Have you ever seen a volcano, felt an earthquake, or seen twisted layers of rock along the roadside cliffs? My students have never seen these wonders as we live in a seismically inactive area. So please help me bring some of these experiences and processes to life for them!
My students come from struggling blue collar families.
The type of hard working kids that strive to achieve more success through education than their parents did. Our school is the foundation of this rural community. The type of place where everyone shuts down their businesses in order to come to the game between the two district high schools. We don't receive much in the way of federal funds even though we're title 1 because we work hard and get good results with what we have. Simply put, we are 'small farm town USA'.
My Project
These activity sets will allow us to get out of lecture - and into the lab! We're not talking for just one simple lab, but for over 7 different labs or more. We will explore the basic theory of plate tectonics first, then go into different types of boundaries between the plates. Once we've mastered the boundaries - the real fun can begin! Now we can start learning about earthquakes and faults! We can start exploring how rocks are deformed through pressure. Finally, we culminate with two labs - volcanoes and the magnetic poles. What does the magnetosphere have to do with volcanic activity you ask? Everything! The magnetic pole's direction changes are frozen in the lava flows. Now we bring geologic past into the future and discuss the next great magnetic pole switch and how it might affect all of our electronics! The students will finish the unit knowing how the Earth and all her movements - directly affects each and every one of them every day!
I'm at a brand new school this year.
As I walked into my classroom for the very first time - I saw bare shelves and lab tables never used. This project will begin a new era at this school. An era of hands-on learning! Where students are excited about coming through the lab door. Where they ask questions - and find the answers by using their own curiosity!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. P. and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.