Digital Resources for Earth Science includes assessment documentation and course planning resources necessary for the administration of this course, whether in a homeschool setting or a coop or classroom. All items are printable and distributable to your student or classroom; only one copy of digital resources are needed per classroom or home. In this downloadable resource, you will find tools for planning the year.

• Included in the Digital Resources:

  • Recommendations for Teaching the Course
  • 30 Weekly Review Guides
  • 30 Quizzes
  • Fall and Spring Semester Exams
  • Answer Key
  • Lesson List
  • Sample Schedule for the year
  • Experiment Manual (2-up for printing out as a booklet)
  • Experiment Manual (1-up for displaying on a computer screen)
  • Experiment Resource – hi-resolution topographic maps, Google Earth files, answers to experiment exercises
  • A folder of public domain, hi-resolution graphics relevant to each chapter
  • Useful Links – free activities on the internet

Experiments for Earth Science are included in a document in the Digital Resources, not in a separate manual.

List of Experiments

• Interpreting Topographics Maps - examine features of a U.S. Geological Survey topographic map of the Mt. Shasta area, construct topographic profiles
• Identifying Minerals - use luster, hardness, color, streak and other properties to identify mineral samples
• Identifying Rocks - use various tests including visual, break and HCl tests to identify rock types
• Studying Volcanoes with Topo Maps - study features of volcanos in Hawaii, Sitka, Alaska, and Sunset Crater East in Arizona
• Modeling Weathering - model transport of mineral grains using sugar cubes in a container, model chemical weathering when grain size is small, model the effect of temperature on the rate of weathering
• The Stream Table - use a stream table to model stream flow and erosion
• Studying Glaciers with Topo Maps - examine two topographic maps showing landforms created by alpine glaciers, and two showing landforms created by continental ice sheets
• Weather Maps - interpret station models, isobars, fronts, and pressure systems to understand the current weather, and then make a few basic analog weather forecasts

• KEVIN NELSTEAD 

  Kevin received a B.S. in Earth Science from Montana State University and an M.S. in Geology from Washington State University. He also studied for a year at Covenant Theological Seminary and holds a teaching certificate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His Master's research involved the study of Quaternary (ice age) volcanic ash deposits in the Channeled Scablands and Palouse Hills area of eastern Washington. He holds membership in the Geological Society of America, the American Scientific Affiliation, and the Affiliation of Christian Geologists and has 8 years of experience as an educator at classical-model, Catholic, and international schools. He and his wife served for over five years as a missionary in Romania with ReachGlobal, a mission agency of the EFCA. During those years he taught chemistry, physics, earth science and life science at Bucharest Christian Academy. Since 1998 he has served as a Senior Cartographer, Geospatial Analyst, and Natural Resources Specialist with the United States federal government. Kevin is the author of Earth Science: God’s World, Our Home and writes the blog GeoChristian. He has four adult children and lives with his wife in Montana.