During the course of the brainstorming, remind the class that in a
historical sense, we tend to think of pioneers as men and women who
have moved beyond the edge of settlement. Daniel Boone was such a
person, and so were Lewis and Clark and Matthew Henson, the polar
explorer. There are other types of pioneers, however—those who are
willing to advance new ideas and suggest new theories to explain
physical or cultural phenomena. Albert Einstein, with his theory of
relativity, is a good example of this kind of pioneer. So is Marie Curie,
who worked to develop radium therapy and conducted some of the
earliest experiments with radiation.
B. Lesson Development
1. When the brainstorming session has ended, ask each student to
write a one-sentence definition of the term
pioneer
, using the list
generated by the class as a reference. Then have students share their
responses to learn if a consensus has developed about the meaning of
the term. From the collection of definitions presented by class
members, write what seems to be a representative definition on either
the board or the overhead. Here are some likely definitions:
A pioneer is a person who is on the cutting edge, someone with the
courage and the vision to try something new.
A pioneer is the first person to suggest a new idea or to try something
that has never been tried before.
A pioneer is a person who prepares the way for others because of
his/her courage and foresight.
TEACHING CLUES AND CUES
Use Master 3.2b,
Chronology: The
Beginnings of the
Seismological Age, for
2. Divide the class into groups of three students each. Provide each
group with one copy of Master 3.2a, Three Pioneers. Each of the
students may read one essay. When students have finished reading,
ask them to give the essay a title and to write a two- or three-sentence
summary of the essay in the space provided.
3. With this as context, remind students that when each of these
discoveries was first published, it created discussion and even
controversy. To understand the kind of excitement each advance in
science causes, have half of the students who read about each scientist
research the evidence that person offered to support the new theory
and the other half research the views of his or her critics or the reasons
why it may not have been accepted immediately. Later in the same
period or the next day, invite the groups to present and discuss
opposing points of view culled from their reading.
C. Conclusion
Return to the consensus definition of pioneer that the class developed
and ask students to apply that definition to these three individuals. To
do this, they should write epitaphs for the tombstones of the three
scientists. Remind students that the purpose of an epitaph is to
summarize a person’s life in a brief and pithy fashion. Post the
epitaphs on the bulletin board to present the variety of impressions
class members have about Wegener, Mohorovicic, and Lehmann.
your own reference and to help
students place the work of these
three scientists in the context of
other dis-
A G U
/
F E M A
152
S
E I S M I C
S
L E U T H S
