libraries to get a copy or two if they don’t already have a few.

Janice VanCleave’s Earth Science for Every Kid. Janice VanCleave. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. 1991. ISBN Number 0-471-53010-7
As with the other books in this series, there are "101 easy experiments that really work." The activities are clever and the directions and explanations are simple and clear.
Here’s a new plus, Delta Education now offers kits to go with the Janice VanCleave series. The companion kit includes materials for dozens of activities included in the book. Contact Delta Education at (800) 442-5444 for more information.

The Earth Pack, Nature’s Forces in Three Dimensions. Ron van der Meer and Ron Fisher. The National Geographic Society and Singram Company, Ltd., Washington D.C. 1995. ISBN Number 0-7922-2957-6
Awesome is the best way to describe this book. The pop-up models are great but only the beginning. There is outstanding paper engineering to illustrate colliding crustal plates, formation of an avalanche, volcanic eruption types, an many others. There are also a number of 3-D images and 3-D glasses are included. This resource is a bit pricey, but very good.

Crustal Evolution Education Project (CEEP)
Are you ready to go a little further in your exploration of plate tectonics? - this is the way to go. CEEP includes some 33 lab activities that explore a variety of topics associated with the crust of the earth. Consider some of these titles: "Drifting Continents and Wandering Poles;" "The Eruption of Mount St. Helen’s;" "How Do Scientists Decide Which Is the Better Theory?;" "Volcanoes: Where and Why?;" "Plate Boundaries and Earthquake Prediction;" and "Tropics in Antarctica?" WARD’S Natural Science is the exclusive distributor of these guides. Contact them at 1-800-962-2660.

Well, there are a few of my favorite resources (that are still in print!) but the real resource here will be begin when you all share your favorites as well! Send me the information and we’ll add your favorites to the list and credit you and your school. Keep in touch, and Keep Doing Science!

Gary