Related Sites
Drylands Education
The links below are organized by general grade level group, and include
a section specifically for education of educators. Each annotated link
also includes one or more of the following codes:
| Activities [A]
Lesson plans [L]
Publications [P] |
Resources [R]
Teaching materials [T]
Websites created by children [W] |
Elementary (primary) school
Middle school
- Abwenzi African Studies
[A, R]
Abwenzi means friend in the Central African nation of Malawi; this
site presents the friendships that grow between pen pals living in
Malawi and in Aspen, Colorado (USA), in text and photographs. Information
on becoming a pen pal may be obtained from the organization.
High school
- Soil: Teaching
and Tutorial Websites [L, P]
Normally, we avoid linking to "lists of links"; however,
this directory from the Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
includes many resources pertinent to arid lands soils. Aimed at the
college level, but some sites are appropriate for high school level
and many are useful as educator resources.
- Major
Biomes of the World {L, R, T](18 August 1998)
From the Virtual Geography Department Project, basic content
on the distribution and nature of the world's major biomes, including
tropical savanna, desertscrub, temperate grasslands, and Mediterranean
scrub. Aimed at the college level, but potentially useful for high
school as well.
Multi-grade levels
- Cooking with the Sun (2 sites) [A, L]
Solar cooking makes sense in drylands, and these lesson plans let
students experiment with simple solar cookers. (Materials called for
may not be available in all countries.)
- Alternative
Energy Sources: simple activities for cooking marshmallows & for
heating water using simple parabolic solar collectors; aimed at
primary school children.
- A Solar
Hot Dog Cooker is easily constructed by older students or young
students under adult supervision, and may cook a variety of foods.
- Geographic Information
Systems [A, L, T]
This USGS site includes basic to sophisticated information on Geographic
Information Systems. Suitable for upper level middle school and high
school.
- The Globe Program [A, R]
In this program, K-12 students around the world collect local environmental
data and share their findings with other students and scientists
via the Internet. Drylands countries with participating schools currently
include Namibia, Mali, Egypt, Australia, Peru, and Argentina.
- Peace Corps: World
Wide Schools [A, L, R, T]
Two specific modules from this site are highlighted above. Aimed
at U.S. schools, the site includes many lesson plans concerning arid
or semiarid countries of the world.
- U.S. Bureau
of Land Management Environmental Education [A, L, T]
Aimed at elementary and middle school children in the USA. Many of
the educational resources provided are pertinent to drylands, including
lessons on various North American deserts, riparian areas, invasive
weeds in the western USA, and the role of fire in ecological systems.
- USGS
Learning Web: Global Change [A, P, T]
Aimed primarily at middle school students, with some activities suitable
for primary school and high school students.
- World Resources
Institute Environmental Education Project [A, R, T]
Extensive teaching resources on various environmental topics, many
relevant to drylands. Aimed at high school; also potentially useful
for middle school and college levels.
For educators
- Education for Sustainability
From the US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO);explains
the importance of teaching students about sustainable development
and provides substantive background information to increase teachers'
understanding of this complex subject.
|