ePals Ideas: Geology (in context)

Created By: Chad Steward

Grade Level: 6th-8th

Content Area: Geology

            In studying seventh grade geology, we often look at many different pictures and information about landscapes and rocks. As teachers, many times we lack the way to make this information directly relevant to the student. With technology, we have a great means to connect these concepts across the world and directly tie them to the lives of the children that surround these areas. An educator from Washington State could collaborate with an educator from an arid climate, like Arizona. They could have their students collect soil samples from their backyards, take pictures of landscapes that surround their homes and even take pictures of the trees in the area. The students could then use Skype, Google Hangout, or similar internet video chat programs to have their students share their collected samples with students from another climate.

The Activity:

1.) Have your students take pictures of trees, rocks, interesting land formations around their homes.

2.) Have them collect about a cup of dirt and small rocks from their backyard.

3.) Have the students connect one on one in a video chat with students from another class that has performed the same activities.

4.) Let the students discuss and compare the differences in their collected data, taking down notes on the differences and between their collected data and the students’ data from another location.

5.) Let the students reflect on their collected data and then have them hypothesize on potential reasons for the differences between soil samples, trees, land formations, etc from their own backyard and their peers from another location.

This activity hits mainly on two educational technology EALRs. The first standard  hit is 1.2: Collaborate. In this activity, the students are using technology to compile research data with a peer from another location. Each student will get the opportunity to not only teach another student, but get taught by another student about their respective environments. This is the antithesis of collaboration, as each student relies on the other to get their required data for the reflection portion of the activity. The second standard hit is 1.3: Investigate and Think Critically. The students are getting the opportunity to acquire data and then try and figure out why their data is so different from their long distance peers. This allows students to engage in upper level thinking, because they must synthesis a scenario that could create these discrepancies.