Learning+Experience+4+Intro+to+Minerals


 * Rocks and Minerals, Learning Experience 4 (From Insights)**
 * Learning Experience 4: Intro to Minerals**

Materials: > >
 * Mineral collections in small containers, one per pair: each container has a number of different kinds of minerals to explore. Be sure the minerals have their numbers on them.
 * Big chart of mineral samples’ names (see curriculum guide) (I think we have these from 2 years ago, that go with the minerals in the big orange box of geology materials.)
 * [|Mineralsnames and numberssmall.doc]
 * [|Mineralsnames and numbers.doc]
 * Copies of Science Notebook page: [|observing minerals.doc]
 * Hand lenses

Learning Targets: 1. I can explain what minerals are. 2. I can describe properties of minerals (how they look and feel).

Procedure: "These are minerals. A mineral is a rock made up of only one substance / material. Some rocks have lots of different minerals in them, lots of different materials or substances. A mineral is just ONE substance, or materials." Ask students to turn to a partner and explain to each other what a mineral is. Have them repeat a few times. Draw something on the board to help them remember: maybe a picture of a rock with lots of different colors in it, and then one with JUST one color in it, and label them "rock" and "mineral." 4. Science writing:
 * 1) Review what geology is. Look at the learning targets and review them / have students repeat them.
 * 2) Hand out small containers of mixed minerals, one per pair. Ask students to explore the rocks with their partner and to notice the **properties** (size, shape, color, texture). Have some share with the whole class: what sizes do you have? What shapes? What colors? What textures?
 * 3) Compare these to the rocks looked at last week. How are they similar? How are they different?

Introduce the science journal page. Demonstrate how to fill it out. Talk about the numbers on the minerals and how they correspond to the minerals’ names on the chart. Practice the names of the minerals. Demonstrate how to use the hand lenses. (Don't hold it near your eye, hold it near the mineral.) Review criteria for good observational sketches: what do you have to pay attention to? (shape, edges, special marks, zoom in) SKETCH WITH NO COLORS. Send students to their seats to sketch and describe the minerals. Each student may choose one mineral from the container they have, and take it to their seat. They should only have one at a time so they don't get distracted by the others.

5. Return to the rug and review to see who remembers what a mineral is. Repeat it several times. Review the learning targets and ask students if they have met the learning target, and how they know.