A Teacher’s Guide to Great Geology Resources

Geology is defined as the science and study of Earth’s physical matter. It covers the study of the planet’s composition, properties, history of physical material, structure, and well as how it’s changed, formed, and moved. Geology academics would be interested in caves, canyons, earthquakes, erosion, plate tectonics, weathering, and more.

Nowadays, geology teachers don’t have to rely solely on textbooks, diagrams, and other conventional methods to teach the subject. The Internet provides a wealth of resources for teachers, which would make geology lessons much more interesting, and much easier to teach. Take the Teacher’s Tour of Great Geology Resources and find various lesson plans, activities, interactive websites, information, and pictures to boost your classes.

Elementary Geology

• Lesson Plans: Contains packets of lesson plans covering study of the Earth, minerals, and more.
• Soil: A lesson plan for students from grade 3 to 6.
• A Journey to the Center of the Earth: Great activity site to learn about rocks, volcanoes, tectonic plates, and more.
• Minerals: A place to learn about minerals mined in different states.
• Grand Canyon: A lesson plan to show geology students about the formation of the Grand Canyon.
• Earthquake!: An interesting WebQuest for 6^th graders.
• What on Earth?: Play these games to enhance your geological knowledge.
• Rock Cycle Song: Sing this song to understand how the rock cycle works!
• Slot Canyons: Provides information and pictures on canyons in the American Southwest.
• The Armchair Caver: Take a virtual tour some fascinating caves.

Junior High & High School Geology

• Earth Science World: Comprehensive resource center for geology students with image bank, games, and more.
• Hangman Games: Test your geology vocabulary with these review games.
• Getting Into the Fossil Record: Interactive site to learn about fossils.
• Mineral Matters: Shows how to identify minerals, build a mineral collection, grow crystals, and more.
• The Himalaya: A look at how the Himalaya was formed, with animation sequence.
• Life Cycle of a Mountain: Great activities to learn about the history of a mountain.
• Musical Plates: Fun way to learn about earthquakes and plate tectonics.
• Field Trip: A virtual tour of some geological wonders.
• Soil Science: Provides features, links, and resources related to soil.
• CERI: Website of the Center for Earthquake Research and Information by the University of Memphis.
• Caves and Caverns: Offers information and pictures of caves and caverns.
• Rock Stories: Hike up the Mallory Cave trail in Boulder, Colorado to learn more about rocks.
• Erosion: Concise explanation of this weathering process.
• Understanding Earthquakes: Contains information on earthquakes with quiz, animation, accounts, history, and more.
• Plate Tectonics: Almost everything you want to know about the subject.

College Geology

• Subduction Zones & Orogeny: A scientific look at how mountains are formed.
• Geology of Grand Canyon: Offers a detailed study on the geology of this geological wonder.
• Rainbows of Rock: Examines the mysterious colors and concretions of sandstone in the Colorado Plateau Canyon Country.
• Science of Geology: Comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals of geology.
• Educational Resources: Great resources for geology educators at the college level.
• Table Rocks: Explains how the Table Rocks were formed.
• The Dynamic Earth: A virtual tour by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
• Mineral Identification: Learn how to identify minerals.
• Cave Geology and Geography: By the National Speleological Society, it maintains a list of the deepest and longest caves in the world.
• Mount St. Helens: Live views of the famous volcano from Jonathon Ridge Observatory.
• Volcanoes: Provides information on volcanoes with pictures and videos.
• Earthquakes: Offers information on earthquakes in Arkansas.
• Seismology: Website dedicated to study of earthquakes by the British Geological Survey.
• Weathering, Erosion, and Soils: Discusses how these geological agents affect the Earth.
• Weathering: A look at the process of weathering with coordinating photos and illustrations.