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Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

What is in that?

For Teachers 6th Standards
Invite your class to dig in to an engaging journey into the world of mining! Here you'll find the tools to equip young miners with knowledge of soil, rocks, and minerals, as well as types of mining operations. To round things out, the...
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Activity
K-State Research and Extensions

Crystal Shapes

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Of quartz I love geology! The chapter offers five activities at three different levels. It features hands-on activities that cover crystal shapes, cleavage and fracture, hardness scale, specific gravity, and mineral identification....
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PPT
Curated OER

Minerals

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
University of Colorado

Marvelous Martian Mineralogy

For Teachers 6th - 12th
All you need is light. Groups use a reflectometer to find the reflectivity of specific chemical compounds. Learners compare the graphs of the reflectivity of the known compounds to Martian soil. Using the graph comparisons, scholars...
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Lesson Plan
Science Friday

Mineral Madness

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Science does not need to be as hard as a rock. Pupils test 10 different minerals to determine their properties. The learners observe luster, streak, hardness, and fluorescence for each specimen. Afterwards, they compare and contrast the...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Lesson Five: The Earth, Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Apply the principles of geology to a series of collaborative, hands-on class activities. Young earth scientists learn more about igneous, metamorphic, and sedentary rocks before classifying and weathering rocks that they find....
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Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Mineral Identification

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Rocks & Minerals

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Take young geologists on an exploration of the rock cycle with this six-lesson earth science unit on rocks and minerals. Through a series of discussions, demonstrations, and hands-on investigations your class will learn about the...
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Unit Plan
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Brooklyn Children’s Museum

Rocks and Minerals in Our Lives

For Teachers K - 6th Standards
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 minerals,...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Rock On! Featuring the Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Trio!

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Get your classroom rocking with this four-lesson earth science unit. Through a series of shared reading activities and hands-on investigations, young geologists learn about the three types of rocks and the unique properties of each.
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PPT
1
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Curated OER

Minerals of the Earth

For Teachers 5th - 7th
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...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Take young geologists on an exploration of the collection of rocks and minerals that we call Earth with an upper-elementary science lesson. Through a series of class discussion and hands-on investigations, students learn about the three...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Student Exploration: Mineral Identification

For Students 8th - 9th
In this mineral identification worksheet, students read nine vocabulary words and answer 5 short answer and fill-in-the-blank questions regarding minerals. There are four additional pages of related activities. 
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Mystery Minerals

For Students 7th - 8th
In this science worksheet, students complete a chart of mineral properties. Minerals are listed by number, and students perform various tests to determine luster, hardness, color, streak color, fracture type and cleavage type. They use a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Minerals

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars discuss rocks and other earth materials made up of minerals. They identify minerals by means of their more obvious physical properties such as hardness, luster, color, streak, cleavage and fracture. They arrange a given...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mined or Grown?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders differentiate between raw materials that are cultivated and those that are mined. They collaborate with their eighth grade peers to learn more about the mining complexities at the end of their mineral identification unit.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planet Oit!

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders use this game to find minerals given rocks and outcrops in a plausible (but not real) geologic setting. They play without outside encouragement for hours as the world is fun to explore and the scoring system encourages...
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Handout
Province of British Columbia

B.c. Ministry of Energy and Mines: Common Rock Forming Minerals

For Students 9th - 10th
There are six common minerals most often found in rocks. They are quartz, feldspar, olivine, mica, pyroxene, and amphibole. This website provides photos and information on each, and discusses their importance when identifying rocks.
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Website
Other

Mineralogical Society of America: Mineral Identification Key: Mineral Properties

For Students 9th - 10th
Scientists classify minerals based on a set of physical properties. Each of these properties is described in detail.
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Website
Other

Geologynet: Rock Forming Minerals

For Students 9th - 10th
Use the search to find information on rock forming minerals. Characteristics including formula, color, cleavage, and hardness are presented in an easy-to-read chart.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Caterpillar: Ground Rules: Mining Right for a Sustainable Future [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This set of lesson plans was developed to accompany Ground Rules: Mining Right for a Sustainable Future, a documentary film created by Caterpillar and Science North. They introduce students to the various phases involved in mining,...
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Handout
University of Oregon

Ask Geo Man: Igneous Rock Forming Minerals

For Students 9th - 10th
Ask GeoMan lists Olivine, Pyroxene, Amphibole, Feldspar, Mica and Quartz, as five common rock forming minerals. Characteristics of each are also given.
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Fairly Simple Geology Exercises

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A collection of geology exercises which include relevant background information, complete instructions, student handouts, and answer keys. Topics include rock and mineral identification, Bowen's reaction series, crystal models,...
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Graphic
James Madison University

James Madison University: Mineral Luster

For Students 9th - 10th
Mineral photos depicting metallic and non-metallic luster. Includes shiny, glassy, and earthy examples.