If you’re an educator in grades K-6, Suitcase Lessons provide an excellent introduction to earth, oceanographic, and atmospheric sciences for your students. They were developed by researchers and elementary school teachers under a federal NSF GeoEducation grant.
Students gain basic knowledge to answer these questions: Where does rain come from? What role does the ocean play in the water cycle? Why is weather different in different places?
Students can see in these lessons how rocks and minerals form in the ocean and how sediments are used to interpret the geological record.
How do icebergs and sea ice form? How does sea ice affect animals and people, and why is knowledge of sea ice and icebergs important for navigation of seafaring vessels?
Students are introduced to the water cycle and the concepts of evaporation and precipitation, while learning about salinity and the role of density in understanding currents of the ocean.
These lessons illustrate why oceans are salty and why it is important to understand the salinity of seawater.
Suitcase lessons were developed by M. Torres, K. Falkner and M. Feldberg of Oregon State University and S. McAuliffe and were funded as part of a National Science Foundation GeoEducation grant (GEO-0224566).