Jan 10-14: Minerals

Yes, we are nerds.

We've started a new unit - yay!!! We're moving on to geology (geo = Earth/rocks, -ology = study of). Some people may find rocks boring, but I actually really like geology. It's fascinating to me how the Earth formed all the amazing differences in rocks and structures that we can observe. Utah is a great place for studying geology - so many cool things to see (too bad we don't live closer to Moab...). Might I suggest Arches National Park as a fabulous place to go over spring break (that's where my family always went) - and your students should be able to tell you all sorts of cool things about the rocks found there. The pictures are of myself and my husband while we were dating a few years ago - ah Moab... how romantic!

To begin with, we're starting with the building blocks of rocks - MINERALS! Students will learn how we determine which mineral is which, and what tests help us to differentiate them.

An uncanny likeness, I think...

Monday - Take out important notes from old folder and make new geology notebook. There are some students who need to buy a new folder (I warned them at the beginning of the year to protect and take good care of their folders, but many didn't listen). I would prefer it if they got folders that are the same color as the one's given to the whole class (3rd - red, 4th - blue, 5th - yellow). They need to be thin and be able to put in three hole punched papers.

Tuesday - Begin mineral notes (p1) - what is a mineral, a rock, a crystal... etc.

Wednesday - Finish notes (p1) and practice performing mineral tests.

Thursday - Discover a mineral lab (p2) - students will perform tests to identify 6 unknown minerals.

Friday - Begin rock cycle notes (p3).. you remember... igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic :)

We will not have school Monday Jan 17th because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Plus... no school on Tuesday for teacher-finalizing-second-quarter-grades day (I think there's a more official term for it, but that's the best I can do).