Rocks and Minerals

Look at what we have been doing in our investigation of Rocks and Minerals.....

First, we learned about the different kinds of rocks: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. The students prepared a flip book defining each kind of rock and illustrating how they are formed.




Then, we had 12 mystery minerals. The students conducted a series of experiments on each mineral. They looked at the color, smell, hardness, and luster of each one.







They also looked to see if light could shine through the mineral and if they were magnetic. We conducted these experiments so we would know everything we could about each one. This information went in to our own mineral field guide.





This information would help us identify the minerals. We had to use all the data from our experiments and make decisions about the names of each mineral. There was much discussion!!! Finally, in the end, we realized how hard it is for geologists to identify minerals and why you need a field guide. You cannot identify a mineral just by looking at it...you have to know and understand a mineral's properties in order to know what kind of mineral it is.



We also looked at a library of non-fiction books with all sorts of books. Students worked with a partner to explore a non fiction book to see what information each of them offered.



Next Thursday is our trip to the Rice Rock Museum. I know many of the children went there in first grade. I know with the increased knowledge about rocks and minerals they will experience in a whole new way.