Kick off your science instructional activity with this PowerPoint about minerals, rocks, and fossils. This presentation clearly defines key vocabulary, including: luster, sediments, erosion, and more! This is an eye-catching slideshow...

Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...

I love this geology lesson plan. Third and fourth graders look at the connections, and the differences, between rocks and minerals. Learners are charged with identifying specific rocks and minerals, learning how to properly use...

Unearth this gem of a resource to use in your geology unit! With colorful images, bullet-point text, and links to related videos, it deals with the characteristics, properties, and identification of minerals. There are also slides...

A must-have for your geology library of resources, this PowerPoint walks viewers through the characteristics of minerals and each test used to help identify them. As you present this collection of slides, stop to demonstrate each quality...

What's the difference between a rock and a mineral? And what properties are used to identify minerals? The first installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes prompts young scientists to identify a set of...

Young geologists discover the important role that rocks and minerals play in our everyday lives through this series of hands-on activities. Starting off with a lesson that defines the difference between plants, animals, and...

Students identify the characteristics of minerals. They complete proper identification tests and record the data in an organized fashion. They list important uses for minerals as well.

Students examine the role of minerals in industries. They use minerals that are found in the grocery store to complete flame tests. They complete an experiment using fireworks.

If you are a geology teacher in the state of Virginia, then this resource is right up your alley! It examines the five geologic provinces of Virginia: The Coastal Plain, The Piedmont, The Blue Ridge Mountains, The Valley and Ridge...

Students study minerals and their physical properties.  In this mineral instructional activity students use technology to investigate minerals and their properties. 

All that glitters is not gold! In this nine-slide show, your mineralogists gain insight on the formation and properties of the building blocks of rocks. Beautiful and sparkling photographs make the presentation pleasing to the eye, and...

Young geologists attempt to predict the appearnace of a geode's internal structure based on how it looks from the outside, its mass, and its physical characteristics. For this geologly lesson, learners use scientific equipment to collect...

Students discuss information relating to Illinois geology. They examine top mineral resources in Illinois to find detailed information about geodes and where they can be found. Students complete geode lab to explore external structure of...

Students compare and constrast a wide variety of minerals and rocks. They test them for streak, luster, color and other characteristics. They view an exhibit and compare their answers to them.

In this earth science worksheet, students use the clues given at the bottom of the sheet to solve the crossword puzzle on mineral and rocks. They identify the various types of rocks formed and specific examples of these rocks.

Throughout this earth science exam, high school geologists complete a series of multiple-choice and short-answer questions about the solar system, atmosphere, and Earth system. This is an amazing test, as are all of the exams developed...

Students take a virtual field trip around California using Google Earth. In this geology field trip lesson, students explore landforms and a variety of rocks located in California.  Students compare environments where rocks are...

Opening with background information on copper use and mining, this worksheet assesses junior geologists' reading comprehension. A map activity is available, but the map is not. There is a useful set of vocabulary matching cards and a...

Students explore, via a CD-ROM, the Virginia's five geological regions and discover the rocks and minerals located in each. In stone kits, they examine samples of rocks and minerals and answer questions about them. After discovering the...

Young scholars, in pairs, use observation skills to identify objects from the past and present in our environment made of rocks and minerals of Illinois.

Students examine how rocks are composed of different minerals. They analyze rock samples, then examine cookies, sorting out the simulated mineral ingredients from the cookies and identifying the mineral ingredients.

The link to Ideas for Resources: Geology Manual is no longer valid, but the link to How to Teach Using Role-Playing does. Choose a realistic problem related to your focus topic, assign roles, and send your geology learners off to...

Students investigate radioactivity as a tool for measuring geologic time and how geologists use this information to determine the absolute age of rocks or minerals.