Ilene Levine Collection

Ilene Levine’s Sands from Around the World Curriculum

by Ilene Levine

I am a retired elementary school teacher from New Jersey. During my tenure, I  taught a unit called “Sands from Around the World,” which taught geology  concepts and vocabulary as well as geography through a study of sand. When I  retired, I had a classroom collection of hundreds of sands in small petri dishes (for looking under stereomicroscopes) with duplicate sand samples in small jewelry bags (for hanging on a world map).  

Several years into my retirement, I decided that it was time to let go of my  classroom collection (I still have my personal collection) and try to find a good  home for it. I was so delighted when ICSC donation committee members Elise  Lattuca and Leo Kenney, along with newsletter editor Fred Haynes, talked with me and accepted the entire collection. I was grateful for their kindness and  thoughtfulness throughout this process.  

In 1995, I was introduced to “Sands from Around the World” when I was on the  instructional team in a summer professional development program for elementary school teachers at Merck Institute for Science Education. My role was to help the participants translate the knowledge they had acquired in the workshop into classroom practice, I learned a great deal about sand myself and was inspired by the lead instructor, Misty Sato. I went on to teach the unit in my own 3rd-4th grade classroom, which I continued to do for many years.  

In 1996, I was honored to be the New Jersey, Elementary School recipient of The  Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The application for this award included a description of a unit, and mine was “Sands from Around the World.” Winning this award opened a new professional and personal world to me. I traveled a week each summer, taking geology field courses (and, of course, collecting sand). With new knowledge and sands, I was able to refine my unit once I got back to the classroom. The whole experience was fun, exciting, and a highlight of my career. In addition to using lots of sands from my travels, many of my students, colleagues, friends, and relatives brought sand for me from their vacations. I was touched by their support. I obtained additional sands at an ISCS SandFest in Connecticut.  

Thank you to the dedicated ISCS members who made the donation program  possible. I am thrilled that many other sand collectors, especially teachers, will  have access to the sands that have been so special to me.