MAKING SENSE OF PLANET EARTH AND BEYOND: LEVEL 7

ACHIEVEMENT OBJECTIVES

Students can

and
use a range of techniques to infer what events may have shaped local and national landform features, e.g., field trips, geological maps, remote sensing, and aerial photography; volcano formation, uplifting, faulting, fossils;
examine evidence from a variety of detectors to reach conclusions about the nature of stars and other celestial objects;
survey and evaluate the literature relating to an Earth sciences' issue, e.g., opencast mining, oil spillage, disposal of nuclear waste.

Students could be learning by:

preparing a cross section of a local geological feature;
locating important geographical features in a local region from a topographical map to practise mapping skills;
constructing simple geological maps, which focus on local features, based on their collected data;
identifying major geological structures, such as faults and folds, on Landsat and aerial photographs and relating these to regional geological maps;
developing a photographic record of geological and/or geographical features of the local area to illustrate the information contained in a map of the region that they have prepared;
collecting and summarising media reports of articles relating to space exploration and possible evidence of life on other planets;
examining evidence from images of planets to gather data in order to make speculations about the nature of a planet;
carrying out systematic observations of a celestial object such as the Sun, a planet, or a star;
analysing the light curve of a variable star;
debating the pros and cons of fossil fuel use to clarify the issues;
researching mining in Antarctica to assess how closely nations are adhering to international treaties;
using role play to highlight the issues involved in transporting oil long distances from its source to where it will be used;
debating 'That economic returns from the mining of minerals justify the major modification of local landscapes'.

ASSESSMENT EXAMPLES

Teachers and students could assess the students':

ability to transfer data on to a map, when the students construct a simple geological map;
ability to interpret Earth sciences' maps, when the students write an account of the geological history of an area from a given map;
ability to use group decision-making strategies to formulate a logical survival plan, when the students imagine they have the problem of being space travellers lost on Mars;
ability to reach conclusions from given evidence, when the students prepare a report on the nature of our Sun;
persistence, when a student carries out observations of a space object over an extended period of time;
ability to communicate key points effectively, when the students prepare a display board about the aftermath of a major oil spill;
ability to identify key issues, when the students prepare pertinent questions to be put to a panel of experts on the question of the effects of opencast mining on a local environment.