{"id":20,"date":"2016-06-18T03:05:33","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T03:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/showmegeology.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2016-11-22T18:25:36","modified_gmt":"2016-11-22T18:25:36","slug":"lessons","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/showmegeology.sdsu.edu\/index.php\/lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Show-Me-Geology is scheduled at SDSU for Friday mornings and a visit consists of three separate units lasting 50 minutes each. We ask for a $2\/student donation to help support the program. The program is geared for 4th graders and is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards<\/a>. The optimal number of kids is about 60 – but we do handle smaller groups (e.g. homeschoolers) or single classes. Larger groups up to 90 kids are possible – but the students don’t get as much hands-on experience. \u00a0It’s possible to picnic lunch on campus after the program ends. Attentive parent\/chaperones are encouraged to attend.<\/p>\n

Students get the most from this program if the visit is coordinated with classroom instruction in geology prior to their visit. We have follow-up activities\/exercises we encourage teachers to take advantage of.<\/p>\n

Earthquakes and Seismology<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"faultmap3sm\"This session starts with a discussion of what the children already know about earthquakes – what happens during an earthquake and how people react. Not surprisingly, living in southern California, many of the children have been in at least a small earthquake and they are usually anxious to relate their experiences. kids looking at maps
\nbridge collapsed by earthquake We sometimes show a short (~5 min) video clip showing effects of the 1994 Northridge and 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakes. Before we start, we ask the kids to focus on what types of damage they observe and secondly on the reactions of people. In the follow-up discussion we talk about earthquake preparedness.\"highwayEQdamage\"
\nNext we have the class gather around a Fault Activity Map of California that shows the location of earthquakes faults both onshore and offshore in the California region – and which further identifies historically active faults as well as pre-historic faults which moved during the Holocene epoch of geologic time (during the last 10,000 years). The kids are asked to identify the biggest fault in California on this map (the San Andreas Fault) as well as to look for potentially active faults in the San Diego region. kids looking at maps
\nkids with earthquake machine The Earthquake Machine is used to demonstrate the principle of elastic rebound for the cause and recurrence of earthquakes and provide insight into the difficulty of earthquake prediction. It is also a great way for students to grain experience with experimental design, data collection, and analysis time permitting. \"faultmap1sm\"The EQ machine is based on a simple, yet elegant laboratory model, and is excellent for hands-on experiments by students. The two sides of a fault are represented by sandpaper-covered blocks resting on a sandpaper-covered board. A weight (we will use rock) rests on the block to apply a chosen amount of pressure on the sandpaper (defining the frictional strength of the fault). A spring is attached to the block and to a string, which is pulled by a take-up reel. As the string is pulled, the spring is stretched, and the length of the spring is proportional to the shear stress applied to the block. When that stress becomes greater than the static frictional stress, the block slides relieving part of the stress, and shortening the spring. We don’t use (or need) much jargon in this demonstation (e.g. “elastic rebound theory”). It it a beautiful vehicle to illustrate the unpredictable nature of earthquakes.
\n\"kevin_slinky\"Slinkys are used to illustrate important properties of wave propagation. We then make human-waves with the kids and relate these ideas to others types of wave propagation such as sound and water waves. kids with slinky
\nkids at show me geology Seismograph records are examined and students learn that earthquakes occur everyday in California. We then use a small seismometer to produce our own earthquakes by jumping up and down!
\n\"seismicerupt\" A computer program, Seismic-Eruption, illustrates many important features relating to the size, distribution, depth, and timing of earthquakes on a global, as well as local scale. Seismic-Eruptions is a free program that runs on Windows machines that can be downloaded from http:\/\/www.geol.binghamton.edu\/faculty\/jones\/jones.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Fossils & Geologic Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"patterns2sm\"We start with the YES\/NO Game which is a new constructivist learning activity being developed as part of the Show-Me-Geology program. The game centers around a series of poster-sized images of fossils and other images which are displayed around the front of the room. To begin, the instructor selects a feature which is common to some of the images (e.g. dinosaurs that walk on two feet) – but not to all of them – and then begins to classify and mark individual images as either “YES” or “NO” (we mark them with big colored “sticky notes” so it’s clear to see).
\nkids playing the yes\/no game\"patterns1sm\"
\nkid looking at poster
\nThe instructor then invites students individually to try and identify images as either “YES” or “NO”. This typically evolves into an engaging game with the students leaning forward in their seats trying to figure out the “secret”.<\/p>\n

The YES\/NO game is a good because:<\/p>\n