Aquation

We all need fresh water.  Some parts of the world have lots of potable water.  Some parts do not.  Some have lots of resources for building pipelines and desalinization plants to get the water they need.  Other places don’t have those resources.

How can we ensure everyone across the globe has enough potable water, a.k.a water equity?  Kids in grades 3-5 can play this game to see the choices and trade-offs they need to make to have enough potable water everywhere.

The game is hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, with web and app versions available.

Earthquake Hazards Program

This USGS website offers students of all ages opportunities to learn about earthquakes.  For younger kids, their are earthquake games, puzzles, pictures and facts.  For older students and any student looking for information, there are maps of earthquake patterns, strength, models, warning systems, and current research.  There’s a tool for you to report an earthquake.  And there are guides for preparing for an earthquake before it happens, as well as what to do when it happens.

CK-12 Earth Science and Geology eBooks

The ck-12 Foundation offers several free digital textbooks – flexbooks – in Earth Science and geology for students in middle school and high school.  You can read the textbooks online or download them to your ereader, with the Flexbook app for iPhone/iPad or Android device.

In addition to Flexbooks, cK-!2 has PLIX modules – Play, Learn, Interact, Explore – where you can narrow in on specific concepts, such as mechanical weathering, to explore them more thoroughly. Concepts can be displayed in list format or within a concept map. PLIX modules also have apps for iPhone/iPad or Android device.

Finally, the site has study guides on many of the earth science topics, such as metamorphic rocks. The study guides include interactive quizzes, activities and projects, and summarizations of key points.

There are online forums for students and teachers and study groups. You can participate in these, and save your progress through the learning materials, with free registration on the site. Teachers also have the ability to customize materials for their students.

So hands-down, this is one of the premier web resources for K-12 Earth Sciences.

Aurum Science Environmental Education Resources

This comprehensive ecoysystems course resources include powerpoint lectures, notes outlines, labs, classroom activities, and other teaching resources for an environmental science class.  Topics include scientific principles, species, populations, communities, ecosystems, environmental toxins, food and agriculture, global climate change, air and water pollution, non-renewable and renewable energy, waste, and environmental history and laws.

Forestia

In this virtual game world, you are responsible for designing a sustainable boreal forest. The forest must provide lumber, as well as benefit the environment. The game has four stages and you get advice from different characters along the way. You will harvest trees and fight forest fires to maintain a balance among five types of forest stands.

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