Tracy Dj Barnhart - Help, I Have to Teach Rock and Mineral Identification and Im Not a Geologist!

Children love rocks and minerals. They are the building blocks of our Earth and are fascinating to study and collect. There are hundreds of rocks and minerals in the world, giving students opportunities to study numerous varieties of samples. Geologists use a variety of tests and information to determine the name of a rock or mineral. Students can perform most of the tests in a classroom or at home, making science lessons fun and educational!

1.1 Tips for Teaching Rock and Mineral Identification

Identifying rock and mineral samples can seem daunting to students. Elementary students are experiencing rocks and minerals for the first time while middle and high schools students may have only limited knowledge from earlier grades. Teaching children the basic properties that distinguish minerals and rocks from one another can help students begin to understand the basic fundamentals of geology. Younger students may use simple sets of rocks and minerals to gain an understanding of the differences while middle and high school students can learn to identify multiple samples within a particular group, such as minerals, igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks, or between groups at a more advanced level.

Tip #1: Use a hands-on learning method where you give the students physical samples they can touch and test. A picture or poster is not as effective at teaching as hands-on learning. Allow the children to test the samples without worrying about damaging the minerals or rocks. Some of the tests they will perform will scratch, rub or even break the samples but that is okay and is part of learning to identify the properties. In addition, make sure that the samples are pure or almost pure specimens so that the tests are accurate and do not confuse students with the presence of two or more rock or mineral types. If two or more mineral or rock types are present, the test results may be incorrect.

Tip #2: Supply the students with high quality, proper tools to use in the identification process. Black and white streak plates, hand lenses, pennies older than 1982, strong vinegar and metal paper clips are all useful for identification purposes. Ensure that younger students have proper supervision using household acids. The next section discusses details of some of the geologists tools that may be useful for your lessons.

Tip #3: Use flow charts that are easy to read with limited arrow options so the choices are obvious for very young students. Older students may use information sheets, posters and flow charts that have additional data about the most important properties of the rocks and minerals. Flow charts are helpful because they give students a specific pattern to follow when performing tests and eliminating possibilities as you move from one block to another across the chart. Older children often find information cards or sheets helpful because they can perform the tests in any manner they choose and use the process of elimination to determine the identity of an unknown mineral. For students who are very interested in additional information about the minerals they identify, a copy of a rock and mineral reference book might be fun for them to review. Mini Me Geology has a list of six fabulous rock and mineral information books on our blog that we recommend for students of varying ages and interests.