Fast Forward Community Technology Center & the University of South Carolina
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EXPLORING EARTH SCIENCE 

with Upward Bound

In Summer 2007, we created a summer geoscience course (1 hour/day/per group) for the USC Upward Bound Summer Program that focused on basic concepts in Earth Science and the Environment.  We used a mixture of hands on activities, the internet, and fieldtrips to USC laboratories.  The Upward Bound Program provides additional educational, financial, and social support for academically capable individuals who are economically disadvantaged and without a family history of college attendance.  Approximately 45 rising Freshman and Sophomore High School students (broken into two groups) participated in the three week program.  Below is a summary of the major activities (each lasting several days).

Lesson 1:  Learning about the Earth  (What is "Plate Tectonics")?  Students learned about basic plate tectonics using a series of hands on activities, coupled with group discussions and use of the internet.  Students were prepped for the activities by first being asked what they knew about the Earth (did it ever change?) and whether or not that knowledge was important.

Activity #1:  Plate tectonic model:  Students put together a "plate" model of the world. They taped together the model and labeled the plates.  The group discussed plate movement (direction and rate), drew arrows on a map, and we discussed a series of questions related to plate motions, convergence, divergence, and transform faults.

 

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We discussed what happens when the plates move (e.g. volcanoes, earthquakes, tsumani) and showed short video clips of each: (http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/index.html, click on environment video link)

Activity #2. Volcanoes:  We began with a volcano "webquest" where the students took a volcano tour to find out more about volcanoes (reinforcing ideas learned earlier: http://www.field-trips.org/tours/sci/volcano/_tourlaunch1.htm, also see http://volcano.und.edu/).  Students worked in groups and answered a series of questions.  Students then went outside and built "model volcanoes" of various types, which we subsequently exploded (using everyday baking ingredients).

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Activity #3:  Earthquake Proof Buildings: Students made earthquake proof buildings.  They really got into it, and we had a contest to see which buildings withstood surface, S and P waves the best.  Note that this can be conducted using 

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Activity #4.  Tsunamis:  We ended the discussion by talking about the linkages between earthquakes and tsunamis.  Again, using the internet, we discussed what tsunamis are and showed video clips (http://www.ess.washington.edu/tsunami/index.html)  Finally, they read and discussed an article, “Faster tsumani warnings with GPS”.

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Lesson 2: What are waves (transition from seismic waves and tsunamis to water waves and coastal erosion).  Students learned about basic properties of waves, including the tides, and their impact on coastlines and coastal erosion.

Activity #1.  What are waves and tides?  Students first reviewed what they knew about seismic waves and then about waves in the ocean.  Students were split into pairs and given a set of questions.  Each pair was then asked to answer the question using power point and took turns presenting it to the rest of the class.  

Students then used the internet to see what happens as wave height, length, and period changes: (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/volvooceanrace/interactives/waves/index.html)

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Activity #2.  Hurricanes:  What causes large waves and what happens when they hit shore?  Students were asked what they knew about hurricanes, their formation, and impact.

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Activity #3  USC Wave Tank: We then went to the USC Marine Science Laboratory and used their wave tank to determine ocean mixing, wave height, and coastal/sediment erosion.  Students were asked during this activity to discuss coastal erosion, population growth, and pollution. 

Lesson 3:  How we impact the environment (transition from hurricanes and coastal erosion to sea level rise).  Students learned some of the basic scientific theory behind climate change and its impact on sea level.

Activity #1:  Climate Change.  Students were asked how we impact the environment.  Students then watched excerpts from “An Inconvenient Truth” while answering a series of questions from the movie. 

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Activity #2: Melting of the ice.  We experimented with the effects of ice cubes on water level height and discussed differences between ice on land versus ice on water.  Students were asked to go to the "Warnings of the Ice" website (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/warnings/) and answer questions.  Students were then asked if climate change affected them?  Students were asked to investigate if their city's climate had changed! 

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Activity #3:  Stopping climate change. Students discussed how they could change the environment.  Students split into groups, and brainstormed, writing down ideas and making a "commercial" to present to the rest of the class.  Students completed a "quiz" (http://reference.aol.com/planet-earth/global-warming/calculator) to determine their potential effect on the environment. Each group then made a poster describing 5 ways to help the environment and 5 ways we are harming the environment.

Activity #4.  Alternative Energy:  Students began by discussing "alternative energies" and how it works.  They then set up a solar cooking experiment using hotdogs, discussing the pros and cons of its use.  Students built a wheel-card to help remember what they can do in different situations to help protect the environment, including walking, air conditioning, etc. 

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At the end of the course, students discussed what they had learned, what they wanted to learn more if, and  took a final quiz on material learned during  the course.

  Last Updated July 2012