Earth Science Training Schedule

Current Earth/Technology Science 2-Day Initial Use Trainings. All workshops begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m.

ESD = Educational Service District Conference Center

Weather

Childhood is a time for wondering. Young children are typically curious and ask endless questions about their world and how it works. Their curiosity about weather may lead them to ask specific questions, but more often it may show itself in other ways. Think, for example, of a young child playing in the snow. here, questions are probably not spoken but instead take the form of playful investigation as the child jumps in a snowdrift, watches a powdery snowball fall to pieces and a slushy one hold its shape, or blows on a snowflake and watches it melt. In whatever form the curiosity is expressed, the child is clearly seeking information.

Weather draws upon and expands this natural curiosity and enthusiasm for finding out about weather. In doing so, it also provides a comfortable introduction to what may be students' first experience with the study of science. It builds on children's observational capabilities by introducing them gradually to specific weather features. As these features are presented, students discover that their own powers of observation can be extended by using tools of science - for example, the thermometer. Developing new skills such as reading the thermometer also leads them to explore some practical facets of weather as it affects their daily lives.

Soils

Children are delighted and amazed by soil. Some can while away hours making sand castles at the beach or scooping up sand by the bucketful at the neighborhood sandbox. Others turn ordinary spoons into instruments of adventure as they dig holes as big as craters in their own backyard. Many children inspect the soil for the treasures it yields--worms, insects, fossils, rocks. They might grow flowers in rich garden soil or squeeze wet clay into fanciful shapes. And, after a pouring rain, they enjoy the simple pleasure of splashing through mud puddles.

Soils develops children's awareness and appreciation of soil. Using simple tests, students learn to identify sand, clay, and humus in soil. they also study how water affects different kinds of soil. Through long-t er experiments, they explore how roots and plants grow in various soils and how, with the help of worms, old plants decompose and become part of the soil. Then, applying what they have learned, they investigate their own local soil.

Rocks & Minerals

Most children have picked up a rock or mineral to show their parents or friends. Some children may even have found a crystal or fossil. Children often collect and sort rocks and minerals; they also may trade them with friends. They are fascinated with the colors, sizes, and textures of rocks and minerals they find as well as of those they see in museums and rock shops. This natural interest, coupled with the variety of rocks and mineral, leads many children to wonder what these earth materials are made of and how they were formed.

Rocks & Minerals leads students to investigate rocks and minerals to answer these and other questions. Students explore the similarities and differences among rocks; they also study how rocks and minerals are both similar and different. They conduct several tests on minerals and develop a systematic way o record their observations. Finally, students apply the information they have collected to identify the minerals they have been studying by name. These activities introduce students to the way geologists study rocks and minerals. They also help students develop and apply process skills in observing, describing, and recording.

Land & Water

Most children have had some experience with land and water. For example, a child plays on a sandy beach or runs along the banks of a stream. Another marvels at the variety of clouds or creates mud pies after a gentle rain. Whenever children play outdoors and explore the environment, they have informal experiences with some of the concepts included in this unit.

Land and Water allows students to investigate the interactions between land and water. Using a stream table as a model, they create hills, build dams, and grow vegetation. Miniature valleys, waterfalls, and canyons form in the stream table as water flows over and through the soil. From these firsthand observations, students discover how water changes the shape of land and how features in the land, in turn, affect the flow of water.

Motion & Design

A toddler pushes a plastic car across the floor. A young boy struggles to pull a wagon loaded with wooden blocks. A girl notices that her bicycle wheel rubs on the fender, making the bike difficult to ride. From an early age, children experience the principles of motion when they play with wheeled toys or use vehicles for recreation.

Children are also natural designers and builders. They play with whatever materials are at hand and experiment freely to try out their ideas. Children who have access to building sets learn to manipulate the parts, make changes to an object they have built, or add interesting features to it.

Motion and Design combines these two interests of young children. it enables students to analyze the motion of vehicles they have built, investigate how forces affect a vehicle's motion, and design vehicles that are propelled by stored energy.

Magnets & Motors

What makes your refrigerator door stay closed? That seems like a silly question, but we do take magnets for granted. There are many other important uses for magnets -- telephones, televisions and video recorders, loudspeakers, electric motors to run everything from the largest tot the smallest electric appliance, and even gasoline-powered automobiles (the starter motor, alternator, windshield wiper motor, and transformer all rely on magnetism!). The world would be a very different place if magnetism - and the electricity it allows us to produce - had never been investigated scientifically.

Magnets and Motors mirrors the historical development of our understanding and use of magnetism, electricity, and electromagnetism. The unit progresses through these phenomena in the same order that people first learned about them - magnets and compasses, electricity from batteries, then electromagnetism (electromagnets, motors, and generators). Opportunities are taken to integrate the science activities with other subjects such as language arts, mathematics, history, and geography.