Geology Lab for 5th Grade



Geology Lab for 5th Grade

Notes Fall 2007

1) Currently the lab only needs 60 - 70 minutes.

2) If the lab is to remain at 90 minutes, I have some comments, as it seemed to be a long time for each station. These would be my suggestions to make it work next year:

Add a 5th station. I have outline a Pangaea station, and briefly showed it to Mrs. Ivarie who was very enthusiastic. The GA standards do not specifically address Pangaea, but they do addresses plate tectonics and the forces which form lands, which would be part of this lab.

Make sure the lab leader is familiar with the contents of the lab, so she/he can bring the children in and welcome the junior scientists. Talk about why scientists are important, and how they are always observing, thinking and asking why and how. Explain how these are the big questions to ask when approaching all of our work. Talking about a theory also would help if you need to use more time. A theory often can not be tested: For example, we are not sure where the 'hot spot' is that helped develop the Hawaiian Islands (See station 3). Is it in the core or close to the core in the mantle? We don't really know since we can't visit the core. We can only hypothesize given our current data. If we get better data, our hypothesis may change. Then the lab leader can talk about the concepts, and ask the children what they know. The lab leader can introduce each station, and briefly talk about what they will be doing.

At the end, I think it's important to bring the kids back together and ask what they've learned. The kids love this sharing.

NOTES:

1) STATION ONE: GEORGIA LANDFORMS PER STATE STANDARDS This is the play dough station. Have the kids talk about the Georgia landforms, and if it was formed with a constructive or destructive force. I found some classes could only get to a few, some all of them. It depends on the class and how long ago they had the material, or if they have even gotten the material. Spend 1/2 the time on discussion, 1/2 on the play dough building the landforms of Georgia. I did create flags, but that was too cumbersome; they are in the bin if you want them. Once the play dough comes out, it is very hard to get them to talk as they're busy playing/building/working. This station could be done in 12 1/2 minutes; but since kids can do play dough forever, it works either way. The point to make with this one is erosion which is destructive and causes a mountain to turn into plateau can become the sediment which settles onto the coast and creates barrier islands. Also, some mountains are formed by earthquakes, but our Georgia mountains were formed by folding plates. The notes state this stuff. This would be a more 'relaxing station'.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR STATION ONE: The Georgia laminated maps (there should be plenty from 2007; there is also an e-copy on the disk), and 8 - 12 cans of play dough. I changed the play dough out after 1/2 of the classes for cleanliness. The kids also liked plastic utensils and toothpicks to form their land formations.

2) STATION TWO: Glacial Erosion. I toyed with combining the erosion stations (see station 4), as these stations go very fast. Feedback from the station leaders said they thought it would be too messy. It has the glacial ice cubes. With the glacial ice cubes, have the kids rub the clay (the land form) with the ice cubes, put sand in between and have them rub again. How has the land form changed? I have printed out some pictures, but this is a very quick station, and any more info you can add would be helpful. 12 1/2 minutes is plenty; the full 18 is excessive.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR STATION TWO: Glacial ice cubes (make ice cubes with some sand and gravel, 1 per student), pre-cut modeling clay cut into 1/2" cubes (note red and blue clay disintegrates with the ice cubes rubbing on them), napkins to hold the ice cubes with, and paper plates, (You should be able to reuse the paper plates over and over again.) plastic cups with some sand, and plastic spoons for the children to spoon some sand over their glacier, pictures of Alpine Glaciers and Continental Glaciers.

4) STATION 3: SEISMOGRAPH I found that this station worked best with anyone with experience with earthquakes, which tended to be people from California. It's important to get a marker that's thin enough to fit through the seismograph apparatus, but with a wide tip. I finally found some ROSEART thin markers that seemed to do the trick. Also, replacement paper is very hard to find. I found you had to take a thick Sharpie marker, take off the lid, and if you can slide it through the hole in the adding machine paper, it would fit the spindle. Otherwise, it would be too narrow. When you work with the seismograph, make sure only one student at a time shakes the table otherwise you do not get anything from the seismograph that's worth noticing. (The data is considered 'noisy' as there's nothing clear there.) . This station involves spinning a hard boiled egg and a raw egg, to simulate how the inside of the earth moves. I do not recommend breaking open the hard boiled egg, just showing the picture I have. See this website for further details on the egg presentation if necessary, although I feel I have outlined it sufficiently in the lab leader document.



Currently at 18 minutes, this was a comfortable station, and the feedback I received is it could be cut to 12 1/2 minutes, but perhaps some of the student worksheet would have to be shortened.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR STATION THREE: Hardboiled egg and raw egg; one of each is all you need unless they get dropped and break, and a tray or lid cover to roll the egg in. The table should be level as well. I have pictures of the inside of a hard boiled egg. Colored pencils for the children to color the core, mantle and crust. Picture of Hawaii. 4 foam strips to show how the lithosphere (the crust and upper mantle) fold up to create folded mountains (an anticline), or go down to create valleys (a syncline). Seismograph, paper, markers. Pictures of a real seismograph and different seismograms of differing Richter scales events.

4) STATION FOUR: SAND DUNE EROSION.

Build the sand dune in one of the shoe boxes. Use plain sand (there is sand in the sand box in the supply area), then put a strip or the blue (or any color) sand on top, blow dry it, see the blue sand fly. Ask the children to predict what would happen if we added leaves, sticks, houses and rocks. Place some more blue sand on the dune, and those items, and blow dry again. The blue sand stays. Erosion control is important. This station goes very quickly, and the station leader has to add lib with questions like, "Have you ever been to a beach with sand dunes? Have you seen how they are marked do not touch? Why?" 12 1/2 minutes is good, 18 excessive.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR STATION FOUR: Shoe box, hair dryer, plain sand, colored sand, measuring cup, rocks, artificial greenery, sticks, pans to hold the rocks, greenery and sticks, goggles to keep the sand from getting in the children's eyes.

5) STATION FIVE: PANGAEA: A new station if you choose to use it: The Pangaea (Greek for all land) Theory Station. First talk about the theory, info in the packet. (See website ) Then the children can cut out maps (I have found a great one, enclosed in my packet) that have been copied onto cardstock. First they can put the puzzle together as Pangaea, then during the Triassic Period, 200 million years ago, then the Jurassic Period, 150 million years ago, then Cretaceous Period 50 million years ago, and finally the present day. Examples are in the above website, which I have printed up. Explain how the theory says plate tectonics caused these drastic changes; then once the continents drifted apart, erosion, deposition, etc, caused the coast lines to change. If time, the children can glue their puzzle pieces onto a piece of paper in any of the periods they desire, and color them.

ITEMS NEEDED FOR THIS STATION: Pangaea maps on card stock, scissors, picture of all stages of Pangaea, colors or colored pencils, glue and appropriate paper to glue puzzle pieces on.

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