Rocks+and+Minerals

=Inquiry Cycle 2012 based on Rocks, Pebbles, Sand and Silt= http://yasecondgrade.wikispaces.com/Pebbles%2C+Sand%2C+and+Silt

= = Conversation with Jack Sheridan about the Big Ideas Ideas from Jack:
 * walk outside, see how are rocks used?

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 * cornstarch and water to see how rocks flow and break
 * simulate erosion / landslide with sand and water
 * collect soil now to use later (mix alum in to make it separate better?)

Field Trips

These lessons are based on lessons from the [|Insights] Rocks and Minerals curriculum and the [|FOSS] Pebbles, Sand, and Silt curriculum.

Assessment Planner
Final Assessment:

First day of school:
Neighborhood hunt in the schoolyard and at the puddingstone across the street. [|neighborhood hunt.doc]

Learning Experiences 1 and 2
Gather ground materials in plastic bags from the schoolyard and the puddingstone across the street Begin to sort them into what are rocks and what are not rocks


 * __Lesson Plans Week 2:__ ** Starting a museum

Extra Learning Experience (scientific writing and drawing)
Sketch and describe a rock List criteria for accurate, realistic sketches

Learning Experience 2, cont.
Make a word bank of properties of rocks Finish sketching from day before List properties of your rock (day 2)

Learning Experience 3: Breaking Rocks
Break rocks apart; sketch and describe; compare and contrast the inside and outside of the rock

Learning Experience 4: Intro to Minerals
Explore minerals, sketch them, and list properties of them

Learning Experiences 5-6: Describing Minerals: Color and Luster
Learn to perform streak tests and luster tests on minerals.

//It is a good idea to do activities with the vocab. words in this unit at morning circle or other group times. Pass around object and practice dull, glassy, metallic, transparent, translucent, and opaque.//

Learning Experiences 6-7: Describing Minerals: Transparency and Hardness
Define and test the transparency of minerals

Learning Experience 8: Describing Minerals
Students write a description of one of the minerals we have tested; other students must guess their Mystery Mineral.

Practice comparing mystery minerals to the class chart. Assessment of kids' ability to use class chart independently. class chart of minerals to use with mystery minerals

Learning Experience 10 Minerals and Rocks: Getting Smaller, Getting Smoother
Organize rocks from largest to smallest Look at sand and gravel and think about how they get made Take a geology walk outside and look for evidence of what makes rocks smaller and smoother

Learning Experience 12 (with some L.E. 11 thrown in)
Look at sand, humus, and silt and discover the properties of each.

Learning Experience 13
Sieve the three soil ingredients.

recording sheet:

Learning Experience 14
Put each soil ingredient in a settling jar with water, and observe how it settles. recording sheet: MAKE THIS EASIER FOR NEXT YEAR -- WRITE JUST A SMALL BIT; DO MORE SHARED WRITING OF SCIENCE OBSERVATIONS

Also talk about high-quality science writing.

Mini-lesson:

Have kids give themselves a "grade" for their science writing from Day 1 of sieving, then whisper to them the grade you gave them.

One way to do better scientific writing is to use more specific language.

Use specific language in your scientific observations. Instead of "There are a lot on the big one," explain, "There are a lot of clumps of humus on the big screen."


 * Look at one or two examples of students who used specific language.
 * Make a list of words to use: the screen, the silt, the clay, the humus, the settling jar, a lot of ...."
 * Try changing a few unclear sentences into clear sentences:
 * It went to the bottom.
 * There were a lot of big ones.
 * It was gray.
 * When they go to do their Day 2 observations, they concentrate really hard on being specific.

Learning Experience 16
Looking for rocks, minerals, and soils used as building materials.

Final Geology Project
Art project about rocks / mountains and how they change