Workshop: Geology Rocks!

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2 Preparing for Your Visit Workshop: Geology Rocks! Do hands-on experiments with rocks and minerals and uncover important knowledge about the Earth s geology. Learn how to be a rock hound and citizen scientist in this exciting session. Overview: Introduction to the Green Barn and to trading at the Nature Exchange (ethical collecting, membership, points system) Scientific presentation, investigation and experimentation related to the session topic Art Studio activities for students to express and present their ideas Duration: 90 minutes Setting: The Green Barn Nature Exchange and Art Studio 1

3 Pre-Visit & Post-Visit Activities A Green Barn workshop session is a valuable educational visit, whether it is a stand-alone field trip, or is incorporated in a unit related to natural sciences. The following pre-visit and post-visit activities are not crucial to the success of a trip to the Green Barn, but will certainly enhance the educational experience for students and help spark their interest and deeper learning in the topic. Framing the Experience: This workshop focuses on earth sciences, the rock cycle and classifying rocks based on observation, experimentation and study of current scientific knowledge. The Green Barn has a substantial collection of rocks and minerals, and students will have an opportunity to explore the collection during their visit, in addition to a variety of graphic texts. The workshop will progress from key topic questions into an overview of the rock cycle, and identification and testing of different types of rocks and minerals. The session culminates in an art studio activity where students synthesize their knowledge into expressive visual art projects. Building vocabulary and word chains related to the topic prior to the visit will help students better understand the concepts explored in the workshop, and assist them in expressing their thoughts through proper terminology. Practicing elements of scientific investigation prior to their visit asking meaningful questions, making predictions, experimenting, observing will help them place themselves in the role of citizen scientist and enhance their workshop session at the Green Barn. Vocabulary Building: rock, mineral, element, sediment, pressure, heat, weathering, erosion, volcanic, magma, fossils in rocks, crystals. (Note: terms for rock types (sedimentary, metamorphic, igneous), the hardness scale, and the rock cycle will be taught during the session.) Pre-Visit Activity: Needs: Have students bring an interesting rock or pebble to school. It can be one that they have seen on their property, or while visiting a beach, forest trail or park. Note: Rock hounds need to ensure that they are allowed to remove rocks from a place, if it is not their own property. Also, be sure that it can be done safely. Questions: What are some of the rocks and minerals that you have seen in your community and area? 2

4 Do they come from nature, or do humans manufacture them? How can you tell? What materials in and around our homes are made from rocks and minerals? (drywall, paint, cement, asphalt, roofing tiles, ceramic tiles, volcanic pebbles, etc.) Have students create charts to log the information that they gather during the classroom session. Post Visit Activity: Science: Rock Hounding Continue with the rock collecting that you may have begun before the visit to the Green Barn. With each specimen that is brought to the collection, have students fill in an identification card (below) that describes what they know about it. On-line resources or rock guide texts will assist students in identifying their rocks and minerals. The rock collection can be put on display, sorted by rock categories: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. Display boxes: Recycled egg cartons or pressed paper drink trays may be painted white or a lighter color for this purpose. Have a reference sheet for the hardness scale handy for determining this feature (available through the Green Barn Nature Exchange). Collector Name: Geology Rocks! Rock name: Rock Type(circle one): Sedimentary Metamorphic Igneous Not sure Description: Color(s)/Texture/Appearance Hardness Scale Art & Science Activity: Fossil Making A fossil is the cast of an animal or plant that was trapped millions of years ago, covered by sediment due to a sudden change in its environment. Changes in a landscape happen over time, due to a variety of events. Some may be slow, such 3

5 as tectonic shift, erosion, weathering and compaction. Others may be sudden, such as changes caused by a flood, mudslide, earthquake (seismic activity) or through volcanic activity near the surface. Many of the coastal valleys and mountain passes in the Gilroy area were once underwater. Fossil remains of many creatures can be found in the area. They take millions of years to form, but students can make their own in just a few classroom periods. After a study of how fossils form, have students make their own. Materials: Objects to mold seashells, seeds, fern leaves, shark teeth, etc. Plaster of Paris Water Rubber spatula Small paper cups Petroleum jelly (to help remove fossils from plaster) Method: Mix plaster in small batches. Fill cup ¾ full with plaster Smear petroleum jelly on object being cast Press object part way into plaster not totally immersed Leave to dry overnight Remove paper from around plaster Remove object Color with pastels or paint to look like rock medium Present and display Links: What is a Fossil, and How to make Your Own Additional Resources: Fantastic Faux Fossils: Lesson Plan This method uses layers of tissue paper over flattened wire outlines of objects to create a fossil bed. Fossils for Kids a good link for local information on fossils, based in Santa Cruz. 4

6 Workshop Title: Geology Rocks! Curriculum References: Education content for the Green Barn has been prepared in alignment with curriculum standards guidelines from two main documents: Next Generation Science Standards for California Schools (2015) and Science Content Standards for California Public Schools Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve (2003/2009). Additional consideration has been given to the California Common Core State Standards (ELA/Literacy and Mathematics) and the Visual and Performing Arts: Visual Arts Content Standards -- California State Board of Education. Next Generation Science Standards for California Schools (March 2015) 4-ESS1 Earth s Place in the Universe Students who demonstrate understanding can: 4-ESS1-1. Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock formations and fossils in rock layers for changes in a landscape over time to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time. Disciplinary Core Ideas ESS1.C: The History of Planet Earth Local, regional, and global patterns of rock formations reveal changes over time due to earth forces, such as earthquakes. The presence and location of certain fossil types indicate the order in which rock layers were formed. (4-ESS1-1) Science and Engineering Practices Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 3 5 builds on K 2 experiences and progresses to the use of evidence in constructing explanations that specify variables that describe and predict phenomena and in designing multiple solutions to design problems. Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. (4-ESS1-1) Crosscutting Concepts and Patterns Patterns Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation. (4-ESS1-1) Connections to Nature of Science Scientific Knowledge Assumes an Order and Consistency in Natural Systems Science assumes consistent patterns in natural systems. (4-ESS1-1) California Common Core State Standards Connections: ELA/Literacy W.4.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. (4-ESS1-1) W.4.8.a d Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes, paraphrase, and categorize information, and provide a list of sources. CA (4-ESS1-1) W.4.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. (4-ESS1-1) Mathematics MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively. (4-ESS1-1) 5

7 MP.4 Model with mathematics. (4-ESS1-1) 4.MD.1 Know relative sizes of measurement units within one system of units including km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz.; l, ml; hr, min, sec. Within a single system of measurement, express measurements in a larger unit in terms of a smaller unit. Record measurement equivalents in a two-column table. (4-ESS1-1) Science Content Standards for California Public Schools ( ) Grade Four Science Content Standards. Science Content Standards for California Public Schools Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. California Department of Education, 2003/2009. Earth Sciences 4. The properties of rocks and minerals reflect the processes that formed them. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know how to differentiate among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks by referring to their properties and methods of formation (the rock cycle). b. Students know how to identify common rock-forming minerals (including quartz, calcite, feldspar, mica, and hornblende) and ore minerals by using a table of diagnostic properties. 5. Waves, wind, water, and ice shape and reshape Earth s land surface. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know some changes in the earth are due to slow processes, such as erosion, and some changes are due to rapid processes, such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. b. Students know natural processes, including freezing and thawing and the growth of roots, cause rocks to break down into smaller pieces. c. Students know moving water erodes landforms, reshaping the land by taking it away from some places and depositing it as pebbles, sand, silt, and mud in other places (weathering, transport, and deposition). Investigation and Experimentation 6. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own questions and perform investigations. Students will: a. Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation) and know scientists explanations come partly from what they observe and partly from how they interpret their observations. b. Measure and estimate the weight, length, or volume of objects. c. Formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships. d. Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the relationships between predictions and results. e. Construct and interpret graphs from measurements. f. Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation. Arts_Grade Four Visual and Performing Arts: Visual Arts Content Standards, California Department of Education 1.0 ARTISTIC PERCEPTION Processing, Analyzing, and Responding to Sensory Information Through the Language and Skills Unique to the Visual Arts Analyze Art Elements and Principles of Design 6

8 1.5 Describe and analyze the elements of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value), emphasizing form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment. 2.0 CREATIVE EXPRESSION Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Visual Arts Students apply artistic processes and skills, using a variety of media to communicate meaning and intent in original works of art. Skills, Processes, Materials, and Tools 2.1 Use shading (value) to transform a two-dimensional shape into what appears to be a three-dimensional form (e.g., circle to sphere). 2.2 Use the conventions of facial and figure proportions in a figure study. 2.3 Use additive and subtractive processes in making simple sculptural forms. Communication and Expression Through Original Works of Art 2.5 Use accurate proportions to create an expressive portrait or a figure drawing or painting. 2.6 Use the interaction between positive and negative space expressively in a work of art. 2.7 Use contrast (light and dark) expressively in an original work of art. 2.8 Use complementary colors in an original composition to show contrast and emphasis. 5.0 CONNECTIONS, RELATIONSHIPS, APPLICATIONS Visual Literacy 5.3 Construct diagrams, maps, graphs, timelines, and illustrations to communicate ideas or tell a story about a historical event. 7