Rocks in My Pocket
Grade Levels: 2 - 5
INTRODUCTION
What young child doesn't collect pockets full of rocks? It's easy to find
a rock anywhere, but for children years ago rock collecting wasn't about having
a neat collection; rather, it was a way of life.
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
understand that mining rocks (coal) is a hard job.
understand that mining practices and child labor practices have changed
over the years.
MATERIALS
Rock collections
Chart paper and markers
PROCEDURES
1. Introduce key vocabulary: mining, finding, age limit, mine, excavating.
2. Have students bring in some rocks or, if they collect rocks, ask them to bring
their rock collections to school.
3. Have them share their collections in small groups of two to four students. Have them
focus on "how" and "where" they collected the rocks.
4. After everyone has had a chance to share, solicit a few "hows"
and "wheres" from the group and record them on the chart paper. Discuss
the relative ease of finding or purchasing stones the children have. Ask the
students if they have any theories about where store-bought rocks might
have come from.
5. Introduce the process of mining – or removing precious rocks and gems from larger
rocks. Use the analogy and examples of digging a large hole in the ground as
construction workers do. Backhoes, bulldozers, and dump trucks move the heavy
rock.
6. Ask students for theories on how the rocks were mined before there were large
trucks. Record theories on chart paper.
7. Have students go to a mining website.
8. Have students keep track of information.
9. Gather students together when research time is over. As a group, share and
discuss findings. Record questions, findings, and wonders on chart paper. Begin
discussion with: "What were you surprised to find out?" "How
do you earn money?"
ASSESSMENT
Review worksheets to see what students recorded and understood from their research.
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Using safety goggles and hammers, crack and chip apart pieces of cement
and rock; "mine" for small shining rock chips. Compare this task
to those performed by miners many years ago.
Visit a quarry to watch modern-day mining and excavation.
On a world map, chart what gems and stones are mined in what parts of the
world.
Group students together according to birthstone types. Have each group do
research on the Internet. Ask them to look for locations of where stone is
mined in the world. Locate this country on a large world map. Report findings
to classmates.
STANDARDS CORRELATION
Student:
understands the nature of scientific inquiry.
knows that in science it is helpful to work with a team and share findings
with others.
knows that people of all ages, backgrounds, and groups have made contributions
to science and technology throughout history.
knows that although people using scientific inquiry have learned much about
the objects, events, and phenomena in nature, science is an ongoing process
and will never be finished.
knows that scientists and engineers often work in teams to accomplish a task.
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