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Activity
Other

New Mexico Solar Energy Association: Impacts of Coal Mining

For Students 9th - 10th
The impact of surface or strip coal mining in the United States, and the government response to it, are examined in this article.
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eBook
Other

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts: The Energy Report: Coal [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Chapter 7 of a report on the energy industry in Texas. It looks at coal, its history, its uses, its economic impact in Texas, consumption, mining, and the transportation of coal. The process of generating electricity from coal is...
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Handout
Other

American Coal Foundation: Coal Energy Facts

For Students 3rd - 8th
Comprehensive overview of why coal is a major source of energy in the United States. Find out what coal is, what it is used for, how it is mined, where coal reserves are located, and how it is converted into electricity.
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Activity
US Department of Energy

U.s. Department of Energy: Coal: Our Most Abundant Fuel

For Students 9th - 10th
The U.S. has enough coal to last for the next 200-300 years. So why are we not using more of it? This article describes the different types or "ranks" of coal, the history, and the problems with burning coal for energy.
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source: Boomtimes: 20th Century Mining Mojave Desert

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This collection uses primary sources to explore twentieth-century mining in the Mojave Desert.
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Website
Other

U.s. Mine Safety and Health Adm: Mine Safety and Health Administration

For Students 9th - 10th
As a regulatory agency, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) provides safety information to coal miners.
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Graphic
Minerals Ed

Coal and Metal Mining in Bc

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of British Columbia that shows the locations of all the coal and metal mining operation in British Columbia in 2008. Each coal and mining operation is linked to a secondary web page that provides detailed information on the various...
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Handout
Other

West Virginia Office of Mhs & T: West Virginia Coal Mining Facts

For Students 4th - 8th
The history and economy of the mining industry in West Virginia are presented.
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Website
Other

Mine Safety and Health Administration: Our Page for Kids

For Students 3rd - 5th
Site from the Mine Safety and Health Administration that aims at teaching children about mining, prospecting, mine safety, and what the human body needs from natural resources.
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Handout
Other

Illinois Labor History Society: Early Days of Coal Mining in Northern Illinois

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the coal boom of the late 1860s and learn about the difficult lives of the miners and their families.
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Primary
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: Women Miners in English Coal Pits

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed essay, written in 1842, on women and girl miners' working conditions in Great Britain. Includes the personal accounts of two women miners.
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Primary
Other

Cape Breton Miners' Museum: Mine Explosion in New Waterford, 1917 [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Sixty-five men and boys died in the 1917 mining disaster at New Waterford in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This collection of first-hand accounts has several interviews, news articles and documentation from the subsequent inquest. Reading...
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Handout
Other

Earth Science Australia: Coal Types, Formation and Methods of Mining

For Students 9th - 10th
This informative site lists four stages in the development of coal. Different types of coal mines are explained in this site as well.
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Article
US Department of Labor

U.s. Department of Labor: The Coal Strike of 1902: Turning Point in u.s. Policy

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the background of coal miners and coal mine operators prior to the coal strike in 1902. Find out the significant role of the federal government in bringing the strike to an end.
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Handout
Other

Lehigh University: The Molly Maguires

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting site compiled by a Lehigh University undergraduate student, regarding a secret mining organization known as the "Molly Maguires" who operated in the Pennsylvania coal mines during the latter part of the 19th century.
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Website
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Expore Pa History: Stories From Pa History: Labor Strikes and Mine Disasters

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the dangers of coal mining in Pennsylvania, the emergence of unions in an attempt to protect the miners, and some of the mining disasters that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Lesson Plan
Other

American Coal Foundation: Lesson Plan: Transporting Coal

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Using a variety of learning activities and related materials, students will discover where coal is mined and the different ways it is transported to power plants or steel mills where it is used. Students will then map out their own...
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Handout
Other

Athro, Limited: Formation of Coal

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes how coal is formed using a chart and great pictures.
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Handout
University of Kentucky

Kentucky Geological Survey: How Is Coal Formed?

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the evolution of dead plant matter into coal.
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Article
Other

Holmes Safety Association Bulletin: The Boys in the Breakers [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A heartbreaking account of child labor in the coal mines at the turn of the century - 1904. Click on the article title in the table of contents to read this account published in 1904 by Peter Roberts.
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: How the 1966 Aberfan Mine Disaster Became Elizabeth Ii's Biggest Regret

For Students 9th - 10th
The Aberfan disaster wiped out a generation of Welsh school children and devastated the nation. An avalanche of coal waste slid down a rain-saturated mountainside. It destroyed everything it touched, eventually killing 144 people, most...
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Unit Plan
CK-12 Foundation

Ck 12: Earth Science: Environmental Impacts of Mining

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Describes types of mining, their environmental costs, and reclamation.
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Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Hands on Experiments to Test for Acid Mine Drainage

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Fifteen short experiments which test acid mine damage to the streams, rivers, and creek ecosystems surrounding it.
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Website
Other

Economic History Services: The Us Coal Industry in the Nineteenth Century

For Students 9th - 10th
A look at the coal industry in the United States across the entire nineteenth century. Halfway through the page there is information about the advent of unions to represent the coal miners doing such a dangerous job.

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