Virginia Department of Education
Mineral Identification
What's the difference between a rock and a mineral? And what properties are used to identify minerals? The first installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes prompts young scientists to identify a set of...
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...
Curated OER
Mighty Minerals
Students identify the characteristics of minerals. They complete proper identification tests and record the data in an organized fashion. They list important uses for minerals as well.
Cornell University
Exploring Rocks and Minerals
Investigate the properties of rocks and minerals through a rockin' hands-on activity. Learners test rocks for various properties and, using a guide, attempt to identify different samples. They use various properties including hardness,...
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Take young geologists on an exploration of the collection of rocks and minerals that we call Earth with an upper-elementary science lesson. Through a series of class discussion and hands-on investigations, students learn about the...
Curated OER
Mineral Identification
In this mineral identification lesson plan, students analyze 14 minerals and test their physical properties. They test the color, luster, streak, hardness and breakage of each mineral. Students answer 5 questions about the physical...
Curated OER
Virginia Rocks and Minerals
Young scholars explore, via a CD-ROM, the Virginia's five geological regions and discover the rocks and minerals located in each. In stone kits, they examine samples of rocks and minerals and answer questions about them. After...
Curated OER
Fairly Simple Mineral Identification Exercise
Students perform simple field tests on a variety of minerals and use their results and a given data chart to determine which mineral each specimen is.
Curated OER
Mineral Identification
Students identify minerals from its physical properties accomplished through observation and testing of the minerals involved. They divide into groups and perform the physical property tests listed on the Mineral Background sheet.
Curated OER
Mineral Identification
Eighth graders examine the properties that are used to identify minerals and how they work. In this investigative lesson students use the six properties to identify minerals that they are given.
Curated OER
Introduction to Minerals
Students discuss rocks and other earth materials made up of minerals. They identify minerals by means of their more obvious physical properties such as hardness, luster, color, streak, cleavage and fracture. They arrange a given set of...
Curated OER
Mineral Identification
Students investigate the environment by examining mineral characteristics. In this mineral lesson, students perform scientific observations in groups in which they identify minerals found in everyday objects by using a...
Curated OER
Keying Rocks
Young geologists learn how to use an identification key in order to classify rocks. The key is designed to help them classify rocks into three types: ignesous, metamorphic, and sediimentary. After an initial teacher-led demonstration,...
Curated OER
Planet Oit!
Twelfth graders use this game to find minerals given rocks and outcrops in a plausible (but not real) geologic setting. They play without outside encouragement for hours as the world is fun to explore and the scoring system encourages...
Curated OER
Mined or Grown?
Sixth graders differentiate between raw materials that are cultivated and those that are mined. They collaborate with their eighth grade peers to learn more about the mining complexities at the end of their mineral identification unit.
Curated OER
Rock and Mineral IQ
Learners observe rock and mineral compositions. In this identification lesson, students read The Story of Rocks. Learners identify rock and mineral samples by testing for hardness, color, luster, weight and appearance.
Scholastic
Lesson Five: The Earth, Rocks and Minerals
Apply the principles of geology to a series of collaborative, hands-on class activities. Young earth scientists learn more about igneous, metamorphic, and sedentary rocks before classifying and weathering rocks that they find....
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals Unit
Students test and identify minerals according to their physical properties. In this mineral analysis instructional activity, students brainstorm ways to identify rocks and list their ideas on chart paper. Students study samples in pairs...
Curated OER
Mighty Minerals
Students investigate the physical and chemical characteristics of minerals. They make a list of the uses of minerals found in Illinois. They write a report individually based on their observations.
Curated OER
Minerals and Rocks
Students identify and interpret various minerals and discover how to identify and classify them. They identify and discuss how people describe objects and how scientists describe objects. From there, students look at a set of common...
Curated OER
Fairly Simple Rock Identification
Students study ways in which to identify rocks. They complete a number of activities that introduce them to various ways of identifying minerals in rocks.
Curated OER
Classification of Minerals
Students identify a specific mineral using Moh's Scale of Hardness. They also conduct research about the mineral looking for factors such as value, abundance ,location, and current uses. The instructional activity integrates technology...
Curated OER
Mineral Lab
Eighth graders examine the physical properties of different minerals. In this earth science lesson, 8th graders explain the uses of minerals in their daily lives. They complete the mineral identification table during the lesson.
Curated OER
Igneous Rocks
High schoolers focus on a study of igneous rocks. They see how igneous rocks are formed, and how to distinguish them from other types of rocks. A crystal-growing activity is present, and learners create drawings that show where each...