Rocks and Minerals
Lesson 6
Observing Minerals: How Are They the Same and Different?
Students explore minerals to learn more about their properties by observing look, feel and smell for each mineral sample and recording their results.
3. Lesson set up and Management
INQD: Simple instruments, such as magnifiers, thermometers, and rulers provide more information than scientists can obtain using only their unaided senses.
PS2A: Objects have properties, including size, weight, hardness, color, shape, texture, and magnetism. Unknown substances can sometimes be identified by their properties.
PS2B: An object may be made from different materials. These materials give the object certain properties.
- Students will find similarities and differences as they observe all twelve mineral samples, focusing on the three properties of appearance, texture and smell.
3. Lesson set up and Management
Materials:
- Make the twelve handout sheets a part of their science notebook by stapling them together with a cover as a "Mineral Field Guide" and sliding it into their science notebook for easy reference. This is a lot less time consuming than gluing each sheet to a page in the notebook.
Observing the properties of each
mineral sample - What to you see,
smell, and feel?
Student Management:
- Assign one partner to be the materials manager and have that student pick up the materials from the materials center after you model how to do it.
- Make a transparency of the blackline master to show your students which areas they will be recording their observations for this lesson. Use a star to mark which areas they should use. As the lessons progress, mark each new area with another symbol to help them keep track.
Observing the properties of each
mineral sample - What to you see,
smell, and feel?
Writing Support:
- Students record their observations on their Mineral Profile sheets.
Observing the properties of each
mineral sample - What to you see,
smell, and feel?
- Students record three important pieces of information about sulfur in their science notebook.
Reading Support:
- There is information to read on page 22 of the student activity book about the mineral, sulfur. This is a great chance for students to partner read and record information in their science notebooks as they read to help them identify sulfur.
Math Support:
- Have students generate questions about the data from the graphs they made in the previous lesson.