Geologists at work...

The children had a fun and engaging week at school!

Our in-school field trip took place on Wednesday morning. A scientist from High Tech High Touch came to our classroom to enrich and enhance our learning during our unit on Rocks. First, the children reviewed the layers of the earth. Then, they searched for their very own gemstones in sand.  

After choosing their 10 favorite gemstones, the children did a variety of experiments on them. They tested to see if any of their stones was magnetic. They tested to see if any of their gemstones had limestone in them using a vinegar. They conducted a streak test on a ceramic plate to see the gem's color in powder form. Last, they conducted a hardness test to see if their gemstones were harder or softer than a penny. Using a chart with labeled stones, the children looked carefully at the properties of their new gemstones to identify them.

Noah strains a sample of sand searching for gemstones.

Kelly selects her favorite gemstones.

Jack and Kelly use vinegar to test their stones for bubbles, which indicate the presence of limestone.

As Lucy tests her gemstones for limestone, James checks the rock bulletin board in the back of the class to see if he can identify his gemstones on his own.

Angelica uses a grid of labeled rocks to help her learn the name of the ones she collected.

Rahul and Filip conduct the streak test on a ceramic plate to view what their rock would look like in powder form.

Kassie and Mia analyze their samples and place them carefully on the labeled chart.

Noah, Mark, and Ola look closely at their samples to identify a match.

Olivia places her samples directly on the rocks she has matched them to on the chart.

Adrian conducts the streak test to view the marks left behind by the gemstones.

Filip, Ben, Rahul and Angelica use vinegar to test for limestone.

Mark, Ola, Noah and Olivia conduct the hardness test. If their gemstone left a scratch on the penny, it was harder than the penny. If the penny left a scratch on the gemstone, the gemstone was harder.

Kassie and Olivia jot down some notes about their learning after the field trip.

James lists properties of his gemstones. He ran out of room with good ideas!

Another exploration the children and I did this week involved looking closely at the minerals that make up granite. In order to better see the feldspar, quartz, biotite and muscovite that compose granite, we (I) literally smashed a piece apart with a hammer! The children looked closely at the remnants to identify the minerals, and then decided which mineral they thought our sample was mainly composed of. Most children agreed that our granite had a lot of biotite (a dark, shiny mineral.)

It was Kassie's week to shine at school! She started off with her Star Student science experiment. She demonstrated for the class how powerful air pressure can be by lifting a heavy book off of the table by blowing into a bag underneath it!

Kassie read a story to the class called "Under the Sea." She elicited some help from James and Lucy who shared in the reading! The children enjoyed listening to the group effort!

We were so happy to welcome Kassie's mom to the classroom to spend some time with us on Friday afternoon. She was able to hear all of the wonderful reasons the children and I think Kassie is a super star! She is funny, full of energy, sparkly, great at math and reading, an awesome helper, and a terrific friend. We are so lucky that Kassie is in our class this year!