Tornado Tracks in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Tornado Tracks in Tuscaloosa, Alabama

From NASA's Earth Observatory website: Tornado "tracks"...satellite imagery showing a map of the fury's path.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The Angel of the East, lesson plan

Years ago I picked up this lesson plan during a geography conference ... fabulous VISUAL, hands-on ...to help kids remember the countries of the Middle East.

A couple of pages are missing from the original lesson plan now though., and so I have tried to locate this lesson plan on the internet to no avail. I'm reconstructing a couple of the items so as to provide a complete lesson plan here. (double click on images to enlarge and print).

Give students a blank, black-line outline map of the Middle East. Tell them an "Angel of the East" will appear when they hear the following poem..and the poem will help them learn the countries of the Middle East Region. Have them listen for clues in the poem as you read outloud (or show on smart board/chalkboard/overhead transparency). Outline the "Angel" on the map with a marker as countries/clues are given in the poem:

The Angel of the East (teaching poem)
byRebecca Scott
If you could look east
across the United States,
over the Atlantic Ocean and
the Mediterranean Sea
to a place between
Asia, Africa, and Europe,
you might see an angel--
and angel of the east--
setting on a sea of blue.
Her head hangs heavily, (Turkey)
bowed towards her chest ( Lebanon, Syria,)
as she holds her hands
together in prayer
facing west. (Egypt)
A tear has fallen
from her cheek. (Cyprus)
Her heart aches; (Israel)
the heart of three religions.
She would like to be
the angel for all people,
but it seems remote
on this southwest peninsula.
She is battle-worn
and war-torn,
this angel of the east--
praying someday for
a new world order and peace.

Other angel parts to identify:
wings (Iran, Afghanistan)
shoulder/arms (Iraq, Jordan)
body/dress (Saudi Arabia)
dress hem (Yemen, Oman, UAE)
Buttons on dress (Kuwait, Quatar, Bahrain)

"Man-made" coral reef

Winter Cloud Streets, North Atlantic

Winter Cloud Streets, North Atlantic

Durrat Al Bahrain, Persian Gulf

Beautiful photography from space!!!!!1

Durrat Al Bahrain, Persian Gulf

NASA Earth Observatory

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

is one of my favorite websites.

It is loaded with current visual images of storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquake damage, etc. Beautiful satellite imagery, in public domain format and accessible to teachers. There are links to show comparative physical geography, email/newletter updates, and many other useful items useful for teaching geography!

Tropical Cyclone Yasi

Tropical Cyclone Yasi

Historic Winter Storm Moves Across the U.S.

Historic Winter Storm Moves Across the U.S.

Check out this great MSN video: Artist's 'Staple City' comes to life

Check out this great MSN video: Artist's 'Staple City' comes to life

Family biking from Alaska to tip of South America

http://familyonbikes.org/


WOW!! What an adventurous family...biking and home teaching the whole way!!
Teachers, help your students learn geography by following the travels and adventures on their travel blog!

This is who we are..Living in Utah video

Pause the music widget before playing this great video (scroll down...on right side)

Geospatial Revolution / Episode One

SkyWatch Friday

For more interesting skyviews:

http://www.skyley.blogspot.com/

A thunderstorm rumbled through our area recently...as the storm began to clear, the afternoon sunlight reflected off the heavy storm clouds creating a very beautiful "heavenly" view.

Cheers to SkyWatch Friday viewers!

Skywatch Friday...Moon & Jupiter

Skywatch Friday
See other amazing sky images:
http://skyley.blogspot.com/


Light from the large waning moon was peaking through the clouds this morning......forming a "moondog"
(rainbow) of sorts. Pretty site with brightly shining Jupiter nearby.

The science of a Journey Through the Center of the Earth

I've seen a lot of explanations about digging a hole through the earth.....but this on from Neil deGrasse Tyson / NOVA scienceNOW NOVA Short Journey Through the Center of the Earth is the best!!
(mute sound from playlist popout below before viewing video)




For lesson plans related to this subject, view my 2/21/09 blog post:
How to dig a hole to the center of the earth

BLOG UPDATE

I've been away from my blog for awhile. My Mother had a massive stroke and my Father fell (crushed a vertebrae in his back & contacted MERSA in the hospital). My life has become a blurr of paperwork, hospitals and long term care facilities for both ......


Please feel free to search my blog for geography teaching tools and resources in the mean time...

Thanks for your patience and come back to visit soon!

Singing 13-Year-Old Wins National Geographic Bee

Singing 13-Year-Old Wins National Geographic Bee

Utah State Geographic Bee winner will compete in Finals today at NGS

Anthony Cheng survived the preliminaries of the National Finals Geographic Bee Competition in WashingtonDC. He competes today as one of the top ten finalists in the Finals competion today. Good Luck Anthony!!!!

NPR: Along the Grank Trunk Road series....

I've been away from my blog for awhile. My Mother had a massive stroke and my Father fell (crushed a vertebrae in his back & contacted MERSA in the hospital). My life has become a blurr of paperwork, hospitals and long term care facilities for both ......





But for now.... NPR radio has sponsored a series all week on their Morning Edition show: Alog The Grand Trunk Road. NPR reporters have been travelling and reporting their experiences from the old Asian "Grand Trunk Road". If you missed this series, it is all available on their website including audio files, slide shows, and maps of the grand journey....FABULOUS

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126395475