Geoscience for Teachers
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 256
Edition: 1
Copyright: 2026
Pages: 250
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We live on a unique planet that is an awesome place, and it is even more awesome to think about how we got here. Yet, despite the awe and reverence that we should have for this place that we all call home, the typical person knows very litt le about his/her planetary home and the processes that allow it to exist as it does. This ignorance about our planet, as well as about our place on this planet, is now challenging the quality of our long-term presence on this planet, as humanity facies a growing number of crises related to global warming, pollution, resource management, and various hazards. An extremely important way by which humanity has dealt with similar problems in the past is through the education of each other. Yet, education about the way our planet functions, also known as Geology or Earth Sciences, is relatively uncommon in pre-college schools, and many of our environmental problems are largely rooted in geologic principles that will require some understanding by all humans for future resolution. In addition, this kind of education should begin a pre-K levels and continue throughout college. Yet, many pre-college teachers lack the background and basic content knowledge needed to teach geologic principles effectively and do not consider themselves to be “scientific” people.
We believe that a first step in approaching this educational problem is developing a textbook that treats geologic processes in a simpler, more ordered way that students without much scientific background can easily grasp. It is my goal in this book to produce a series of short chapters that approach geologic processes in a systemic way that is always apparent throughout the book. Moreover, because this is a book intended for use by pre-service and in-service, elementary- and middle-school teachers, the book is put together based on national teaching standards and some of the latest research regarding how students perceive information in textbooks; other educational tools for understanding and presentation are provided throughout the text. I appreciate Kendall Hunt’s willingness to take on this kind of experimental text in the hope that it enhances the understanding of our awesome planet
Preface
PART I THE GEOLOGIC BASICS
Chapter 1 Why Geoscience?
Chapter 2 Teaching and Geology
2.1. Geology as Science
2.2. What to Teach in Geology?
2.3. Useful Pedagogy for Teaching Geology
Chapter 3 Time in Earth History
3.1. Deep Time
3.2. Principles of Geologic Time
3.3. Missing Time: Unconformities
3.4. Geologic Timescale
3.5. Radiometric Dating and Absolute Ages
Chapter 4 The Origin and Functions of Planet Earth
4.1. Formation of the Solar System
4.2. Planet Formation
4.3. Our Cooling Planet
4.4. Earth Engines
Chapter 5 Our Active Planet: The Earth System
5.1. Earth Subsystems
5.2. Interface Phenomena
5.3. How Do We Study Geology?
PART II THE BUILDING BLOCKS
Chapter 6 Earth Materials
6.1. Origin of Earth Materials
6.2. Minerals
6.3. Rocks
6.4. The Rock Cycle
Chapter 7 Organic Earth Materials—Fossils
7.1. Organic Matter and the Earliest Life
7.2. Fossils
PART III CONSTRUCTIVE PROCESSES
Chapter 8 Patterns on Maps—Plate Tectonics
8.1. Oceanic Features
8.2. Continent-Margin Features
8.3. Ridge-Offset Features on Maps
8.4. Hotspots
8.5. Overview
Chapter 9 Igneous Rocks and Plate Tectonics
9.1. Classification of Igneous Rocks
9.2. Occurrence of Common Igneous Rocks
9.3. Igneous Structures
9.4. Relationships with Plate Tectonics
Chapter 10 Metamorphic Rocks: Making New Rocks from Old Ones
10.1. Where Does Metamorphism Occur?
10.2. Types of Metamorphic Rocks
Chapter 11 Sedimentary Rocks: The Diary of Earth History
11.1. Lithification—How Sediments Become Rock
11.2. Naming Sedimentary Rocks
11.3. Characteristics of Sedimentary Rocks
Chapter 12 Deforming the Crust: Forces in the Earth
12.1. Stress versus Strain
Chapter 13 Earthquakes: On Shifting Ground
13.1. Earthquake Mechanics
13.2. Predicting Earthquakes
13.3. Earthquake Hazards
PART IV DESTRUCTIVE PROCESSES
Chapter 14 Weathering
14.1. Mechanical Weathering
14.2. Chemical Weathering
14.3. Weathering and Soils
14.4. Landscape Patterns, Weathering, and Climate
Chapter 15 Erosion
15.1. Erosional Agents
Chapter 16 Streams as Erosional Agents
16.1. Stream Dynamics
16.2. Stream Erosion
16.3. Stream Transportation
16.4. Stream Deposition
Chapter 17 Groundwater: Water Movement Below the Surface
17.1. The Water Cycle
17.2. Groundwater Occurrence
17.3. Groundwater Erosion
17.4. Groundwater Transportation and Deposition
Chapter 18 Mass Wasting: Slope Failure and the Work of Gravity
18.1. Triggers of Mass Wasting
18.2. Types of Mass Wasting
18.3. What to Look For
Chapter 19 Wind as an Erosional Agent
19.1. Wind Erosion
19.2. Wind Transportation
19.3. Wind Deposition
Chapter 20 Shoreline Erosional Processes
20.1. Waves and Tidal Currents
20.2. Shoreline Erosional Processes
20.3. Shoreline Transportation
20.4. Shoreline Deposition
Chapter 21 Glaciers as Erosional Agents
21.1. What Are Glaciers?
21.2. Glacial Erosion
21.3. Glacial Erosional Features
21.4. Glacia