Minerals Around the World

In this weekly class, students will discover a new mineral each week while learning related facts, geographic locations of deposits, and uses for each one. Students will learn the chemical formula and the properties of the mineral that are used in identification. We will discuss  relevant mining practices, if applicable, for each mineral. Mineral kits are not required for this class. However, if a student has the mineral for that week's topic in a mineral collection, they are welcome to share it with the rest of the class. 

We will begin new sections of this class with a detailed look at mineral identification. Understanding the key concepts will help us as we discover new minerals each week.

Week of June 7: What makes a mineral a mineral and how is it different from a rock?
Week of June 9: Physical Properties of Minerals
Week of June 16: Hardness /Mohs Scale of Hardness
Week of June 23: What is streak?
Week of July 7: Cleavage versus Fracture
Week of July 14: Crystal Habits
Week of July 21: Special Properties of Minerals
Week of July 28: Chemical Composition and What It Tells Us About the Formation of the Mineral
Week of August 4: What are ore minerals?
Week of August 11: Uses of Minerals and Why They Are Important
Week of August 18: What are Critical Minerals?
Week of August 25: What are Mineral Groups?

Mineral study is outlined below:

Week of September 1: Quartz
Week of September 8: Varieties of Quartz
Week of September 15: Feldspar
Week of September 22: Varieties of Feldspar
Week of September 29: Micas
Week of October 6: Amphibole
Week of October 13: Varieties of Amphibole
Week of October 20: Pyroxenes
Week of October 27: Olivine
Week of November 3: Calcite
Week of November 10: Garnet
Week of November 17: Pyrite
Week of December 1: Gypsum
Week of December 8: Hematite
Week of December 15: Magnetite
Week of January 5: Halite
Week of January 12: Galena
Week of January 19: Apatite
Week of January 26: Chalcopyrite
Week of February 2: Gold
Week of February 9: Silver
Week of February 16: Copper
Week of February 23: Diamond
Week of March 2: Graphite
Week of March 9: Sulfur
Week of March 16: Talc
Week of March 23: Flourite
Week of March 30: Topaz
Week of April 6: Corundum
Week of April 13: Aragonite
Week of April 20: Lapis Lazuli
Week of April 27: Malachite
Week of May 4: Azurite
Week of May 11: Red Beryl
Week of May 18: Kyanite
Week of May 25: Staurolite
Week of June 1: Opal

Please check back as the schedule gets updated as this course progresses. 

This class will be presented in Nearpod and I will screen share so that parents are not required to create an account. We will have a mix of discussion, videos, and question and answer sessions so that students can interact with each other and the teacher. This class builds on the Geology Around the World class. Students can enroll in one or both courses depending on the experience they are looking for. In this class, more details are given regarding mineral deposits and uses. 

I am looking forward to seeing your student in class.