5th Grade Science: Late March/Early April

In 5th grade, we are learning about the Earth's layers, minerals, and this week we will begin talking about rocks! Who knew the Earth could be so exciting? Before spring break, we did a lab where the students had to use their notes and what we had been discussing to try to identify different minerals. We used the following: hardness, streak (using a porcelain plate), color, cleavage, fracture, and geometric shape to help us identify calcite from talc, pyrite from hematite! We will be going over the results of that lab this week. We will do a similar lab with rocks, which are much easier to find on a daily basis. Encourage your scientist to find some rocks in your community to identify!

Hope you had a great spring break!

Ms. Klee