Download Brianna Charles ELE 301 - Dr.Conte Edgewood Elementary School

Brianna Charles
ELE 301 - Dr.Conte
Edgewood Elementary School
Mr.Bloom: 3rd Grade
Lesson 7
1. Title or Topic of the Lesson:
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Name of Lesson: “Detecting Calcite”
2. Lesson Essential Question(s):
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What rocks contain calcite and what are there properties?
How can we tell if one of the ingredients in a rock is the mineral calcite?
3. Pennsylvania State Standards:
Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening: Research
 1.8.3.A—Follow an inquiry-based process in seeking knowledge.
Earth Features and Processes That Change Earth and Its Resources: Describe various materials that
make up Earth.
 S3.D.1.1.1—Recognize that rock is composed of different kinds of minerals.
4.
Learning Objectives & Assessments
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to investigate four rocks
to find out if they contain calcite.
Students will be able to investigate one
interesting property of the mineral calcite.
Assessments
Students will observe and record
observations in their “Earth Materials”
notebooks.
Students will complete the “Calcite
Assessment” concluding the lesson.
5. Materials:
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Doc Camera
Smart Board
http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/a/Rock-Tables.htm (Rock Identification Website)
Calcite Assessment
For Each Group:
o 1 FOSS tray
o Vials, 12-dr (no caps)
o Syringe
o Rock samples:
 1 Basalt
 1 Limestone
 1 Marble
 1 Sandstone
 1 Calcite
o Hand lenses
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o Sticky notes
For The Class
o Containers, ½ liter
o Sticky notes
o Plastic cups
o White vinegar, 2qt
o Paper towels
6. Pre-lesson assignments and/or prior knowledge:
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7.
Lesson Beginning:
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8.
Students will have prior knowledge of the “Rock Identification Sheet” and will use it as a
reference if needed. Students will have prior knowledge that rocks are made of different
ingredients and those ingredients are called minerals. They are familiar with the definition of
minerals, which are pure materials that cannot be separated into different kinds of ingredients.
The teacher will introduce the lesson by telling the students today they will be investigating four
rocks; the names of the rocks will be projected on the document camera.
The instructor will ask the students, “What is the first thing a geologist would do given four new
rocks to study?” (Record observations) The students will be encouraged to turn to page 10 of their
Earth Materials Notebooks.
One student from each group will retrieve a Foss tray. Everyone will record their rock
observations on page 10.
Students will be given 6-8 minutes to individually complete their observations in the Earth
Materials Notebook and if they finish early, students will write what the difference is between a
rock and a mineral on the back of the book.
Students will share their observations to the class and write them on the smartboard.
Following this, the teacher will use the following website to go over each of the four rocks and
their relation to everyday life: http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/a/Rock-Tables.htm
Before beginning the instructional plan, the teacher will ask the class to recall the difference
between a rock and a mineral (Rocks are made up of many ingredients. Minerals are the
ingredients in rocks). Students will be reminded the samples of basalt, limestone, sandstone, and
marble are rocks.
The teacher will have one student from each group go to the back table and retrieve the ‘mystery’
mineral (calcite). The teacher will ask the students if they can recognize the mystery mineral by
saying that they used it during the scratch test and can refer back to their Earth Materials
Notebook and/or word wall.
After asking for some guesses, the teacher will confirm the mineral is calcite, and is one of the
most common minerals on the Earth’s surface. Calcite is an ingredient in a number of different
kinds of rocks.
The teacher will then say, “The first four earth materials you observed today are rocks. Let’s see
if we can find out if calcite is an ingredient in any of these four rocks.”
The teacher will go more into detail about calcite and its properties (Calcite has a property that
no other mineral has. It reacts with cold acid. A field geologist often carries a small bottle of
hydrochloric acid to test rocks for calcite. Because hydrochloric acid is dangerous, we will test
rocks for calcite with a less concentrated acid, vinegar).
Instructional Plan:
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To start off the experiment part of the lesson, the teacher will have students retrieve a cup with
vinegar (about 1 ½ cm deep). and a vial from the back table. The procedure is
 Put the calcite sample in a vial.
 Carefully add 25mL of vinegar to the vial with the calcite.
 Observe and record what happens.
One student from each group will use the syringe to put 25mL of vinegar into the vial.
All members of the group will record their observations in their Earth Materials Notebook.
After giving the students about a couple minutes to discuss and record their observations, the
teacher will ask students to share their responses. Each group should report the calcite fizzled
actively when placed in the acid. The teacher will ask questions such as:
o From the observations you made earlier, which of the rocks do you think might have
calcite as an ingredient? (There is no way to tell just by observing).
o What could you do to find out for sure if there is calcite in any of these rocks? (Students
should suggest putting the rocks in vinegar and watching for bubbles).
After a group discussion with the class, the teacher will guide the students toward an
experimental design that will allow them to discover if the four rocks contain calcite. The
students will:
1. Put the four vials into the corners in the FOSS trays.
2. Put one rock sample in each vial (Students need to keep the correct labels with the
appropriate rock and vial).
3. Carefully add vinegar to each vial until the level is about 1cm from the top (25mL).
4. Observe what happens and record those observations on page 11 of the Earth Materials
Notebook.
One student from each group will pick up four vials from the back table. Each group will be
given enough vinegar to fill the vials and will be reminded to note their observations in their
notebooks. The teacher will give the students ten minutes to complete this experiment.
After students have decided whether the rocks bubbled, the teacher will chose volunteers from
each group to report to the class their observations. On page 11 of their notebooks, the teacher
will tell students to put a check next to the rocks that they think contain calcite.
o Limestone contains calcite and basalt does not. There is a difference in bubbles between
the sandstone and marble and in order to come to an accurate conclusion, there needs to
be another test.
The teacher will suggest to the students to let the vials sit overnight and then check them
tomorrow for more clues. Each group will identify their trays with sticky notes (Group 1, Group
2, ect).
Students will clean up their areas and return equipment to the materials station.
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Differentiation:
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Students will collaborate in pairs and small groups. This will permit students to engage in
meaningful discussions and to observe and learn from one another.
Speak at a slower rate and use basic terms when describing the lesson for the limited English
proficiency students.
Definitions of words such as rocks and minerals will be projected on the board.
Questions:
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What is the difference between a rock and a mineral?
What is calcite?
What are the properties of calcite?
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Classroom Management:
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The teacher will circulate the classroom while the students are working, checking their
progress along the way.
Students will be attentive during open class discussions.
Students will use inside voices while working in groups.
Students will work with each other to engage in meaningful conversations and build off each
other’s opinions.
The teacher needs to remind the students not to mix up the rocks and numbers. If this happens
they can check the Mineral Identification Sheet.
The teacher will warn the students to be careful when stacking their vials to make sure all
caps are secured and the vials do not tip when moving them back to the table.
9. Closure:
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The teacher will have the class add new words to the class word bank. They are:
 The rocks used in this investigation are basalt, limestone, marble, and sandstone.
 Vinegar is an acid that can be used to test for calcite.
The teacher will distribute a mini assessment with two questions and have the students
complete them individually:
 Why are we testing for calcite in several rocks? (Calcite is one of the most common
minerals on Earth).
 Why use vinegar to test for calcite? (Calcite is the only mineral that bubbles when it
comes in contact with cold acid).
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