Studying the properties of rocks was an absolute blast this week! Through a variety of hands-on labs, Tessa learned about the colors and patterns of rocks and minerals, measured their sizes and weights, and performed tests to determine their hardness and buoyancy.
- Read Let's Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans.
- Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Geology, Grades 1-3 "Rocks Have Different Properties - Rock Talk" and "Sorting Rocks" (pages 27-28).
- Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Geology, Grades 1-3 "Rocks Have Different Properties - Rock Hounds" (pages 27-28). (Collected rocks outside, read Everybody Needs a Rock eBook by Byrd Baylor via OpenLibrary.org and then completed the rock writing form.)
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| Tessa sorted rocks and minerals by various characteristics of her choosing. |
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| Tessa has long been infatuated with rocks. For years, she has picked up "special" rocks on our walks to and from the mailbox. So, for the "Rock Hounds" portion of this lesson, she went straight to her "rock garden" to collect samples. |
Wednesday
- Read A Rock Is Lively by Dianna Hutts Aston.
Following Monday
- Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Geology, Grades 1-3 "Rocks Have Different Properties - Colors and Patterns" and "Size and Weight" (page 29).
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| After arranging a selection of rocks by her perception of smallest to largest, Tessa measured the rocks and recorded their actual sizes. To do so, she wrapped pieces of yarn around their widest points, then measured the cut lengths. She was surprised to learn that her perception was drastically off in some cases. |
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| Afterward, Tessa used a balance to weigh the same rocks and recorded their weights. |
Following Tuesday
- Reread "Moh's Scale of Hardness" (pages 16-17) from Let's Go Rock Collecting by Roma Gans.
- Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Geology, Grades 1-3 "Rocks Have Different Properties - Hardness" and "Buoyancy" (page 30).
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| Tessa loved performing scratch tests to determine the hardness of a sampling of minerals. She attempted to scratch them first with her fingernail (hardness of 2.5), then a copper penny (hardness of 3) and finally an iron nail (harness of 5). |
Following Wednesday
- Read Rocks and Minerals by Steve Tomecek.
- Completed Evan-Moor ScienceWorks for Kids: Geology, Grades 1-3 "Rocks Have Different Properties - Rock Properties" (page 31).
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