Mocking

Today we did all the usual things, but we had particular fun in our Science time. We are starting our Earth Science unit on rocks and minerals. Now geologists spend a lot of time breaking rocks apart with picks and hammers and cutting them with diamond saws. Alas, those school district lawyers won't let us do that in the classroom! So we did those kinds of explorations with mock or fake rocks today. They look a little like cookies, but they're hardly tasty.

The students worked in groups to break them apart and examine the material the mock rocks are made of. A key understanding of this unit is that rocks are different from minerals. Rocks are composites of different minerals.

After breaking the rocks apart and describing the components on their lab sheets, the students added 50 mL of water to some of the material to see how it would dissolve. We will examine these solutions a little more in tomorrow and maybe after the break, too. 

In math, we looked at the difference between mean and median and also discussed range and mode.

Homework:  Write spelling words ten times each in cursive and write a sentence for each. The words are occupant, permission, plunging, poisonous, and possibilities. (2) Do the study guide for chapter 7 of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. (3) Do “Median, Mode, and Range” on pages 390-391in the math book. Also do “Dazzling Data” on the back.