Whether it’s a riverbank, a lakeshore, or along an ocean or bay, the water is a popular vacation place in the summer. But what if your classroom could be extended to study these places during the school year?
Last fall, on one of the NSTA listservs, Charlie Lindgren from Massachusetts described a project his class was starting. They were studying sand and hypothesizing how and why it might differ from one location to another. The problem was – how to get sand to study. The teacher requested members of the listserv to send samples (he even offered to reimburse postage). This spring, he gave us an update on the project, which was based on a presentation he saw an at NSTA conference.
As a result of the online request, his students received samples from up and down the east coast. The results are described on the Atlantic Coast Sand Lab site. If you click on the locations on the map, you will go to an individual page for each location. By clicking on the “Return to Data” link, you will come to a table with all of the results (use the number in the far left column to see the information on that sample). The student handouts that were used in the project are available at the top of the page.
This is not a complicated website with a lot of bells and whistles, but it represents an authentic use of the technology by students and their teacher. In his listserv message, Charlie described some of the successes and shortcomings of the project and the plans for next year. The plan includes increasing the number of sand samples to include the west coast and freshwater riverbanks and lakeshores from the Appalachian region. He is requesting feedback on the project (electronically, of course) and is looking for additional samples. You can email him to provide any suggestions or for directions on submitting samples.
Here are some other resources on sand:

• Sand website from Pasadena City College
• Sand Lab booklet from the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium
• Sands of the World from a school in Rhode Island.
• In NSTA’s Science Objects the earth science objects have several on rocks, including sedimentary rocks.