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Abington School District
Joy Slavin and her 3rd grade students were about to begin systematically exploring the properties of minerals when KSN staff members visited them at Rydal East Elementary School in Abington. Although Earth Science was the focus of the day, the lesson offered a wealth of connections to language arts, math, and other curriculum areas as well as opportunities for developing and practicing observation and communication skills.
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Using STC's Rocks and Minerals kit, the group had experienced a variety of activities observing and sorting rocks, reading about how rocks are formed and changed, examining the bits of minerals that are the "building blocks" of rocks, and sharing their ideas and questions about minerals. |
They begin by concentrating on "feely" or texture words, such as "bumpy." Using a thesaurus expands the word bank, and making connections to familiar thing helps students clarify their descriptions -- "What does ‘coarse’ mean? Think about sandpaper." "Glossy" is accepted as a useful addition when kids identify the TV screen as a glossy surface. But they agree that a rock wouldn’t be described as "rowdy" even though it might sometimes be a synonym for "rough." In addition to language skills, other curriculum areas can be connected to this science investigation: For example, when students mention "sharp" and "angular," Joy uses the opportunity to remind them of recent work in geometry.
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Before beginning the mineral profile sheets that will be part of each student's Mineral Field Guide, Joy works with the class to think of adjectives they might apply to their rocks.|
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Students gather on the rug for specific directions about their task. Joy demonstrates how they can begin to fill out a profile sheet for each mineral using their observing and describing skills. |
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At the materials table, member of each pair collects an egg carton of mineral samples that have been previously labeled "A" through "L." Other tools include magnifiers, crayons, cardboard trays and paper cups. |
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Although materials are shared, Joy explains students don't need to work at the same speed. Each partner can choose a different sample to work on.|
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Students find that tracing around the rock helps to give an accurate picture. Other suggestions include making their drawings three- dimensional and adding colors. Joy encourages them to make their descriptions as specific as possible. |
Joy had demonstrated how putting a couple of drops of water on each mineral helps release the mineral's smell, if any. Asked if they thought minerals smell, students considered whether they might smell
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Joy explains it will be up to the students to decide if their expectations are correct, based on their own observations. To describe the smells of particular minerals, students make comparisons: "like rain," "an eraser," "sand," "the ocean," "pepper," and "butterscotch."|
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Around the room, students work to record their observations, and to share things that surprise them: "How can this rock be flexible?" "Can we put down ‘see-through’?" "There are rainbows in the crystal!" |
The discovery that "some rocks make marks" leads others to conclude, "We think the writing mineral is in our pencil." It also gives Joy a chance to stimulate interest in future lessons, by reminding them that soon they'll do streak tests and learn how geologists use marks like these to help identify minerals. She ends with one final reminder important to all scientists who have worked hard to collect and record observations: the water that spilled on the paper will dry, the really important thing is not to lose these notes! Thanks to Joy and her team of geologists for a great visit, and for making clear how much there is to be learned from a bunch of rocks. |
Discussing their profile sheets gives students a chance to develop their own perceptions and listen to other opinions. One student asks if we know a different word for "smooth" to describe a smooth rock, because "it gets boring when you use the same word all the time!" 
