Week 1: Welcome
The first three weeks of this course are designed for you to get your "virtual legs" on this site, with your classmates, with the content and with your facilitator.

Week 1: Learn about Earth System Science, learn to navigate the course site and introduce yourself to your classmates. We also ask you to take a pre-course survey to help us get to know you.

Week 2: Form teams and get into more depth about the interdependence of the Earth 's systems.

Week 3: Build a terrarium, describe it to your classmates and locate resources to post in Resource Space.

By the end of Week 3, you should:

• know what Earth System Science is and be able to describe the four spheres
• be able to navigate easily around the site
• use the discussion spaces in the Classroom
• post to your Portfolio
• understand the 3 week structure of the course
• know who your teammates are
• understand how you will be assessed

Each week you find assignment boxes like the one below to guide you through the assignments. Additional information may be posted in Course Space each week. Click on the links for the detail you need to complete the assignment.

Assignments

Complete the Pre-Course Survey in the Portfolio in the Classroom. Read about the Earth System Science approach and review the Readings and Web Sites below. Explore and practice navigation of the course. Ask questions about the course sections, structure, site, requirements or resources in Course Space in the Classroom. Introduce yourself to other course participants in Course Space in the Classroom. Begin to collect materials for building a terrarium in Week 3.

Readings

Each week has unique readings, background information, web sites and topics for you to investigate on your own. The resources listed are basic background, so you will need to supplement them with your own research. Be sure to post the references you use with a brief description in Resource Space in the Classroom. These postings are like bringing homework to class, so don't neglect them.

Earth as a System Earth can be viewed as a system of interwoven systems called spheres. In this course, you will explore land (lithosphere), living things (biosphere), water (hydrosphere), and air (atmosphere) separately and as an interdependent system

Course Materials Browse through the table of contents and appendices of the Course Materials This is a list of some of our favorite resources for this course. You may wish to order or locate these before Week 4.

The Terrarium You will build a sample terrarium for your students in Week 3. Look through pages 1-21 of Terrarium Habitats and decide what type of terrarium you would like to build and model for your students. Your students will build the same type of terrarium in Week 7, so you should begin collecting the containers and soil samples they will need to put the terrariums together. If clean garden soil is unavailable, you can obtain some at a local store. Potting soil is a good alternative.

Web Sites

• Destination: Earth , The Official Website of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise Includes "Teaching Earth Science," "For Kids Only," information on late-breaking news, and frequently asked questions.
• Dr. Victor Mayer's Earth Systems Education Dr. Mayer advocates a total restructuring of Earth Systems Education.
• Ohio State's Earth Systems Education Provides more information on the Earth Systems Education program at Ohio State University and the University of Northern Colorado.

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