My high school is located in an urban environment and is part of a Title I district. Most of my students are from low-income families with 50% of our student body receiving free and reduced lunches. Due to their families' low socio-economic status a majority of them do not have access to technology and enriching experiences that will make them successful in science. For example, my students do not travel, not even to the local regional, state, and national parks. My hope is that my geology class will expose them to what the world is like outside of their classroom and see things through a different perspective.
My Project
Next Generation Science Standards's Science and Engineering Practices include students analyzing and interpreting data to support their learning. Textbook pictures and images may help students see a wide variety of rocks and minerals that are out there in the world, but they cannot provide a hands-on experience for identifying and classifying rocks and minerals. Geology is a hands-on science that needs to be done with real materials.
With these supplies in our geology class, such as sets of mineral samples, rock specimens, and tools for identifying materials, students will be able to have a direct experience with real life, physical objects to examine and analyze.
The mineral samples will be used for Moh's Hardness Scale and characterizing the physical properties of minerals used for identifying (color, cleavage/fracture, hardness, streak, crystalline structure, luster, magnetism, smell, etc.). The rock specimens will be used for distinguishing the different types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) and identification. These materials will bring students one step closer to a well-rounded, hands-on experience learning science!
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