Minerals and Crystals

We just wrapped up our two week study on minerals.  It was loads of fun for the girls so we wanted to share some of the fabulous resources we found to use along the way.




We love You Tube, with its endless source of visual resources, so we created a playlist to use with our study.  Another great video on minerals can be found here.

Our spelling/vocabulary words for the week were uploaded to Spelling City and can be found here. If you don't have a membership, you can access these and your child can play the free activities to help them learn.  The spelling test is also free.  They can type in their name and print a certificate of their grade for record keeping.


There were several sites picked out for the girls.  They are different ages and vary in reading ability, so I provided them with the following options to choose from.  They used these sites to gather information about crystals and minerals during the study:

• http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-for-kids/0025-minerals.php
• http://www.mineralogy4kids.org/index.html
• http://www.rocksforkids.com/RFK/identification.html 
• http://www.ck12.org/flexbook/chapter/19407 (CK12 Flexbook - MS Earth's Minerals)

Science in our house is always hands on so there was no shortage in scientific investigations during our study. The girls conducted a mineral dig, cracked open geodes, grew crystals, and identified the various types of minerals in each, and we also had a lab with friends to practice identifying various types of minerals.  The lab was wonderful and the girls worked methodically through their investigations. I set out eight different minerals on grid paper.  The girls picked one number at a time to test and identify.  We provided them with mineral guides to help them.  When they finished, they returned their mineral to its correct place for the next person. They observed the minerals' color, shape, and luster. They performed hardness tests, streak tests, acid tests.  They also checked for the specific gravity as well as magnetic properties of each mineral.

     

 

      

We used several kits in this study. You can find most of these in various places like Hobby Lobby.  They often run them on sale and you can print a 40% off coupon on their website, anytime. Kits we used for our activities:

•  Earth Science Crystals, Rocks, and Minerals (Our Favorite Resource This Week!)
•  Toysmith Crystal Mining 
•  Break Your Own Geodes 

Lastly, we needed to find resources to document our learning.  There was no shortage there.  We used some notebooking pages, worksheets, and lapbook pieces to make our interactive notebooks.

Free printables:

•   http://yeeshallknow.com/science/ (Rocky Road Trip lapbook can be used in your notebook)
• http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/linksa/mineral_ident_intro.html (Charts for mineral identification. Great for the lab)
• http://www.thecraftyclassroom.com/CraftGeologyRocksMinerals.html (Lab sheets for rock and mineral exploration.  We used these during our lab session.)
• http://www.missdoctorbailer.com/resources_6th.cfm?subpage=1339877 (Lots of lab sheets for middle school.)
• http://notebookingfairy.com/2011/07/rocks-and-minerals-notebooking-pages/ (Notebooking pages by Jimmie)

Purchasable: 

• History-Scribe---Rocks-and-Minerals

We have a few more activities planned coming up.  They include visiting our local gem and mineral society and convention coming to our area.  If you would like to do the same, here in the U.S. you can find information at AFMS. Simply find your region on the list.

Well, that's it for our study of minerals and crystals.  Next stop...Rocks!

(Disclosure: I am affiliated with several of the companies linked within this post.  I receive a monetary compensation for purchases of the mentioned products, however I only recommend products we use personally and that I believe in.  Any monetary compensation received is used to provide for our homeschooling.)