The USGS Alaska Volcanoes Guidebook for Teachers is a great resource for teaching about Alaska's 50+ active volcanoes. Many of the lessons and activities can be applied to volcanoes in other parts of the country.
The earthquake is a great lead-in to lessons on plate tectonics (website; map) and tsunamis.
Holiday Activities for Children
Looking for educational activities that kids can enjoy at home over the holidays? We've got plenty to choose from. Some require a certain degree of adult participation. Check out our Mineral Activities (goes well with holiday baking), Topographic Salad Tray Model, Earthshots, Wegener's Puzzling Evidence, and Tennis Ball Globe.
We also have games, puzzles, and online quizzes that children can pursue on their own. Try USGS Kids (ecosystems), Water Science for Schools, and Earthquakes for Kids.
Each week, a recent satellite image is posted along with one (or more) older images showing change over time. A detailed explanation of the images is included, along with a link for downloading them (free registration on Earth Explorer is required). Find more classroom-friendly satellite images of environmental change at our Earthshots website.
Explore our Topographic Map Resources for Teachers to find more ideas for teaching about topographic maps.
Find more water-related activities at our Water Science for Schools website and on the back side of the Water Education posters.
Find a wealth of additional information on our list of USGS Resources for Working with Topographic Maps and our 27 Ideas for Teaching with Topographic Maps.
Students of all ages will have fun learning more about Mars by putting together one of several paper models of the red planet.
Watch videos from more past and present student employees at the USGS.
An Informative website, a podcast, and a collection of videos.
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country: Your Handbook for the Central U.S. (booklet)
20 Cool Facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone (poster)
Bicentennial of the 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquake Sequence (poster)
Earthquakes in the Central United States, 1699-2010 (poster)
What is the history of earthquakes in your state? The USGS has a brief earthquake history for each state along with maps, links to local organizations, and information about recent and notable earthquakes.
Get details about recent significant earthquakes, including the August 24 earthquake in Virginia, at the USGS Earthquake Summary Posters website. The posters are easily downloaded and are an excellent resource for the classroom.
Visit the USGS Office of Global Change for more information.
The animations are not a prediction of sea level rise, but rather illustrate areas of low elevation by using a blue color that simulates coverage by water. The numbers of people in those areas are tabulated.
Short on time? Listen to a seven minute podcast about earthquake prediction.
Find more information about USGS tsunami research.
Learn more at the website for the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Over a third of Alaska's 140 volcanoes have been active in the last 300 years. This new online-only publication has chapters covering the tectonic setting, rocks, eruption styles, landforms, community impact, effect on climate, and monitoring of Alaska's volcanoes. Each chapter has 3-4 detailed classroom activities for grades 6-12 and a large amount of supplemental materials.
Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country: Your Handbook for Earthquakes in the Central United States
Earthquake Hazard in the Heart of the Homeland (2006 Fact Sheet)
Details and Events for the New Madrid Bicentennial.
Explore Africa's physical and cultural geography in a new GIS lesson with seven different activities. Each activity builds on the data, skills, and concepts learned in the previous activity, and includes instructions for use with both ArcView and ArcGIS. These lessons were created for GIS beginners, but can be adapted for users at other levels.
Inspire interest in Land Remote Sensing with this spectacular new collection of satellite images, selected solely for their aesthetic appeal. Download free, high-resolution JPG or TIF files, or purchase paper copies through the USGS Store.
Good supplemental material includes the EarthNow! continuous Landsat satellite viewer, Earthshots images of environmental change (developed for classroom use), the Changes Over Time gallery, an online public lecture: Looking Down on our Planet, and the Landsat Mission website. Download free USGS satellite imagery and air photography through EarthExplorer.
The National Atlas is now launching an improved and revised digital "Set of 100 Maps" using a simple online viewer. The initial release includes five maps from different parts of the country; additional maps will be added every few months. Go here to find more ideas for teaching with topographic maps.
What does a satellite see as it passes over our planet? Find out with the EarthNow! Landsat Image Viewer, which shows mesmerizing, near-real time satellite imagery from the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites as they pass over North America.
A fun way to learn more about these satellites and their imagery is to watch a high-resolution, 1-hour public lecture, Looking Down On Our Planet: New satellite imagery reveals a changing global surface.
Also explore Earthshots: Satellite Images of Environmental Change, an educational site full of before and after satellite images with detailed information for the classroom.
Be sure to explore Lessons and Activities for topographic maps.
Learn about the importance of healthy coastal wetlands along the Gulf coast and in other locations through this online teaching guide. Each topic includes a classroom activity to illustrate the concept. A glossary, reading list, and resources for additional activities are included. For elementary and middle school students.
As a supplement, watch a new 8-minute video about the Effects of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Wetlands in the Mississippi Delta and a new 7-minute video about the Impacts of Hurricanes on Salt Marsh and Mangrove Wetlands.
Watch two fascinating new videos in which USGS scientists recount their experiences during the eruption, and the eruption is shown to have triggered a growth in volcano science and volcano monitoring.
Be sure to visit the excellent new Water Education page with its exhaustive list of resources, and take special note of the new Data Discovery page, which includes real-time national maps for streamflow, drought, floods, groundwater levels, and water quality. The Water Use page has useful links to reports on national water use and comparisons of water consumption vs. renewable supplies.
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Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 22-Jul-2014 15:18:36 EDT