Making rocks interesting

This author addressed one of the more common complaints - that rocks are just boring. By tying his rock unit into practical applications of rocks, they became more than a chore- it was almos... See More

This author addressed one of the more common complaints - that rocks are just boring. By tying his rock unit into practical applications of rocks, they became more than a chore- it was almost a challenge to find out what each rock could do! I had similar problems in the past and came up with a similar solution (but not with state rocks, our state is mostly covered with till and erratics) where I found a way to tie rocks into daily life by showing students polished vs natural rocks and asking them where they had seen them before - most had seen polished rocks somewhere in homes or in building walls or floors and not realized they were the same as the natural ones because they looked "prettier" when polished! Great lesson idea for those of you in states with a variety of rocks - go for it! If you are in a state like mine, try my introduction or one of the other great articles on introducing rocks in the Learning Center and his lesson - it is a good one for intermediate through high school!

Rocks Choices

The author of this article wanted to make his rock unit more interesting, so he created a new unit based on rocks used for construction in the state where his students lived. They investiga... See More

The author of this article wanted to make his rock unit more interesting, so he created a new unit based on rocks used for construction in the state where his students lived. They investigated these rock materials through a series of experiments using a problem based approach. Students indicated they enjoyed the rock unit more than previous students.