In this lesson, we introduce the students to the study of the earth and its composition. We challenge them to think of the earth beyond their own neighborhoods. They are introduced to the concept of geology as a study of the rocks and earth around them as well as under them. The children have to stretch their imaginations to understand this concept, which is made easier by an imaginary trip through the earth.

"Intro to Geology"
To introduce geology, we first discuss, in general terms, the inhabitants of the earth. Students have an opportunity to discuss their environment and what is important to them. We then introduce the earth as a much larger home for all of life. We relate the surface area to that of a globe. Having a globe in the classroom makes this a much clearer concept for these concrete thinkers.

"Protecting the Earth"
After discussing the inhabitants of the earth and the variety of life, we introduce geological areas and terms such as mountains, rivers, rocks and minerals.
Hands-on activity - This is a simple experiment to illustrate how a dam works. This can be accomplished in any number of ways. One simple way is to fill a shoebox or large baking pan with dry rice or sand. Using a stiff cardboard or any other blockage the same width of the box, move the sand around so the students see how a dam works. Having a student then remove the dam further illustrates this principle, as the sand takes a different path and shape.
Hands-on activity - Provide some interesting rocks and gems to examine. These can be as exotic as represented in the program or as simple as from the back yard. As rocks are examined, have the students repeat the names as we did in the learning program. This introduces new and interesting vocabulary words, and the children loved some of the stranger-sounding names. It's fun to take a new and unusual word home to the family. We cover recycling briefly in this lesson. This is an opportunity for teachers to address this subject on a local level. We talked about what we each do in our individual communities to recycle.

"Different Views of the Earth"
Some children know names of shapes; others do not. This is another way to reinforce that concept. We also again compared the image on the Learning Station with the 3-dimensional globe in the classroom.

"Trip Through the Earth on the FasTrack Explorer"
This is a fun journey for the students! As we travel through the earth's layers, the lesson is repeated a number of times and ways to reinforce the learning process. After going to the center and returning, the students have the opportunity to repeat the process as a group while the images are shown on the Learning Station. This is encouragement for the less vocal student to verbalize the information - another learning process. It also is fun to answer all together.

The concept and lesson is again reinforced another way. Students play a game to match the layers of the earth with the images as earlier shown. This exercises their memorization skills and is a fun game to play.

Students next have a hands-on task to exercise their motor skills as well as approach the lesson again in another manner. Teachers, knowing their particular students' skills, can determine if the circles should be precut or if the students should do the cutting task. They are to then glue (or tape) the circles in the correct order as learned in the lesson. Color recognition can be reviewed during this exercise.

"Talking About the Earth's Layers"
Using the models they just created, the students now have the opportunity to present the information they have just learned. After watching the video example, the students are videotaped presenting their own reports. Playing these videotapes back for the students showed them the presentation skills they were not aware they had. This is a wonderful confidence-boosting exercise, and it's fun!

Supply List for Activities
"Today I Learned" - parents handout
Box or pan for dam experiment, sand or dry rice
cardboard or other separator to serve as dam
Colored construction paper to create circles:
Blue - radius approx. 8 cm.
Green - radius approx. 6 cm.
Brown - radius approx. 4 cm.
Red - radius approx. 2 cm.
Scissors, glue
Videotape