Geology Brochures Grade : Sixth An integrated lesson plan covering 5 sessions of approximately 1 hour each.

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1 Geology Brochures Grade : Sixth An integrated lesson plan covering 5 sessions of approximately 1 hour each. Lesson-Planning Approach Some learners perceive their world as a whole, where all things are interconnected and dependent upon each other. These integrated students face major challenges in coping with our dominant educational, social, and economic systems, which tend to present information in a linear fashion without the necessity of integration into meaningful context. Integrated students are at-risk of failing as they attempt to grasp information in ways that do not match their experience. Among large populations of atrisk students are many from Native American and similar cultures who do not regard their world as a sum of parts but as a blend of all that they experience. This lesson plan does include some traditional, linear approaches to delivering information (checklists, rules, analysis, problem solving and organization). In addition to the traditional, linear delivery of information, this lesson plan also includes some of the following strategies, designed to appeal to at-risk students as they learn academic/life skills: Integration of technology Story telling/anecdotal information Non-competitive group and team work Performance-based assessment and rubrics Visual presentations and practice through technology and other means Project-based assignments that integrate family and community Activities appealing to multiple intelligences (Gardner) Lesson Overview Students will collect rocks and then create a Geology Brochure explain the key identifiers that help them determine what they rock was. They will use Microsoft Publisher and a digital camera to complete this project. Lesson Objectives Lesson Project: Students will use their understanding of minerals and rocks to create a brochure conveying that understanding. 1

2 Project Objectives: When students complete this project, they will be able to Design and print their own informational brochures. Identify rocks and minerals in their natural settings. Integration of Other Functional/Academic Skills: (Critical thinking is required throughout the lesson.) Students will be able to Properly use a digital camera. Follow written and verbal instructions. Discriminate between vital and non-vital information for their brochures. State/National Standards (Complete as Appropriate) Colorado Science Standard #4 Earth and Space Science: Students know and understand the processes and interactions of the Earth s systems and the structure and dynamics of the Earth and other objects in space. BM #4.1a Explain how minerals, rocks and soils form. Observe the characteristics of a rock to decide if it is igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic. Name the three groups of rocks and give two examples of rocks for each group. Colorado Reading and Writing Standard #2 Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences. Colorado Reading and Writing Standard #3 Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Websites Required: No Required Websites Support: - rock and mineral ID site - rock and mineral ID site Pre-requisites Students need to know the difference between the three rock types and some characteristics of these rock types. Required Materials Magnifying Glass Bottle of water Rock and Mineral Guide Geologist s Notebook 2

3 Handouts Geology Brochure Handout Required Equipment/Technology Microsoft Publisher Internet Connected Computers Digital camera Color printer THE LESSON Note: Students do not learn from what you do but from what you have them do. Preparation Activity Learn the Rock Types Learn ways to identify rocks Presentation Time Estimate Instructor Notes Students will be taught the three different rock types: Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Igneous. They will be shown examples and be allowed to examine them using magnifying glasses. We will go over ways to identify rocks using mineral identification techniques. We will look at hardness, luster, color, smell, taste, fracture types, etc. Activity Instructor Notes The Story 20 minutes Using some rocks that I already have, I will tell students where I found them and what their significance is. Afterwards, I will ask students if they have ever seen rocks and wondered how the rocks arrived in the state they were currently in. During the next couple of days we are going to find some rocks and determine their stories. 3

4 Practice and Performance (Students help you perform the project steps. You help them perform project steps. They perform steps with little or no instructor help.) Activity Collecting Rocks Determining their Stories Pictures Designing the Brochures min. 120 minutes Instructor Notes Students will go out in an area around the school and collect three rocks that they find interesting. They will need to record where they found the rocks, a description of the rocks and a drawing in their Geologists Notebooks. Students will, based on their determination of what the rock is through the use of first washing the rock and then examining it under the magnifying glass, write a story of how the rock was formed. Using a digital camera, students will photograph their rocks for use in the brochures. Students will take the photographs and their stories and they will put together a brochure using Microsoft Publisher that they will then print. SEE TECHNOLOGY CHECKLIST AND GEOLOGY BROCHURE HANDOUT Lesson Assessment Strategy (Formative As the lesson progresses) Preparation, Presentation and Overall Implementation (Instructor) Do the students need more information regarding the Rock Cycle, rocks and/ or minerals? Does the Rubric cover all the bases for the assessment of the project? Does my modeling of the assignment adequately demonstrate how to do the assignment? Does the project need more time or less time? Would a speaker be useful? Performance and Practice (Student) Do the students need more in the way of handouts or checklists? Do the students ask questions on parts that could be covered in the original presentation? Are the brochures an accurate tool for assessing the students learning in this situation? Technology Is the technology appropriate to the assignment? Do the students need more instruction in the technology before this project? Are the websites useful? Do they need more in the way of websites? 4

5 Handouts Geology Brochure Your brochure needs to have a section on The Rock Cycle. Minerals and the techniques that are used to identify them. Sedimentary rock with a photo and a brief description of sedimentary rocks. Metamorphic rock with a photo and a brief description of metamorphic rocks. Igneous rock with a photo and a brief description of both plutonic and volcanic igneous rocks. The fictionalized stories that go along with each rock. Activity Checklist Find a sedimentary rock. Find a metamorphic rock. Find an igneous rock. Find a rock of your own. Using the digital camera, take a photo of each rock. Write a rough draft of the stories for each of your rocks. Write a rough draft of your brochure with stories and other elements included. Using Publisher, design and type out your brochure. Insert your photos. Print your brochure. 5

6 Technology Checklist Open Microsoft Publisher When prompted for personal information click OK and then Cancel on the next screen Choose brochures from the Wizard Choose a type of informational brochure from the sample templates Choose a color scheme from the brochure wizard Click Finish and Hide Wizard Click inside the title to change the text within the title Right click and delete anything that you want to remove from the template Type your text To insert photos, click on Picture Frame Tool icon Create a picture box Right click in the picture box and go to Change Picture and then Picture and then From File Go to the Floppy Drive and get your picture Once you have combined your text with your pictures, print your document 6

7 Lesson Rubric Category 0-1 points 2-3 points 4-5 points 6-7 points 8-10 points Pictures Stories Other Written Sections Used no photos. No stories used. No other sections included. Used one to two photos. No logic to placement. Brief, unfinished stories used. Either Rock cycle or Minerals missing. Used one to two photos. Placement is logical. Brief, finished stories used. Missing information on Rock Cycle or Minerals. Used three to four photos. Placement is logical. Paragraph long, finished stories used. Both sections included with no missing information. Used four photos. Placement is creative. Creative, paragraph long, finished stories used. Creative approach or design used in both sections. Conventions Design Usage Ten or convention errors found. Design is erratic and illogical. Five to Nine convention errors found. Some sections are placed illogically. Two to four errors found. No creative use of sentence structure. Basic template design followed. One error found. Some creative use of sentence structure. Some creative design elements included. No errors found. Creative use of sentence structure throughout. All sections and photos presented creatively. 7