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Rocks and Minerals
Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...
Science Friday
Mineral Madness
Science does not need to be as hard as a rock. Pupils test 10 different minerals to determine their properties. The learners observe luster, streak, hardness, and fluorescence for each specimen. Afterwards, they compare and contrast the...
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Mineral Matters
Middle schoolers work in a team to use the ProScope Digital USB Microscope and a computer to collect microscopic images from a variety of mineral specimens. They compare specimens and determine how they are alike and different by...
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Identifying Minerals
Students compare and constrast a wide variety of minerals and rocks. They test them for streak, luster, color and other characteristics. They view an exhibit and compare their answers to them.
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Rocks and weathered rocks
Students connect rock and mineral formation with the changes rocks and minerals undergo at the earth's surface. They observe changes produced by weathering and relating these observations to chemical processes such as oxidation,...
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Rocks and Minerals
Fifth graders examine different types of rocks and classify rocks by their different characteristics. In small groups they sort their rocks into two categories, then create three categories to sort by on a sorting worksheet. Next, they...
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Different Minerals
In this minerals worksheet, students read about the relationship between elements, rocks and minerals. They experiment using 6 different colored gumdrops to represent 6 common elements. Students construct gumdrop and toothpick models of...
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Rock vs. Mineral - Lesson #1
Students describe visual, textural, and other physical qualities of sample rock specimens. Using compare and contrast skills, students sort and classify the specimens according to their assessments of the qualities present in each....
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Mystery Minerals
Learners minerals and how they form. They investigate the classification of minerals according to physical properties. Students watch a video about mineral characteristics. In groups, learners participate in hands-on activities and...
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Let's Rock
Students investigate the property of rocks and how to distinguish among the different types. They explore the hardness of rocks and perform streak tests to determine mineral color. They classify rocks according to their properties.
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Minerals
Students apply rules to compare and rank the hardness and softness of minerals. They perform a scratch test on four unknown mineral samples, read a bar graph that illustrates the comparative hardness and softness of four named minerals,...
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Moon Mining
Go on a moon mining expedition from the safety of your classroom with this space exploration simulation. Using simple models of the moon's surface prepared ahead of time by the teacher, young scientists are challenged with locating and...
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Rocks and Soil
Students explore the physical properties of rocks. They explore the three different types of rocks and are able to compare and contrast their different properties. Students simulate the creation of sedimentary rock, they also...
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Crayon Rock Cycle
Students view rock samples and model the formation of rocks with crayons. In this rock cycle instructional activity, students view and describe the three types of rock: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. They model the formation of...
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Chocolate Chipping Away at the Rock Cycle
Eighth graders identify the different types of rocks. For this earth science lesson, 8th graders compare and contrast rocks and chocolate cookies. They explain how materials are recycled beneath the Earth.
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Metamorphic Magic!
Students explore the steps involved in the formation of metamorphic rock as they prepare a cookie receipe. As part of the process, sedimentary rocks are created and changed through heat to a metamorphic cookie.
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Google Earth Geology Field Trip
Learners take a virtual field trip around California using Google Earth. In this geology field trip lesson, students explore landforms and a variety of rocks located in California. Learners compare environments where rocks are formed....
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Crystals
Young scholars investigate patterns in solids, the structures of crystals and rocks made up of minerals. In this crystals lesson plan, students review solids, make patterns with Styrofoam balls, make crystals in the lab and observe their...
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Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion
Fourth graders describe the difference between minerals (composed of the same substance throughout) and rocks (composed of two or more minerals). They recognize that there are three classes of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
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Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils
Fourth graders do 5 different lab stations to explore rocks, minerals, and fossils.
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Exploring Rocks
Students collect and examine rocks. They record information about the rocks they have collected in their notebooks. They compare and contrast different rocks and complete a class chart at the end of the lesson.
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Sorting Rocks
Students devise a rock word web and sort rocks by applying the categories they discuss.
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What on Earth is in the Earth?
Students explore the physical properties of sand, soil, and rocks and sort, classify, compare, and contrast the materials found in the soil. The differences between the living and non-living parts of the soil is discussed.
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Erosion And the Cycling of Rocks And Minerals
Students investigate the concept of erosion by water in a problem solving activity. In small groups, they are assigned either sand, potting soil or rocks to construct a mountain that will hold up to a sprinkler can of water dripping on...