A six-week unit outline also introduces geology along with the scientific method and basic science skills, but within only six weeks. Teachers at the November 2000 workshop identified these outlines as a major contribution to the scope and sequence. Another new addition is a monthly feature titled Earth Science in the News . The team selects an interesting story each month, emphasizing recent research results. They draw on articles published on-line, provide links to related materials and Web sites, and identify relevant classroom activities.
Teachers can explore the current month's topic, or browse back issues.
Previous topics have included stories on the Mayon volcano eruption, earthquakes, birdlike dinosaur fossils, and glaciers. Comments from teachers who attended the recent workshop indicated that they like Earth Science in the News and plan to use it. Curious about how their audience was responding to their web resources, the team began compiling visitor statistics in mid-1999. From July 1999 to November 2000, the number of visitors each month grew from 7 to 825, despite the fact that the pages were still under development and were not widely advertised. In mid-2000, the team began keeping track of the number of visitors who were repeat visitors from the previous month.