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.
http://www.myetv.org/education/ntti/lessons/2004_lessons/passtheplate.cfm
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 http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/historical.html) 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.