Second graders at Laburnum Elementary have been studying weathering and erosion (SOL2.7). They have also been learning about ways to prevent erosion (SOL2.8). So today I showed them a real life example of where erosion is causing serious problems right here in Virginia. We opened Google Earth and I guided them to find Tangier Island. We zoomed in and I told them to look for evidences of erosion. They were able to spot them quickly. I had traveled with the Virginia Trekkers to Tangier Island and met with the mayor there, so I was able to share with the students some of the concerns he has about controlling the erosion. I asked them to come up with a plan to prevent erosion on Tangier Island based on what they had learned. They were going to present their plan using Garage Band. First we took a screenshot of the erosion on Tangier Island from Google Earth. I showed them how to drag the picture into Garage Band. Next the students recorded their voices explaining their plan. Finally we added some music and sound effects (such as waves and other water sounds). We exported their podcasts as QuickTime videos. You can see two student examples here and here.
