Earth+Materials+PBL

Earth Materials

Group PowerPoints The Earth Materials Module consists of four sequential investigations dealing with observable characteristics of solid materials from the earth - rocks and minerals. The focus is on taking materials apart to find what they are made of and putting materials together to better understand their properties. The module introduces fundamental concepts in Earth science and takes advantage of the students' intrinsic interest in the subject matter and in the physical world around them. COS # 32 Classify rocks and minerals by characteristics The students log-in to Wallwisher and commented on what they new about Rocks. Check out their wallwisher below. Wallwisher

To begin this unit, the students collaborated in groups creating what they thought a Geologist looked like. They then researched what a Geologist does and researched the tools a Geologist uses. The students used a rubruic to understand their expectations and reaching for the highest points. media type="custom" key="7147195" align="center"

Next I read the book, Everybody Need a Rock and the students brought in a rock from home to observe and learn what the word properties mean. Then the students observed a mock rock, broke it apart, seperated the contents using water, and then determined from their observation what minerals were located in the mock rock. media type="custom" key="7147557" Students are introduced to minerals as the basic Earth materials that make up rocks. They observe, describe, and record, properties of four minerals and use the scratch test to determine the relative hardness. media type="custom" key="7149039" Students observe the characteristic property of the mineral calcite - the mineral bubbles when placed in an acid such as vinegar. Using this test, students go on a quest to find calcite in four common rocks. media type="custom" key="7151447" . Earth Materials Resources