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Grade Level: 3 – 4
Purpose and Goals:
This lesson encourages students to use what they have learned about rocks
and minerals as they explore how these earth materials are used. Students
use their observation skills to identify objects from the past and present
in our environment made of rocks and minerals of Illinois.
Targeted Objective:
Recognize rocks and minerals in commonly used objects and products.
Background:
Early man first discovered that rocks and minerals could be made into
tools. Today, looking around us, we see many uses of rocks and minerals.
Rocks are used to make roads, walls, and buildings. Crushed limestone
is used to make cement. Clay and sand are used to make bricks. Glass is
made from sand. Even soil is rock that has been broken down into tiny
pieces. Minerals also help sustain life (salt is a mineral) and make life
easier (graphite in pencil lead) and more beautiful (gold and silver in
jewelry).
Materials and Preparation:
For each student:
- Science notebook
- List of rocks and minerals from the Illinois State Museum Geology
Geogallery Web site
For the class:
Procedure:
- Distribute the Science notebooks. Have the students open them to a
clean page and write today’s date on it. Tell the class you are
going to take them on a “Mineral Walk.” Take notebooks and
pencils with you. Start with the classroom, then the school, then the
neighborhood. Students should use their observation skills and what
they have learned about rocks and minerals to compile a list of all
the things they see that are made of rocks or minerals. When you return
to the classroom, have a class discussion about the items the students
have listed. Make a class list on the chart. Ask the students if they
think they have listed everything in their environment make of rocks
or minerals.
- Divide the class into pairs and assign a certain number of rocks or
minerals from the ISM Geology Online GeoGallery Web site list to each
pair. Have the partners go online to check their rocks/minerals for
their uses. (If classroom internet access is not available, print out
the information from the Web site and give it to the class as a handout.)
After the pairs have had time to gather the information, get together
as a class and compile a list of common objects and the rocks and minerals
they are made of. Make the master list available to the class.
- Take the same field trip around the classroom, school, and neighborhood.
Have the students add to their list in their Science notebooks. Get
back together as a group. Make additions to the class list of objects
from the first trip. Discuss how the new information from the Web site
helped the students to observe more items.
Questions:
Students should answer the following questions in their Science notebooks:
- Where else might you find examples of mineral and rock products?
- What are some activities you do each day that involve minerals or
mineral products?
- How would our lives be affected if we didn’t have minerals?
Extensions:
- Special needs students can be paired with more capable students who
can help them by scribing or spelling for them.
- Visit the ISM Geology Online GeoGallery to view the anthropology objects.
Make notes about how they were used and what minerals or rocks they
were made of.
- Visit the Web site http://mii.org/ for
activities on cement and concrete. These are good for an extension for
gifted students.
- Take a field trip to the Illinois State Museum and visit the Peoples
of the Past exhibit. Have the students take their Science notebooks
along and make a list of mineral or rock objects they observe in the
exhibits.
Assessment:
- Science notebook: Did students show good observation skills in noting
mineral objects? Were their answers to questions posed thorough, and
did they show an understanding of the importance of minerals?
- Observation Check List for partner assignment. (see Appendix 1)
Resources:
Lesson Specifics:
- Skills: observing, recording, analyzing, inferring, communicating.
- Duration: three class periods.
- Group size: Any.
- Setting: Classroom, school, playground, neighborhood.
Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards:
- 11A: Know and apply the concepts, principles, and processes
of scientific inquiry.
- 12E: Know and apply concepts that describe the features and
processes of the Earth and its resources.
- 13A: Know and apply the accepted practices of science.
Additional Online Resources:
Appendices:
Appendices for this lesson are available in the downloadable PDF. Click
here to download. |
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