"Experience is the best teacher!"

This week’s lesson on describing the color of minerals went extremely well! Ben and I made sure to incorporate a writing portion and use technology to make this lesson a little different from our previous lessons. The students were surprised to discover that some of the colors of each of the minerals they observed last week made a different color when they performed the streak test on either the black or white tile. The students really enjoyed this lesson and we did too!

When we arrived to the classroom, Ben and I had to quickly clean all of the white and black tiles with soap and water. I then put all of the materials the students would need on the back table while Ben wrote out our agenda, goals, and question of the day up on the overhead. We usually write these things on the white board but we thought it would be a nice change to use the overhead and use the technology the classroom had to offer. After writing our agenda on the overhead, our teacher was kind enough to help Ben and I make a quick sheet on the computer about “How to be a rock”. She then made 25 copies for us to give the students so they could do their writing assignment.

                     

When the students came back from recess, their teacher had them sit down immediately so Ben and I could get started. It was so great to see all of their smiling faces again! When it was quiet, I began our lesson by welcoming the students back from recess. I then went over our agenda, goals for the day, and the question we wanted them to be thinking about while performing the streak tests on the 12 minerals. The question asked was, “What are the differences between the observable color of the 12 minerals and the streak tests color of the 12 minerals?”

Next, we had them look at the “How to be a rock” sheet that was placed on each of their desks before they came back from recess. Ben explained they were going to use this sheet to help them write a seven line poem about “How to be a rock” including facts they have learned about rocks. Ben then told the students we were going to go over each line together as a class and we would write down three things they could use in their poem per line or they could come up with their own if they weren’t able to mention it in the discussion. Ben and I called on the students to see what they wanted to put on each line. By completing this poem as a class, Ben and I were able to assess how much the students know about rocks and the rock cycle, and they know a lot! We are very impressed with how much they have learned from the lessons in this unit.

Here’s an example of one students’ poem:

How to be a Rock:

Don’t breathe

You can change form but you’re not alive

Don’t have a heartbeat

All rocks have observable properties

You are made up of minerals

You can do field tests on me

All life relies on me

After students were finished with creating their poems on “How to be a Rock”, Ben explained how they were going to be doing field tests, like geologists do, and performs a streak test on each of the 12 minerals. Ben demonstrated the streak test on mineral A and recorded it on the big sheet of paper we had from last week so they would know how to record their observations. Students were to scratch each mineral on a white tile and then a black tile and record the color (if any) each mineral left on them. The streak tests would help them to answer our science question about the differences between the minerals’ observable color versus the minerals’ streak test color.

After showing the students how to do the streak test activity, I asked that one partner pick up the minerals, wet paper towel, and two hand lenses, while the other partner picked up two gloves, a tray, and a black and white tile from the materials table. The students had about 15 minutes to do this activity. Ben and I walked around to make sure they weren’t spending too much time on one mineral and answered any questions they had. I found many students surprised by the results of their streak tests and they couldn’t wait to share their observations with their peers at the end.

A few minutes before Ben and I had to leave, we had to get the students attention by telling them to put their hands on their heads and to look at us. I told the students they were all doing a great job and we wanted to hear about some of the differences they found between the observable colors they recorded last week and the streak test colors they recorded today. The students were eager to share their findings with us but unfortunately we only had time to hear a few of them. One student mentioned one mineral had an observable color of turquoise while the streak of the mineral was black. This was a major difference. Another student told us that the observable color of another mineral was the same as the streak test performed on the white tile which was black. This student did not see a difference between the observable color and the streak test of that mineral.

After briefly discussing the science question and writing a few of the students’ observations on the overhead, Ben and I sadly had to leave. We told the students they all did a wonderful job today and we would see them next week. This week’s lesson was a blast and our teacher was pleased with our lesson and told us we did a great job. I am going to be very sad to say goodbye to these amazing students in a couple of weeks. This whole experience is really incredible and we are learning so much!