One of the most alarming impacts of projected climate change is a significant rise in sea level. Sea level has varied by hundreds of meters over geologic time, yet these changes have generally been slow paced, allowing ecosystems to adjust to changing land surface and marine habitats. Since the Industrial Revolution, anthropogenic emissions have…

Water is one of our most precious resources. However, for many in the United States, having fresh, safe drinking water is taken for granted, and due to this perceived lack of relevance, students may not fully appreciate the luxury of having safe running water--in the home. One approach to resolving water-quality issues in the United States may…

Case studies are an excellent method for engaging middle school students in the current work of scientists. Students learn to think like scientists as they decide how to investigate the dilemma presented in the case study. This article describes one such case study, the Fish Kill Mystery, which takes place at a popular vacation spot--the beaches…

Water is an essential resource for all living things. How we live on our watershed can impact water quantity and quality. It is important to recognize how humans alter watershed dynamics, but students often find it challenging to visualize watershed processes and understand how decisions that they make as individuals and together as a community…

The Oregon 4-H Wildlife Stewards program has been training teachers and volunteers to convert school grounds to education sites by constructing schoolyard wildlife habitats since 1997. The publication "What Can We Learn at the Pond? 4-H Wildlife Stewards Master Leader Guide" (Bourdeau 2004a) was written to support the program's focus on developing…

The American Geological Institute is helping teachers and geoscientists to emphasize the importance of inquiry and active investigation of the world around by selecting "Eyes on Planet Earth: Monitoring Our Changing World" as the theme of this year's Earth Science Week. The activity on the back of this month's poster insert, "Monitoring the…

Presents inquiry-oriented activities that acquaint students with groundwater sources, movement of water through aquifers, and contamination of groundwater by pollution. In one activity, students use well log data from web-based resources to explore groundwater systems. Provides sample well log data for those not having access to local information.…

Presents an exciting way to acquaint students with current methods to clean up oil spills. Students also have the freedom to create new clean-up methods as they think through the problem and experiment to find effective solutions. (PR)

Describes creating a Model Aquatic/Terrestrial Ecosystem for use in helping students understand how water moves beneath the ground's surface. The model is constructed from a fish tank using rocks, soil, gravel, clay, and organic materials. Author describes possible cooperative-learning and problem-solving activities that can be done with this…