Rock Cycle and Geode Cracking
/Ten days ago we started our rocks tumbling in the rock tumbler. It was fascinating to hear students’ predictions about what might happen after rocks were tumbled for 25 days in the tumbler. Here are some of their predictions:
“They will combine into one huge rock. It will be bigger and crumblier.”
“The bumpy ones will be smoother because they will bump into each other and the little pieces will come off.”
“They will come out shiny, smooth, sparkly, and about the same size.”
“They will be one big rock but not dirty anymore.”
“When they bump things will become smaller. Little rocks will come off.”
“They will be shinier because they will be thrown around. And a little smaller because sand will be grinding them.”
“Edges will be smooth. Rocks will crack and spilt into two rocks. Pieces will crack off.”
They will stick together to make a stone. They will be smooth on the outside with sharp edges at core. Crystals will be inside.”
“They will be smooth, shiny, and clean. I have a rock tumbler.”
“The rocks will become bigger because they will be squished together in tumbler. They will be dirtier because the dirty rocks will smooth together. They will still be sharp.”
“Not as dusty. Still small. It looks like it will shine them.”
“They will be rounder because they will be tumbling and the sharp parts could break off and get flattened. They will get cleaner.”
On Tuesday we got to remove the rocks after they had been tumbling with coarse grit for 7 days. We washed the rocks and examined them. We noticed that they are getting smoother and shinier. Then we put them back in the tumbler with water and fine grit for another 7 days. We can’t wait to see what they look like next.
Last week we learned more about the rock cycle. Students had a chance to actually imagine themselves as a rock. As a rock, they visited different centers where they rolled dice to experience different geologic events. As the rocks eroded, melted, erupted, compressed, and compacted they moved through the rock cycle and became different types of rocks. Students had a chance to become sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks during this simulation. During this activity students closely examined each of these different types of rocks and read more about each type. Then students created rock cycle posters to demonstrate what they had learned.
Juliana gave a presentation on geodes and brought in geodes for students to crack. Adam helped us crack the geodes using a chain pipe cutter. Students were thrilled to discover what the inside of their geodes looked like. Thank you, Juliana and Adam, for the fun experience and for the geode keepsakes!
Last week each Otter chose a rock or mineral to research. Students shared their research with the class and created a reference page about their rock/mineral to add to our class field guide book.
Neil came up with the idea to create a new obstacle course in the outdoor classroom. It started small and quickly grew as nearly every Otter joined in the fun. By the second day of working on the obstacle course it covered almost our entire outdoor classroom. The obstacle course included some big challenges, including rolling parts- what fun!
Other highlights of the week included adding a mason bee home to our outdoor classroom, drawing, growing salt crystals, reading Elephant and Piggie books in Spanish, playing games outside, and coding on the iPads.
