Literature: Online Stories | Literature: Trade Books | Social Studies | Art
Literature: Online Stories
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Volcano Legends
- A wonderful compilation of myths and legends from around the
world related to volcanic activity. Also points to other print and web
myth-related resources.
- The Adventures of Julia and Robbie
- A series of stories prepared by FEMA for young or special ed children to teach important actions to take in the face of a threatened natural disaster, including blizzards, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. It's a good way to learn about preparing for and reducing the expected effects of a natural event to students without unduly scaring them.
Literature: Trade Books
- Rocks and Minerals Books
- The USGS recommends these books for students and teachers
interested in collecting or identifying rocks and minerals.
Social Studies
- Geology and the Civil War
- This site from the University of Kentucky describes the
important influence of local geology (rock types and landforms) on a landmark event in history (the Civil War invasion of Kentucky). This is written with far more technical knowledge of rock types than your students will have, but look at it as an example of a great way to integrate history and geology. Pick an event, look at the geographical area in which it occurred (and possibly the transportation/communication/defense technology that was available at the time), and look for ways the geology of the area affected the event.
- Stone
Tool Production
- Short account of an investigation. Experimental archaeologists write about how they figured out how our ancient ancestors made tools by doing it themselves and testing their resultant tools, comparing them to real ancient tools.
- Mystic Places: Stonehenge and Easter Island
- This site offers images and detailed articles about two of the greatest rock-related mysteries in the world—Stonehenge and Easter Island.
Art
- Earth History Illustrations
- Good scientific illustration involves more than drawing fantastic creatures. For each creature that is to be recreated, there is a lot of information in the fossil record of size and biological features, contemporary plants and animals, and climates that should be considered—yet many things are not known. The fossil record is often fragmentary and open to interpretation. Look at the works of this dinosaur illustrator and look for all the science he had to know and incorporate. (Search for the works of some other illustrators and compare.)
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