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 Scientific Literacy - Introducing the Topic
Ask the students to bring in a rock from home or find one in the playground. Divide the class into small groups. Give the students time to closely observe their rock. Hand lenses or magnifying glasses may help with this task. Discuss with the class possible criteria they could use to structure their observations about the rock, for example; colour, hardness, lustre (describes how shiny or dull the rock is), weight/density. Have them look for any mineral crystals in their specimen. Give each group a concept map (see below) and ask them to circle the words that most closely describe the appearance of their rock. If they cannot find a particular word, ask the students to write their own descriptive word where it says 'other'. Construct a table on the board using the same criteria as on the concept map and collate a class database. As an extension ask the students to describe how the rocks are similar or different.
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