Teach Earth Science to Elementary School Students
The Earth is an amazing place, full of complex natural wonders. Elementary students have the opportunity to learn about the amazing planetary features through the study of Earth science. When teaching Earth science, teachers can open students' eyes to the fantastic features of the natural world. By effectively engaging students in Earth science lessons, teachers can create not only educated students, but also responsible future citizens who appreciate the complexity of our great planet.
Instructions
1. Explore the outdoors. Start your elementary study of Earth science by exploring the outdoors. Take your students to a local park or out to the playground, and instruct them to look carefully at the natural features present. Ask them to make a list of 10 non-man made things that they see during their exploration. Once students return to the classroom, make a list of natural objects that they observed. Tell students that all of these naturally occurring objects are part of the study of Earth science.
2. Write environmental questions. Provide each student with a slip of paper, and ask him to write down one question that he has about the way the world works. Once students write down their questions, ask them to fold their papers. Place the questions in a basket. Each day, draw one question out of the basket and answer it. If you do not know the answer to the posed question, work with students to look the answer up in available resource books. As you answer the questions, staple the original questions to a bulletin board and place the answer on a slip of paper below the question. Students can reference the board throughout the unit to remind themselves of the things that they have learned about how our planet functions.
3. Read excerpts of "The Kingfisher Young People's Book of Planet Earth" written by Martin Redfern. This reference book contains detailed explanations of Earth events along with easy-to-understand illustrations, and is intended for upper elementary and middle school students. If you do not have an Earth science text from which to work, you can let this book serve as your primary text. If you do have a school-prescribed Earth science text, pull supplemental information from this book. Students enjoy the narrative-style writing in this book and understand the information more completely after exploring the diagrams featured throughout the text.
4. Focus on topics about which students express interest. There are a multitude of different areas on which you could focus your Earth science study. To maintain student interest, try to select areas in which students have expressed interest. This will increase student motivation to learn.
5. Use proven lessons from NASA's Exploring the Environment. NASA provides a website specifically for teachers. (See the Resources section.) This website called "Exploring the Environment" features a host of lessons for grades kindergarten through 12. Use this resource when planning your Earth science lessons. Topics run the gamut, spanning from coral reefs to the Florida Everglades. Each lesson includes reproducible worksheets, and some even offer videos which pique student interest and allow them to see Earth science in action.
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