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Book Chapter | April 2012
“What type of rock is this?” is a common question spoken by all children at some point in their young lives. Many students have rocks of all shapes and sizes in their “collections.” In this chapter, young students will…
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The Rock Cycle: Rock Formation and Change
Book Chapter | March 2011
A single rock could provide an example of how slowly most geological changes occur on Earth. If you picked up a rock and kept it for the rest of your life, you would probably notice that it changes little, if at all.…
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Book Chapter | May 2010
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students' ideas about gravity. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that objects closer to the center of Earth's mass experience the greatest…
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Book Chapter | May 2010
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students' ideas about levers and fulcrums. The probe is specifically designed to determine whether students can differentiate between the concept of force and the…
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Book Chapter | March 2011
The Reading on Rocks and Minerals elaborates on the concepts presented in the Activities section of Project Earth Science: Geology, Revised 2nd Edition. This Reading was written especially for this volume with the…
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Book Chapter | February 2012
Rocks and soil are indeed a part of everyday life and an important component of a complete science curriculum. Use the lessons in this chapter to introduce students to rocks and soils in their local area and beyond. The…
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Book Chapter | March 2017
In this lesson, a girl wonders how volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks ended up in the same area of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Key words and concepts covered are rock cycle, formation of rocks, plate tectonics,…
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Book Chapter | November 2016
This chapter focuses on reading the earth in the rocks. Rocks tell the story of Earth’s past, and we believe that lessons on rocks should include a focus on reading those stories. Many students encounter rocks as an…
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Rocks Tell a Story: Rock Characteristics and Environmental Clues
Book Chapter | March 2011
Identifying rocks can be difficult, even for geologists. Proper rock identification depends on the quality of the specimen and on the clarity of its significant characteristics. In this activity, students observe and…
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Book Chapter | May 2009
In this activity, students examine garden variety rocks, classifying them based on observable properties. This lesson teaches students not only about rocks but also about how to take a closer look at objects and…
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Book Chapter | April 2012
Children are naturally curious about the world around them, including the rocks beneath their feet. By observing, describing, and sorting a variety of rocks, students can discover that rocks have certain physical…
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Book Chapter | July 2013
In this sample of Spenser and the Rocks: I Wonder Why, Spenser has a rock collection. He notices that the rocks were different in other ways besides color. Come learn with Spenser about rocks!
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Book Chapter | March 2016
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about layers of sedimentary rock. The probe is designed to find out how students think about the age of rock layers. It is best used with grades 6–12,…
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Book Chapter | April 2016
In this chapter, the objective of the activity “Pretend Rocks” is to notice the range in grain size in sedimentary rocks and think about how such rocks are formed. Chapters 1 and 2 are also included in this book…
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Book Chapter | May 2019
This activity is about collecting rocks. Take the children on a rock hunt and ask them to select three rocks to put in their bags. Once back inside, have each child choose one rock to show to the others and describe…