This semester, a group of students from a nearby college are participating in a study abroad program in the UK. Last week they set out to learn more about sustainable energy—in Iceland. So they are right on the scene of the current events there. What an opportunity to learn up close and personal!
The websites of the various news media have stories and images of the volcano and its impact on world travel. But if you’re looking for background information on volcanoes for yourself or your students, SciLinks can help. There are sites on Volcanoes (grades 5-8 and 9-12) and additional sites on related topics such as Volcanic Eruptions and Volcanic Zones (If you enter the stem word volcan in the search box on the SciLinks page, you’ll get a list of all the topics.) Many of the sites in SciLinks focus on volcanoes in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” but there are sites on the earth processes that cause volcanoes, the types of volcanoes, and the hazards associated with eruptions.
Here are some of my favorites that relate to current events:

• A stunning photograph from NASA
• The Global Volcanism project from the Smithsonian, which  includes a map to locate volcanoes around the world
• Volcanoes of Iceland
• Volcano Explorer
• The Savage Earth including an animation of the anatomy of a volcano
• Volcanoes has simulations of the temperatures needed to melt rocks
• Volcano Live with daily updates
• Any health risks from volcanic ash?

This year has provided many teachable moments in earth science, from earthquakes to severe storms to the current volcanic eruption. If you need to brush up on your own knowledge, a search of the NSTA Learning Center with the topic volcano lists journal articles with teaching suggestions, books with related chapters, and “do-it-yourself” learning modules, such as the Science Objects Plate Tectonics and Earth’s Changing Surface, and archived webinars and podcasts.
Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sverrir_thor/4493031870/