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Dawn Forum All-Star
Joined: June 12 2005 Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: July 24 2006 at 6:25am | IP Logged
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Rats, I just lost a big post, but here goes again ...
What about earth's natural resources as an earth science topic?
We (meaning my 4 yo Science Channel fan and I ) caught the tail end of a show about shipbuilding and it got me to thinking about the ways which we (humans) use the earth's abundant resources - lumber, water, oil, rocks etc. I thought we could touch upon history (how our needs and consumption habits have changed through the years), conservation (being good stewards of the earth) and those people who have made a difference (such as Teddy Roosevelt, Robert Kennedy Jr., etc.).
Anyway - just thinking aloud ...
__________________ Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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lapazfarm Forum All-Star
Joined: July 21 2005 Location: Alaska
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Posted: July 24 2006 at 8:40am | IP Logged
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Sounds like an awesome idea!
__________________ Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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MacBeth Forum All-Star
Probably at the beach...
Joined: Jan 27 2005 Location: New York
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Posted: July 24 2006 at 8:48am | IP Logged
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An interesting place to start might be the Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/nhp/index.htm.
The Mineral Information Institute http://www.mii.org/ has cheap or free stuff for your classroom.
__________________ God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog
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~Rachel~ Forum All-Star
Joined: March 29 2005 Location: Virginia
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Posted: July 26 2006 at 9:50am | IP Logged
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And if you are still looking for some books, you can always check out the new bookfinder on Simply Charlotte Mason
__________________ ~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
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Karen T Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 16 2005
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Posted: Aug 06 2006 at 10:50am | IP Logged
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I was just looking through Rainbow Resources' catalog for some earth science stuff and came across a couple of books to ask about. I'm looking more for a spine, to help me organize what order I'm teaching this in, as well as possibly activities to tie in, not so much a textbook. I had looked at Macbeth's page on earth science and I think our library only has one of the books she's recommended
Here are the ones from RR I'm looking at
Earth Science the Easy Way
it says it's for grades 7-12 (I'll be teaching an 8th grader, with more activities for the youngers)
Earth Science
says grades 5-8
and last, has anyone used any of hte lyrical science CD's, esp the earth science one?
After reading the previous posts with all the recommendations I'm sure i can put together a lot of stuff, but I still think it might be easier for me to have something to fall back on when I can't get to the library, or to make sure I cover each part. We did astronomy for a whole year in 6th grade, so probably won't do very much with it this time.
Karen
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Dawn Forum All-Star
Joined: June 12 2005 Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 4:29pm | IP Logged
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Karen T wrote:
Here are the ones from RR I'm looking at
Earth Science the Easy Way
it says it's for grades 7-12 (I'll be teaching an 8th grader, with more activities for the youngers)
Earth Science
says grades 5-8 |
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Karen, I could not find the first book at RR, but is this the book at Amazon? I used the search feature and I like the way it looks.
I too would like something as a spine - a jumping off point. This is what I am doing with history (using Usborne World History) and it makes planning things out so much easier for me.
And one more earth science topic to ask about: composting. Please pardon my ignorance but would this be considered earth science (or life science)? Not that it matters, of course. Ds11 is suddenly *extremely* interested in writing a "report" on composting (his idea not mine!). I thought it might be a fun way to kick off our new year (and get back to our composting habit which has been lax of late).
Any composting-unit ideas (or is that a whole separate thread?)
__________________ Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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MacBeth Forum All-Star
Probably at the beach...
Joined: Jan 27 2005 Location: New York
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Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 4:44pm | IP Logged
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Composting is both. Of course, nature study is interdisciplinary, too.
The earth is unique in the solar system, as it has a biological component to its geology. Cool, huh?
Starting a composting thread, especially this time of year, would be a great idea. <hint hint>
__________________ God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog
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Karen T Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 16 2005
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Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 5:06pm | IP Logged
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yes, that is the same book. It should be here anyday now; I ended up going with that one. I also have vanCleave's books EArth science for every kid, which is activities the younger ones will have fun with. The thing I don't like about van Cleave, though, is that most of her activities use household items to show how something works but don't actually involve the kids in real science IMO. I know that doesn't make sense, but for example, in one of her bug books for young kids, she has the kid make a bug out of marshmallows and toothpicks and "catch" it with a net, etc. My kids are out there actually catching real bugs almost daily; marshmallows don't equal bugs to them.
karen T
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Karen T Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 16 2005
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Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 5:10pm | IP Logged
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Re: composting, I've been composting in a simple bin outside for years. This year I decided to try a worm bin for the kids. I ordered worms, prepared everything and they did fine for about a month, but now they've all died. I think it's been too hot; they're in the carport and temps have been mid-90's most of the summer. So the bin is now just a small mini-composter.
also, I've read claims of one worm bin being able to handle the scraps (fruit/vegetable) of a family of 4 each week. I had 1000 worms originally, and believe me, they could not handle more than a few potato peelings each week. I'd like to hear more tips on worms.
Karen T
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Dawn Forum All-Star
Joined: June 12 2005 Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 5:45pm | IP Logged
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Karen T wrote:
yes, that is the same book. It should be here anyday now; I ended up going with that one. I also have vanCleave's books EArth science for every kid, which is activities the younger ones will have fun with. |
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Karen, I'm very glad to hear that you went with that book! I just popped it in my Amazon cart (library doesn't have a copy). I'll be eager to hear how you use it!
I know what you mean about the VanCleave books. I have never really gotten "into" them. My library has a copy; I was thinking of checking it out.
I'd like a hands-on earth science activities book to round out the other one. I was thinking How the Earth Works looked good, or perhaps Geology Rocks as Julia suggested.
__________________ Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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Dawn Forum All-Star
Joined: June 12 2005 Location: Massachusetts
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Posted: Aug 26 2006 at 5:47pm | IP Logged
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Karen T wrote:
I'd like to hear more tips on worms.
Karen T |
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Karen, I started a new thread on composting ~ I'll bet there will be worm suggestions there.
__________________ Dawn, mum to 3 boys
By Sun and Candlelight
The Nature Corner
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Karen T Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 16 2005
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Posted: Sept 11 2006 at 4:14pm | IP Logged
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Dawn wrote:
Karen, I'm very glad to hear that you went with that book! I just popped it in my Amazon cart (library doesn't have a copy). I'll be eager to hear how you use it!
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Dawn, I wish I'd followed your link and ordered the book (Earth Science the easy way) from Amazon. It's been almost a month since I ordered it from Rainbow Resources and no show yet. I'd placed another order a few days prior to it but paid for the expedited handling (but not shipping) and it came within about 5 days, so I figured this would come maybe in 2 weeks tops. we're just reading library books and doing nature study waiting on the other book now.
Karen T
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