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Rocks: collecting and classifying

By Peggy Ashbrook

Posted on 2009-06-13

On the playground two sisters collected rocks and set them on a bench where they grouped them by size. When I asked, “What kind of rock is that?” one said, “A triangle” referring to its outer shape. They also had a group based on material— small chunks of concrete were put together because “they have little pieces in them.”
Urban rock collecting is discussed on the Neighborhood Rocks webpage. View the identification pages with your class and ask them if they have seen any of the pictured types of rock before, and where did they see them?
In my east coast urban setting “real” rocks, or rocks naturally in place, are hard to find without excavating. Walking along a creek is one place to find rocks that have been moved there by natural forces, not by humans. Along the Potomac River and its minor tributaries are good places to touch water-worn rocks. (Be sure to wash hands afterwards.) You don’t have to know what type of rock it is, to appreciate that it is smooth and pinkish, or has sparkles, or has holes in it.
Label even the most non-descript rock with the location and date collected, and that single rock becomes the beginning of a scientific rock collection. Maybe a high school earth science teacher would be willing to view the collection and help with scientific names.
In the December 2006 Science and Children, The Early Years column discusses exploring sedimentary rock material with young children with an activity on making pretend rocks. Search the journal archives for “rock” find 22 more articles on teaching about rocks. Young children can experience melting ice, deforming playdough or clay, packing snow or sand into a ball, and the softening of hardened clay in water. In your experience, at what age do they typically understand the Rock Cycle?
Peggy

On the playground two sisters collected rocks and set them on a bench where they grouped them by size. When I asked, “What kind of rock is that?” one said, “A triangle” referring to its outer shape. They also had a group based on material— small chunks of concrete were put together because “they have little pieces in them.”

Are you properly evaluating the results of the tests you give to students? Can you explain the difference between classroom assessment and standardized assessment? Are you on solid ground with your grading system? Demystify—and even use—statistics to answer these important questions and more in this clear, easy-to-use text for preservice and classroom science teachers and methods professors.
Are you properly evaluating the results of the tests you give to students? Can you explain the difference between classroom assessment and standardized assessment? Are you on solid ground with your grading system? Demystify—and even use—statistics to answer these important questions and more in this clear, easy-to-use text for preservice and classroom science teachers and methods professors.
Whether we are imagining microbes or mammoths, dinosaurs or diatoms, molecules or stars, people of all ages are fascinated with the very large and the very small. New technologies have enabled scientists to investigate extremes of science previously unknown. An understanding of scale and scaling effects is of central importance to a scientific understanding of the world.
Whether we are imagining microbes or mammoths, dinosaurs or diatoms, molecules or stars, people of all ages are fascinated with the very large and the very small. New technologies have enabled scientists to investigate extremes of science previously unknown. An understanding of scale and scaling effects is of central importance to a scientific understanding of the world.
What must we teach students to enable them to fully participate in a world community where science and technology play an increasingly significant role? That’s a question that science educators continually face and that the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) helps answer.
What must we teach students to enable them to fully participate in a world community where science and technology play an increasingly significant role? That’s a question that science educators continually face and that the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) helps answer.
What is assessment?
How do you assess your students’ progress?
How do they assess themselves and their peers?
How do you assess the effectiveness of your own teaching?

College Science Teachers Guide to Assessment provides busy professors with a quick reference for promoting student reflection after exams, encouraging student-led teaching models, and looking at exam corrections from both instructor and student perspectives.
What is assessment?
How do you assess your students’ progress?
How do they assess themselves and their peers?
How do you assess the effectiveness of your own teaching?

College Science Teachers Guide to Assessment provides busy professors with a quick reference for promoting student reflection after exams, encouraging student-led teaching models, and looking at exam corrections from both instructor and student perspectives.
Take the fear factor out of science lessons. This easy-to-digest book relieves many of the safety worries that come with teaching science in elementary school. The emphasis is on positive options for heading off potential hazards, from handling special equipment to conducting field studies.

Chapters cover:
- making safe work habits second nature to students
- equipping your classroom for safety and conveniene, including organizational systems for preparation, setup, and cleanup
- choosing and culturing live plants and animals for classroom study
Take the fear factor out of science lessons. This easy-to-digest book relieves many of the safety worries that come with teaching science in elementary school. The emphasis is on positive options for heading off potential hazards, from handling special equipment to conducting field studies.

Chapters cover:
- making safe work habits second nature to students
- equipping your classroom for safety and conveniene, including organizational systems for preparation, setup, and cleanup
- choosing and culturing live plants and animals for classroom study
This one-of-a-kind book applies the Standards, written for K-12 classes, to the college level. Designed for postsecondary science content teachers, science educators, and administrators, this book shows how to implement all six areas of the Standards on campus--teaching, professional development, assessment, science content, science education programs, and science education systems.
This one-of-a-kind book applies the Standards, written for K-12 classes, to the college level. Designed for postsecondary science content teachers, science educators, and administrators, this book shows how to implement all six areas of the Standards on campus--teaching, professional development, assessment, science content, science education programs, and science education systems.
The truth is: Valid research demands more than beakers and Bunsen burners-- much more. So give kids the lowdown on how real scientists work. This engaging book shows you how to develop students’ creative and critical thinking skills to make qualitative and quantitative observations, compare testable research questions and hypotheses, design an experiment, collect and analyze data, and present results and conclusions orally and in writing.
The truth is: Valid research demands more than beakers and Bunsen burners-- much more. So give kids the lowdown on how real scientists work. This engaging book shows you how to develop students’ creative and critical thinking skills to make qualitative and quantitative observations, compare testable research questions and hypotheses, design an experiment, collect and analyze data, and present results and conclusions orally and in writing.
Plentiful, diverse, and readily available, these animals—known in science as “herps”—are also perfect for teaching students about biology, ecology, and conservation, including problems affecting both amphibians and reptiles.

This highly readable resource melds rigorous science content with science research. Its five sections cover the animals’ biology and handling procedures (including safety tips), provide background information for teachers, offer twenty-one indoor/outdoor activities, and broach critical conservation issues.
Plentiful, diverse, and readily available, these animals—known in science as “herps”—are also perfect for teaching students about biology, ecology, and conservation, including problems affecting both amphibians and reptiles.

This highly readable resource melds rigorous science content with science research. Its five sections cover the animals’ biology and handling procedures (including safety tips), provide background information for teachers, offer twenty-one indoor/outdoor activities, and broach critical conservation issues.
 

Big ideas in Earth science

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2009-06-08

Earth Science Literacy Principles coverMany current approaches to the design of curriculum and instruction are emphasizing the use of “big ideas” (aka essential questions, overarching themes) as an organizing framework for courses or units. I’ve done several presentations on this topic, and some teachers find it challenging to identify the big ideas in their content areas.
But if you’re an earth science teacher, check out a recent NSF press release that describes a new publication– Earth Science Literacy Principles, which lists big ideas and supporting concepts which can be used for a variety of purposes: education, legislation, scientific endeavors. You can download the document, but here is the list of earth science “literacy principles” from the publication:
Earth scientists use repeatable observations and testable ideas to understand and explain our planet.
Earth is 4.6 billion years old.
Earth is a complex system of interacting rock, water, air, and life.
Earth is continuously changing.
Earth is the water planet.
Life evolves on a dynamic Earth and continuously modifies Earth.
Humans depend on Earth for resources.
Natural hazards pose risks to humans.
Humans significantly alter the Earth.
But wait – it gets even better. On the Earth Science Literacy Initiative website, use the link to “Complementary Projects” for similar documents in Ocean Literacy, Atmospheric Literacy, and Climate Literacy. Whether you teach an entire course or just a few topics, these are worth a look.

Earth Science Literacy Principles coverMany current approaches to the design of curriculum and instruction are emphasizing the use of “big ideas” (aka essential questions, overarching themes) as an organizing framework for courses or units. I’ve done several presentations on this topic, and some teachers find it challenging to identify the big ideas in their content areas.

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