Can Earthquakes Be Predicted?

USGS has a new Podcast on their site titled, "Can We Predict Earthquakes?"
Click here to download the mp3.
Might be worth listening to with your class and having them write a response.




Here is their Podcast on the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in Italy last week.
(Click the above image to get info about this quake!)
Click here to download the mp3.





Also another neat USGS Podcast about the 2008 Illinois Earthquake.
(Click the above image to get info about this quake!)
Click here to download the mp3.

USGS VIDEO PODCASTS

What a great way to start the day! A video podcast from the USGS! Check out their podcast website and pick your topic.

Project on your BigScreen or Whiteboard. Run a week of these as Bellwork. They can be required to write five interesting facts down for Bellwork points.

USGS also produces Audio Podcasts covering great topics which would be worth using as well. On the same page.

And the BEST PART? They can be downloaded straight to your computer to be saved for future use. What fun!

Earth Science Week 2009

Earth Science Week this year will be October 12 - 18, 2009. Not too early to start planning!

“Understanding Climate,” the theme of Earth Science Week 2009, will promote scientific understanding of a timely, vital topic: Earth’s climate.

Click here to visit the Earth Science Week website. You can sign up for a newsletter, order materials to celebrate Earth Science Week, and even check out a great list of Teaching Climate links. NOTE: They don't have 2009 Materials up yet, but 2008 Materials might be worth check out, too!

Don't forget, Marcia's Science Teaching Ideas website also has some great ideas for Teaching Climate!

Redoubt Webcam

Redoubt's WebCams are lots of fun to visit. Especially on a day like today when a small plume is apparent but not blocking our view. Click here for the 2nd Redoubt Webcam. This one is farther away--not quite as dramatic.

A great Bellwork Idea would be to visit a currently-erupting volcano's webcam every day for a week and have them make a sketch of what they see and write five observations or changes.

You could visit the webcam site ahead of time and make a sketch of the volcano's outline to add to a paper with five areas for five weekday sketches and observations.

What fun!

Redoubt's Still Erupting!

Redoubt eruption, 3/28/2009 by Tricia Joy Sadler.

Redoubt is still at it!

Be sure to keep your students aware of this! Even though it seems far away from most of the continental US, it's actually quite important as many international flights have had to be diverted because of the enormous ash clouds.

From the AVO website:
"The last large explosive eruption occurred at 7:23pm on Saturday, March 28 (Image above). Since then there have been several smaller ash-steam bursts, but these have produced only minor amounts of ash and plume heights have been generally below 25,000 feet. Any ash fall was likely confined to the immediate vicinity of the volcano."