This Read & Seed lesson will explore the similarities and differences between us, our friends, and birds! We will read Birds by Carme Lemniscates, and create our own bird. Participate in a Movement/Music/Finger Play activity by doing a bird dance. This lesson is aimed at connecting young learners to their natural world and promote school readiness skills.This Read & Seed activity is presented by The Gardens on Spring Creek by the City of Fort Collins. https://www.fcgov.com/gardens/files/read-seed-website-birds.pdf?1589821370

Black Hawk, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

3, 2, 1... Blast off! Students learn new vocabulary by taking a virtual field trip to the moon, read-alouds, creating a picture dictionary, and completing a final writing activity.

Bonanza, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Breckenridge, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Buckskin Joe, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Bring the rainforest to life in your classroom! Give your students hands-on experiences that will build their understanding of the importance of tropical rainforests and the need for protecting these valuable ecosystems. Explore topics including the water cycle in the Amazon, the life cycle of rainforest plants, rainforest conservation challenges, and more. You can use this kit to prepare your students for a field trip to the Academy's Rainforest Exhibit. Or, if you can't make it to the Academy, use the kit on its own to bring the rainforest to you! This version of the rainforest kit is for grades 4 - 8.

Lab 1: the students begin by describing on a worksheet their own ideas
of delta formation using concept sketches and written descriptions of
the stages of formation, with only broad guidance from the instructor.
They are also asked to describe the key features of their concept
sketches, and to hypothesize how those features might develop (the
processes). The students have all been exposed to deltas in Physical
Geology, but likely only have rudimentary knowledge of them. Once they
have completed the worksheet, the entire class moves to a lab with a
stream table in it, preset to run a "model delta." The model has both a
web cam and a time-lapse web cam set up over the table to record the
development. The students help start the water flowing and the cameras
recording, then watch as it develops over the next 2-3 days.

Lab 2: In the second lab, we use grain-size analysis of the
stream-table delta as a means of testing some of their ideas from lab
1. The students as a class develop a strategy to sample the
stream-table delta for grain size, using a laser grain-size analyzer.
Each pair of students collect one sample, but are also asked to predict
the changes in grain size distribution for samples elsewhere in the
delta. The particle size analyzer rapidly provides results to the
students near the end of lab.

Lab 3: the final lab is a field trip to a pair of gravel pits that
expose the guts of two natural stranded deltas, including topset and
foreset beds. The students are asked to assess the landforms on a topo
map before arriving, and to describe the deposits at each site we
visit. On the final writeup, the students need to synthesize all the
elements of the three labs, along with input from our readings in the
textbook (Easterbrook) and McPhee's "Control of Nature."��

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Students build a stratigraphic column for a pre-selected area through the compilation of a series of individual research projects. Students are required to conduct introductory field research as well as a literature search to become "experts" on a selected stratigraphic unit. In addition to a final report, students will present their information at an outcrop on an end-of-semester field trip.

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Bees might seem scary, but they are so important! During this virtual Read & Seed we will read Are You a Bee? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries. Participate in a Movement/Music/Finger Play activity: singing Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee. We will also create our own pinecone bee, and go on a bee hunt. This lesson is aimed at connecting young learners to their natural world and promote school readiness skills. This Read & Seed activity is presented by The Gardens on Spring Creek by the City of Fort Collins. https://youtu.be/kMF8TZ0TaN4

Bees might seem scary, but they are so important! During this virtual Read & Seed we will read Are You a Bee? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries. Participate in a Movement/Music/Finger Play activity: singing Bumble Bee, Bumble Bee. We will also create our own pinecone bee, and go on a bee hunt. This lesson is aimed at connecting young learners to their natural world and promote school readiness skills. This Read & Seed activity is presented by The Gardens on Spring Creek by the City of Fort Collins. https://www.fcgov.com/gardens/files/read-seed-website-buzzing-bees.pdf?1586878243

Cameron, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Camp Bird, CO Mining Town.Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Capitol City, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Students conduct this investigation collaboratively and with minimal guidance from the instructor. Students are presented with the research problem at the start of the semester, typically within the first week of classes. Soon after, a class-wide discussion is facilitated through the posing of some preliminary questions. Eventually and within the first few weeks, students outline a project design and methodology for implementation in the field and laboratory. Along the way and as project-pertinent topical units are covered, students are given journal articles to read that might further their thinking about the project, might present some appropriate methodology, or might serve as a model investigation.

Field work is accomplished early in the semester and with minimal time invested. Because scheduling field trips that can accommodate everyone is difficult, the field experience is optional. In these situations, someone chronicles the field work with either a digital still camera or digital videocamera and then these are shared with everyone in the class.

All aspects of the project are collaborative; students collect and share data, prepare and share figures and tables, and collectively prepare the poster and abstract.

The following files are uploaded as supportive teaching materials:
1. Geobio Research Project Description F08.doc: This is the project overview that is distributed to students as a handout at the start of the semester.
2. Geobio Research Project Qs.doc: This set of questions is distributed early in the semester to spark a discussion and to aid in the design of the project.
3. Geobiology GSA SE 2009 Abstract.doc: This is a copy of the abstract that was submitted to the 2009 Southeast Section Geological Society Of America meeting in St. Petersburg.
4. Geobio GSA SE09 Poster.ppt: A copy of the poster presentation given at the 2009 Southeast GSA meeting.

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Cardinal, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Caribou, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

Students start this exercise using topographic maps of an area recently visited on a field trip to calculate and consider stream gradient of a major river south of Buffalo, NY. The activity then changes gears to have students work with discharge measurements from this stream. They use these measurements to plot and evaluate a few hydrographs which are used to compare how discharge in this stream can be used to consider how much precipitation was received in a certain year. In this lab, students practice mathematically calculating geomorphic properties of a stream, plotting data, and comparing topographic maps to what they observed on the recent field trip.
Designed for a geomorphology course
Uses online and/or real-time data
Addresses student fear of quantitative aspect and/or inadequate quantitative skills

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Two or three weeks of the course are dedicated to studying diagenesis. Lectures start with a general definition of diagenesis, the range of conditions under which it occurs, and examples of diverse diagenetic environments and features. I use rice crispy cereal and rice crispy treats to introduce cement (the marshmellow is the cement that "glues" the rice krispies together). I also incorporate basic hydrogeology to show how pores filled with (or partially filled with) groundwater provide both the space and the material for cementation. As part of this lecture, I show the students various rock samples and photomicrographs in which they can see cement examples. I outline the different cement minerals and shapes and how they can be used to interpret past diagenetic conditions (eg., gravitational "pendant" calcite cements indicate that the host sediment was once in a vadose zone with groundwater rich in calcium and carbonate). I also discuss types of pores during these lectures and the ways that pores form. We also discuss criteria for recognizing cements. After two one-hour lectures about cements, we have a lab exercise in which the students are given ~10 samples (including hand samples and thin sections) and asked to sketch and describe the cement types. The next one-hour lecture focuses on neomorphic processes and their products, including replacement, recrystallization, and polymorphic transition. As part of the lecture, we look at photomicrographs and hand samples that illstrate various neomorphic features, such as replacement dolomite and replacement chert. We establish criteria for distinguishing cements from neomorphic fabrics. This lecture is followed by a lab exercise that presents the students with ~10 rocks and thin sections and asks them to sketch and identify neomorphic fabrics. This lab is follwed by another one-hour lecture on compaction features, dissolution evidence, and determining paragentic sequences. If I am short on time, that is all I do for diagenesis. However, ideally, I continue with a lecture focused on the "dolomite problem" and some case studies of other types of diagenesis, as well as a third lab assignment that combines cementation, neomorphism, compaction, dissolution, and paragenetic sequences. As part of this section, I also try to incorporate examples of methods other than petrology (eg., fluid inclusion studies, stable isotope studies, dating) that are used for diagenetic studies. Later in the course, we take several field trips in which the students examine diagenetic features.

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Central City, CO Mining Town. Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado's Historical Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, the gold and silver rush, and Photos and maps of the western United States. This is a strong primary source resource that can be used for a variety of class research projects. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.