This PDF document discusses a field activity for K-12 students. The purpose of the activity is to observe type and cover of clouds including contrails. Students will observe ten types of clouds and how many of three types of contrails are visible, how much of the sky is covered with clouds, and how much is covered by contrails. The PDF is an instructor guide with detailed advice for administering ... Full description.

The Ocean World site has a wide variety of information regarding the ocean. Established by Texas A and M University's Jason Project, Ocean World provides a wealth of information on weather, forams, icebergs, fisheries, coral reefs, waves, El Nino, currents and more. The site contains information for both students and teachers. The teacher section of the site contains background information on all ... Full description.

This Starting Point webpage is a summary of a role-playing resource called Worldwatcher Project: Global Warming Project. In this exercise, students role-play advisors to various heads of state on the subject of global warming. The web site offers a short curriculum to help the students become experts on global warming. It offers lab activities, computer visualizations (using free WorldWatcher software), ... Full description.

At this website, the Chemistry Learning and Support Studios offers directions for how to use Calibrated Peer Review (CPR). The site links to the CPR homepage (http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu) for helpful handouts and white paper and FAQ information. They also provide information regarding how to use CPR in the classroom, upcoming CPR workshops, and tips for instructors. Users can also access a Power Point ... Full description.

The University of Nebraska's Department of Graduate Student Academic and Professional Development offers a catalog of suggestions for college teachers who are looking for fresh ways of creating the best possible environment for learning. Not just the first day, but the first three weeks of a course are especially important, studies say, in retaining capable students. Even if the syllabus is printed ... Full description.

This website contains thirty-six interactive lecture format ideas and advice on using each format. Lecture formats range from Brainstorming to Teamwork exercises. Each format describes the basic idea, the application, sample topics and the flow of the lecture format. Full description.

This Starting Point page describes a virtual tour of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming featured on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) website. In this tour, students act as park rangers to research geological features of Yellowstone, locate these features on maps, and describe and define associated geologic terms. The features discussed include geysers, hot springs, canyons, waterfalls and mudpots. ... Full description.

The Changing with the Tide lesson plan is written around a role-play activity in which students learn about and act out the behavior of plants and animals in a salt marsh habitat as the tides change. An unusual feature of salt marshes is the dramatic daily change in stresses and interactions that the organisms face. On this Starting Point page, teachers can find learning goals, teaching notes and ... Full description.

The NASA's Deep Impact Mission is used to teach collaborative decision making. This Starting Point Teaching Collection page describes the highly-developed unit plan involving collaborative problem solving using data. The subject is the launch of a probe to investigate the composition of a comet. The students will engage in quantitative risk analysis, role-playing, persuasive writing and speaking, ... Full description.

This activity, Runaway Greenhouse Effect Exercise, discusses "Why is Venus so much hotter than the Earth?" This is a collaborative problem-solving exercise about the greenhouse effect on Venus. Students role-play biologists, coal geologists, space warfare experts, astronomers, pollution-control scientists, and hydrophysicists. Each student gets a copy of the appropriate briefing sheet (there are 6) ... Full description.