In this jigsaw-method activity on subduction zone volcanism, students apply lessons learned from four historic eruptions to the volcanic hazards associated with Mt. Rainier in the Pacific Northwest.

This learning video uses a simple analog setup to explore why earthquakes are so unpredictable. The setup is simple enough that students should be able to assemble and operate it on their own with a teacher's supervision. The teaching approach used in this module is known as the 5E approach, which stands for Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. Over the course of this lesson, the basic mechanisms that give rise to the behavior of the simple analog system are explained, and further elaboration helps the students to apply their understanding of the analog system to complex fault systems that cause earthquakes

Students consider the Earth's major types of landforms such as mountains, rivers, plains, hills, canyons, oceans and plateaus. Student teams build three-dimensional models of landscapes, depicting several of these landforms. Once the models are built, they act as civil and transportation engineers to design and build roads through the landscapes they have created. The worksheet is provided in English and Spanish.

Humans have been affected by severe drought throughout history; in this lesson students explore this concept by analyzing environmental data to classify patterns and practice communicating their findings.

Students build an understanding of flooding in Colorado using multiple data sources in a jigsaw format.

This article discusses geologic misconceptions held by teachers and students and provides resources for formative assessment and teaching correct concepts.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum module/Geology of National Parks course. Students study how discharge per unit area varies with elevation in the high country of Glacier National Park from USGS hydrograph data from Swiftcurrent Creek and its tributary Grinnell Creek..

This is a quick activity that shows how large amounts of rock and sediment are added to the edge of continents during subduction. You may ask, how can such a huge phenomenon be demonstrated quickly and cheaply? The answer is simple: with a cookie!

This 12-minute video lesson looks at the structure of the earth. The discussion includes the crust, mantle, core, lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and inner core. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 50 of 85]

This 8-minute video lesson looks at how the Hawaiian Islands were formed by a stationary hot spot under the Pacific plate. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 49 of 85]

This 6-minute video lesson explains how we know about the Earth's core. It shows how S-wave shadow and P-wave detection patterns give us information about the core. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 55 of 85]

This 6-minute video lesson looks at the idea of Pangaea and some of the evidence behind it. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 56 of 85]

This 8-minute video lesson looks at plate tectonics and the difference between crust and lithosphere. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 43 of 85]

This 13-minute video lesson looks at plate tectonics and the evidence of plate movement. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 45 of 85]

This 12-minute video lesson continues to explore plate tectonics. It covers the geological features of divergent plate boundaries. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 46 of 85]

This 6-minute video lesson continues to explore plate tectonics. It covers the geological features of convergent plate boundaries. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 47 of 85]

This 6-minute video lesson coninues to look at plate tectonics. It discusses plates moving due to convection in mantle. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 48 of 85]

This 9-minute video lesson looks at refraction and focuses on refraction in seismic waves. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 53 of 85]

This 11-minute video lesson attempts to comprehend the size of the universe and the scale of the large. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 57 of 85]

This 9-minute video lesson considers seismic waves and how they are related to the composition of the Earth. It covers both S-waves and P-waves. [Cosmology and Astronomy playlist: Lesson 51 of 85]