Geology Friday - Pictures

Here are some pictures of last week's geology Friday session:

Julia, 7th grader, demonstrates how a glacier moves while 3rd-4th graders observe.

3rd-4th graders take a closer look at how glaciers shape landscapes.

5-7th graders present the plate tectonics poster.

Rodrigo presents the plate tectonics poster to 3rd-4th graders.

Teacher Pa helps 3rd-4th graders with the rock cycle activity.

Making mold fossils.

Week 3 - end of the geology unit

This was a science intense week! The upper grades had geology class on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and on Friday they helped teacher David and I teach the material that they have learned in the past two weeks to the lower grades.

On Monday we reviewed the plate tectonics worksheet, and talked about the rock cycle. We did an activity using crayons to illustrate the rock cycle. Students were separated in three groups, each group had 3 crayons of one specific color. The crayons represent different types of rock. Students were told to shave the crayons, and I asked them what part of the rock cycle this action was representing. It was clear that all students knew that the shaving was representing erosion. The next step was to place the crayons' shavings on a piece of aluminum foil - one color at a time, and one layer on top of the other. This resulted in the formation of a sedimentary rock. After all students had a chance to take a look at our model of sedimentary rocks, I closed the aluminum foil, and asked each student to apply pressure to the package. Metamorphic rocks are created when other types of rocks are exposed to heat and pressure. After examining our crayon metamorphic rock, we went to the kitchen and placed our foil in boiling water for about 10 minutes. The melted crayons were allowed to dry until the next day. The boiling part of this project simulates the formation of igneous rocks.

On Tuesday we took a look at the cooled igneous rock, and then we tried a slightly different approach to make fossils (mold and cast) with clay and plaster. I brought small paper cups to the classroom, and asked the kids to make smooth balls of clay to place inside the cups. They placed the clay inside the cup, flattened the top, and applied a small amount of Vaseline on the surface. Each student chose a small plastic animal, and pushed it on the surface of the clay to make a mold. When they were done with their molds, I poured platser in the cup until it was almost filled and the plaster was left to dry. After this project, students were divided into two groups (one group was responsible for preparing posters and presentations for the first and second graders, and the other group was responsible for preparing posters and presentations for the third and fourth graders).

On Wednesday we checked on the fossils and were happy to find out that we were successful with our second approach.  I presented a mini lecture on glaciers that covered the following topics:
- What are glaciers? How are they formed and how do they move?
- How can glaciers shape landscapes? My focus was on plucking, abrasion, and moraine formation.
Students seemed to be very interested in this subject! Most of them didn't know much about glaciers, and they showed a lot of interest in the topic. After my presentation, the two groups prepared a glacier to be used in Friday's geology session, and they had approximately 45 minutes to work on their posters and practice the presentations.

On Friday we had a geology session for the whole school in the morning. There were four half-hour activities. Teacher David helped the older kids work with the first and second graders, and I helped those that were working with the third and fourth graders. You can find a summary of what we did on David's blog (http://grainworldsand.blogspot.com/). I was really happy to see, and hear from David, how the upper graders were knowledgeable about the geological concepts being covered. The students who were working with me in Brittany's class did an EXCELLENT job answering questions and presenting their posters. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to talk to the 5-7th graders about how to present the information and introduce the activities, so David and I ended up doing most of the talking.

Science Content Standards for California public schools - week 2

Here is a list of the standards that have been introduced during last week's (week 2) activities:

Grade 6 - Focus on Earth Sciences

1.    Plate tectonics accounts for important features of Earth’’s surface and major geologic events. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a.    Students know evidence of plate tectonics is derived from the fit of the continents; the location of earthquakes, volcanoes, and midocean ridges; and the distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient climatic zones.

b.    Students know Earth is composed of several layers: a cold, brittle lithosphere; a hot, convecting mantle; and a dense, metallic core.

d.    Students know that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults and that volcanoes and fissures are locations where magma reaches the surface.

e.    Students know major geologic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building, result from plate motions.

f.    Students know how to explain major features of California geology (including mountains, faults, volcanoes) in terms of plate tectonics.

Grade 7 - Earth and Life History

4.    Evidence from rocks allows us to understand the evolution of life on Earth. As a basis for understanding this concept:

c.    Students know that the rock cycle includes the formation of new sediment and rocks and that rocks are often found in layers, with the oldest generally on the bottom.

d.    Students know that evidence from geologic layers and radioactive dating indicates Earth is approximately 4.6 billion years old and that life on this planet has existed for more than 3 billion years.

e.    Students know fossils provide evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changed.

Week 2 - geological time line and fossils

      On Monday we talked about the geological time scale and discussed how geologists can learn from fossils. Students were divided in 3 groups, and each group was responsible for learning about certain eras in order to prepare a geological time line poster for their classroom. Students used the following website for their research: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/help/timeform.php . In addition to the time line project, we tried to make fossils (molds and casts) using clay, plastic animals and plaster of paris. Unfortunately the fossil project didn’t turn out as planned, but we will try again!

    On Wednesday, students had approximately 35 minutes to work on their time line poster. During the remaining 40 minutes students worked on a worksheet designed to introduce them to plate tectonics. If you want a copy of the worksheet, please don’t hesitate to contact me. The worksheet was based on the following website: http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/index.html . On Monday we will have a discussion about plate tectonics with a focus on the geology of CA. My goal is to have students appreciate geological processes before experiencing Yosemite.

    I was really excited to see our grass seedlings today! Becca and Katrin did a great job watering the soil.  

Summary of our first science class

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Today in science class, 5^th – 7^th graders summarized the scientific method and made connections between the steps of the scientific method and the skills/type of thinking that they will be using to organize their portfolios. After our discussion about “what scientists do”, we spent some time summarizing a few terms that we will be using over the next 3 months.

1)   Hypothesis: A supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. An educated guess.

2)   Species: A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.

3)   Native species: a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention

4)   Alien species: An introduced, neozoon, alien, exoti, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its native distributional range, which has arrived there by human activity, either deliberate or accidental.

5)   Invasive species: Non-native species that threaten ecosystems, habitats or species.

6)   Restoration: The action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition

 After defining these terms, my focus was on introducing the concept of intraspecific variation and differential survival. I used dog breeds as an example of within species variation, and the peppered moth story (during the industrial revolution) to illustrate differential survival. I think that students understood the concept! If you talk to them about this at home and notice any misconceptions please let me know!

 During the last 30 minutes, 3^th  -4^th graders joined us to help 5^th -7^th graders plant seeds of 5 CA native bunchgrass species.  Students will monitor seedlings for the next 2 months. On November 2nd, we are going to McLaughlin natural reserve where we will all have the opportunity to plant native grasses at a restoration area. : )   

Unfortunately, I can’t stay at the school past 3 PM to meet you all, but please feel free to contact me at fonseca.carolina9@gmail.com if you have any comment, question or concern.