A Geologist's Guide: Minerals and Rocks

In this 6 -week course, learners will become virtual Geologists by studying all about minerals and rocks with a real Geologist. We will work our way through the facts about minerals and rocks while understanding how they are formed and what they are used for in our lives. Learners will engage with the teacher and other students while identifying minerals and rocks from a required mineral and rock kit. The kit will be required by the fourth week of class and may be purchased from the following link. 

Required Rock Kit
https://www.homesciencetools.com/product/real-science-odyssey-rock-and-mineral-set-15-specimens/

You will also need to have the tools to use in identification of these samples at this link.
https://www.homesciencetools.com/product/mineral-test-kit/?nosto=nosto-page-search1

Content in this class will be presented in Nearpod and students will be able to use my screen share so they do not have to log into it. The course will be a mixture of lecture, discussion, hands-on activities, and a few activities that will be completed outside of class time. The last day of the course will be an escape room challenge for learners to demonstrate everything they have learned throughout the course. 

We will follow the course outline below:

Week 1: Mineral Groups and Properties/Mineral Identification
Week 2: Mineral Uses, Formation, and Mining Practices/The Rock Cycle
Week 3:  Igneous Rocks/ Sedimentary Rocks
Week 4: Metamorphic Rocks/ Mineral and Rock Identification Lab (You will need the required kits in the links above for this class.)
Week 5: The Rock Cycle Lab (You will need at least 3 different colored Starburst Candies, scissors, a clear plastic bag, and a piece of wax paper. Parents will have to assist with the last part of the activity for heating in the microwave.) /Important Minerals of the United States
Week 6: Cookie Mining/ Mineral and Rock Escape Room Challenge (You'll need a chocolate chip cookie and a toothpick for the cookie mining lab.


Any handouts necessary for the course will be posted in the class forum by Sunday before the scheduled lesson. Please make sure your learner has uploaded any assignments for my review by the Saturday before the upcoming class. 

This is a fun course in which learners will be doing a high level of interaction with the teacher and other learners. Learners should be prepared to participate in the activities and labs for the best learning outcome. 

I hope to see your student in class!