Explore 'Big Ideas' of Geoscience with Earth Science Week 2011

Alexandria, VA - The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) offers free videos and other electronic resources to help students, educators, and others explore the “big ideas” of Earth science during Earth Science Week 2011 (9-15 October) and throughout the year.

Big Ideas videos bring to life the “big ideas” of Earth science. These are the nine core concepts that everyone should know, including “Earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to understand and explain our planet” and “Earth is continuously changing.” The Earth Science Literacy Initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, has codified these underlying understandings of Earth science that form the basis of the Big Ideas videos.

Science educators are encouraged to use the videos either as an introduction to, or summary of, activities relating to the corresponding idea. Students can then create their own learning materials for younger age groups, and build assessments around supporting concepts in the videos.

The Big Ideas DVD is featured in the Earth Science Week 2011 Toolkit, available at http://www.earthsciweek.org/materials/index.html. To view the Big Ideas videos for free online, please visit AGIeducation, and search TeacherTube later this year.

The Earth Science Week website provides related resources. Educators can find dozens of classroom activities to help students build their understanding of the “big ideas” at http://www.earthsciweek.org/forteachers/bigideas/main.html

AGI coordinates Earth Science Week annually in cooperation with its sponsors and the geoscience community as a service to the public. Each year, educators, community groups, and interested citizens organize celebratory events, discover the earth sciences, and engage in responsible stewardship of the Earth. Earth Science Week is supported by the U.S. Geological Survey, the AAPG Foundation, NASA, the National Park Service, ExxonMobil, and ESRI. To learn more about Earth Science Week, please visit http://www.earthsciweek.org.